Say it isn’t so! Hugh Jackman, who has been playing Wolverine since the first X-Men film was released in 2000, believes his days with the claws are numbered.
The Origins of X-Men: Days of Future Past
I spoke to the superhero actor and super nice guy on the set of director Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past a few months back, and the topic of recasting Wolverine did come up. Today, in the last part of our coverage of that set visit, Jackman addresses that topic and much more…
Was there ever a conversation about whether First Class would feature a young Logan played by a different actor?
I’m sure they had the discussion. They didn’t mention it to me, obviously! [Laughs] Look, that’s inevitable, man. Anyone who thinks they're indispensable in this business is fooling themselves. But I feel unbelievably blessed to have this part. I never thought in a million years I'd get to play him seven times. Every day I walk on the set with the claws and the hair, I thank my lucky stars. I don't take any of it for granted. To think that in a second version we'd have this cast and this director, and you guys don’t know the script, but I would say probably the best script of all of them, is pretty amazing. I think that's why I'm still here. I'm sure by the way, that it won't always be my decision to always be here. At some point, someone will close the door on me… [Laughs]
How he keeps track of everything when he bounces from Wolverine to other films and back to Wolverine in different time periods.
Well luckily, of all the bouncing around I do, the easiest one to bounce back to is Wolverine obviously. For me, the experience kinda gets weirdly… I don't feel, people might presume I'm getting tired of it. I don’t. It feels deeper to me and even more engaging than ever. I'm probably having more fun with the character than ever before. But this particular film is one that brings up a lot of feelings of gratitude for me. First of all, to walk on the set in the first few weeks was weird. It was like a reunion with Bryan. I owe a lot to Bryan. He cast me in this character. This was the first film I ever did in America and it had this incredible cast, this great director, and I was playing this unbelievable role. Even if it was bad, I would have said yes, because I had no other options. But it happened to turn out to be a great movie and a great character! [Laughs] And from there to have everyone we've worked with over the last 10 years and now to have James [McAvoy], Jennifer [Lawrence], Michael [Fassbender], and Nick [Hoult], and this incredible cast. It really is, every day is a treat. And to play a character I love -- to me this story is pretty epic and pretty extraordinary. When I first heard about it, I was filming Wolverine, and I thought maybe… And the moment I heard the pitch for this, I thought this is going to be brilliant and there's no way I'm missing out. And I answered 18 more questions than you asked me -- I’m sorry!
On what’s at stake for Logan personally in this film.
[Laughs] For all the X-Men, everything is pretty much at stake! I would say the stakes or the danger level is certainly at its greatest in this movie. It's certainly the greatest villain or threat that they've faced. And so for everyone involved the stakes couldn't be higher. This is as dangerous as it gets for all of us. So in this particular part, because this is a continuation of the franchise, so in a way we're combining two X-Men worlds, but where we begin, and I don't know how much I can tell you… You know it’s set in 1973. So when it starts Wolverine is very much a part of the group, and I know that has not always been the case for him. So for him the journey is part of that team, part of that ensemble.
The physical demands of this film versus The Wolverine.
There were some differences with Wolverine, we had the Samurai element, we had some elements of some martial arts that I wanted to incorporate into that, not that he's a martial artist but I wanted him to learn some of that. So I was learning that style. Here my physical preparation because of Wolverine has been even better for this, because I really haven't stopped for almost two years. Because I spent a year preparing for that and we shot that for six months and six months later here we are, or five months later. So in a way, physically in terms of the look of the character, I'm probably in better shape than I was for The Wolverine, which has surprised me. But all the action in this, we've done a little bit of it but most of it is yet to come. So right now, I'm feeling pretty good, but I'm sure my body will be beaten up pretty soon!
X-Men: Days of Future Past director Bryan Singer (and friend)
New X-Men: Days of Future Past Images
On working with Bryan Singer again.
It's been fantastic. You know, [X-Men 1] wasn't his first movie by any stretch of the imagination, it was my first movie, and he was a massive learning experience for me. I learned a lot from Bryan. Fair to say, I was scared out of my mind when I began. It was massive. I had only come from Ozzie movies. This whole thing was huge. So to now, 13, 14 years later, I've come back and to work with such a great director who is such a good friend of mine, and we’ve stayed friends ever since, so it's all the sweeter. The relationship, we know each other so well, from day one we just fell straight into it. I think he is as turned on and as grateful as I am to have this opportunity and he's loving it. I keep thinking, not only did Bryan create this universe, but the comic book genre was pretty much dead when X-Men started. You can credit Bryan with igniting the entire genre. So he's rightly deserved an iconic status in this world and for him to come back in such an epic way, with such a big movie and such a big cast, I think is exciting not only us for but for the fans everywhere.
Where he would go if he could travel through time.
I want to go back to the ’80s! I want to go back to my high school days with what I know now! [Laughs] The things I worried about back then, I wouldn't worry about now.
What did he worry about?
Well, we'll talk about that later! [Laughs] But let's just say, who wouldn't want to relive a day in their high school years? No, it probably would be the ’80s actually. It was fun. I liked the music back then, but then I think everyone just likes the music from when they were teenagers. I'm sure younger people or older people think the ’80s music sucked, but for me it’s kind of good.
On Wolverine’s time travelling and how he ages.
Can you tell the greys have slightly been taken out of my beard? There are a few things. Like he does… there is this misconception that Wolverine doesn't age at all. But obviously he does, but just at a much, much slower rate because he heals. So for him, it takes a little more extra work for my make-up artist in the mornings! [Laughs]
Read on for more of our chat with Jackman...
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