James Gunn's confidence has grown on film sets

James Gunn has grown in confidence on movie sets after directing a number of superhero movies.

The 55-year-old filmmaker has helmed 'The Suicide Squad' and the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' series and thinks his experiences have brought out his true self during directing.

Asked what he has learned from making big films, James told Variety: "Um, at the end of the day, I've just become more of myself on set.

"People made a lot of the fact that I say I enjoyed making 'The Suicide Squad' more than any other movie. And I really did. It's for a lot of reasons, but the main reason is because of where I am, personally, and always being able to say what I think."

James continued: "I'm not a shy person, and never have been by any stretch of the imagination, at least not since I've been 12. But to just confidently walk forward with what I want, in terms of the way I shoot something (and) in terms of pushing the actors really hard – which I do, I really push actors hard, not in any sort of forceful way, just doing it again and again and again and again and again 'til we get things exactly right."

The director admits that he "can't let up" when making a film and says the approach is key to a successful movie.

James said: "I just can't balk on that stuff. I can't let up, and that's what so much of making a movie is about. It's one of the reasons why I do feel more comfortable at the end of the day with 'Suicide Squad' than I do with some of my other movies, because maybe (before) I would let my foot off the gas a little bit – not for the whole movie, but in moments, I really never did that on this movie at any time, and I'm happier with the result because of that."