Hugh Jackman will soon be 45 years old (October 12th). He has been portraying Marvel Comics anti-superhero Wolverine for almost 14 years now. His first gig as the steel-clawed fighting machine happened in X-Men in 2000. Since that time he has exposed those slashers for film and video games 8 different times, including his newest adventure titled The Wolverine due out this upcoming weekend – July 26, 2013. Jackman will reprise the role yet again for the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past, making him the most returned comic book character to the big screen since Superman and Batman. The difference between Superman and Batman is Jackman is the only actor to have portrayed The Wolverine thereby putting him at the top of the list. The big question is – how much longer can he continue returning as Wolverine, especially with there being little sense that that one X-Men character’s popularity is showing no signs of a tapering off?
Hugh Jackman himself has provided the answer to that question in a recent interview with journalist Ashley Dvorkin for Fox News.
Dvorkin asked Jackman how tough the physical training was to prepare for a role like Wolverine, particularly since he does several different movie roles in between the X-Men films that require different levels of physical appearance. Jackman said that to prepare for the role each time requires a stamina and discipline he wouldn’t normally have but is necessary for a role like the Wolverine. He stated that during the months of intensive physical prep for the role he gets up at 4am every morning, lots of physical workout, tons of pasta carbs and protein to beef up but then when the shoot is wrapped its lots of burgers, fries, chocolate, alcohol, beer, wine topped off at the end of the night with a massive bowl of cereal just to feel like a normal human again.
But, there is that all important question again – How long will Hugh Jackman be willing to put himself through the physical rigor required to be The Wolverine? Jackman’s answer was short and sweet – “I love this part…as long as the part continues to grow and the reason for doing is there and that continues to grow, and let’s face it, that the audience still wants to see it, I don’t see any reason to give it up. I’m having more fun now than ever.”
Read the full Hugh Jackman interview at Fox News Entertainment.
Has it really been that long? Wow. I wonder if almost the same could be said for Famke Janssen as Jean Grey/Phoenix, since she kind of makes a brief appearance in The Wolverine (not a spoiler, you see it in the trailers), but since she wasn’t in First Class, that could break the streak.