Hugh Jackman didn’t know that wolverines were real
Hugh Jackman set the record straight about his lack of steroid use, but that wasn't enough to distract from his confession about wolverines
Aux News Hugh Jackman
Before reprising his role as Wolverine once more, Hugh Jackman is setting the record straight when it comes to his training routine—both physical and educational.
A new interview with Jackman on HBO’s Who’s Talking To Chris Wallace begins normally enough. The broadcaster asks a question that has apparently followed Jackman for years: “Did he take steroids?”
“No, I love my job. And I love Wolverine,” Jackman says, per Variety. “I got to be careful what I say here, but I had been told anecdotally what the side effects are of that. And I was like, ‘I don’t love it that much.’ So no, I just did it the old school way. And I tell you, I’ve eaten more chickens—I’m so sorry to all the vegans and vegetarians and to the chickens of the world. Literally the karma is not good for me. If the deity has anything related to chickens, I’m in trouble.”
His gym routine obviously paid off when it came time to shoot the movie and take on the role of Wolverine. However, elsewhere in the conversation, Jackman makes a much more stunning confession.
“I had never read the comic book,” Jackman says. “I got the part. I didn’t really know anything about… I didn’t—in Australia, we don’t have wolverines. I didn’t know that was a real animal. I’d never heard of a wolverine. I thought it was a made-up animal. You know, like, he’s got man hands of steel, made up. And so I was passing as I was doing rehearsal, at the IMAX, they had this documentary about wolves. And I was like, ‘Perfect,’ because obviously, I’m a wolf, part wolf.”
“So I went [to set] with all these wolf moves and I was doing these moves, and the director said, ‘What are you doing?’” Jackman continues. “And I said, ‘Well, I was just thinking wolves are always looking like this because they’re actually smelling, they’ve got their nose to the ground. That’s why they’re looking like this all the time.’ And he goes, ‘What do you mean a wolf?’ And I said, ‘Well, you know, Wolverine—I’m part wolf so…’ and he goes, ‘No, you’re a wolverine.’”
Anyway, Jackman will soon be returning to Wolverine’s physical form and mentality when he returns in the forthcoming Deadpool 3. Over the years, Jackman’s played the role of Wolverine in ten different films, and says he’s learned not to rush the bulking up process. He also shares that once he wraps up his work on Broadway’s The Music Man, he will spend the next six months training day in and day out.
“I’ve learned you can’t rush it. I’ve learned that it takes time,” Jackman says. “So, we have six months from when I finish [The Music Man] to when I started filming. And I’m not doing any other work. I’m going to be with my family and train. That’s going to be my job for six months.”
Never underestimate the power of personal trainers—and zoos.
64 Comments
I love this anecdote because once you know it, you can see it in his performance. His take on the character does have a distinct werewolf vibe. It’s not at all a bad fit for the character’s personality in general, but it’s amusing to think about.
What’s funny is by the first solo Wolverine movie he should have known better but that movie has then telling stories of how wolverines are pack animals that howl at the moon.
I remember all the furor and hub-bub when he was cast. Lots of angry fans. Hugh Who?????But man, what a great choice!!!!
All those Dougray Scott fans were outraged, i tell you!
There were presumably dozens of them!
Seriously, I hope someday the MCU does a multiverse X-Men and they just throw Dougray in there as Wolverine. I wonder if he’s actually made calls about that. I know I would’ve.
Funny thing is, Dougray sounds like a made-up animal.
It’s actually an obscure Marvel character from New Mutants that was created when Doug Ramsey merged with Ray Jay Johnson.
Part stingray, part Doug.
I remember being part of the “who?” crowd and also the jokes about his name being perfect for porn. But even if he was a foot to tall for the part he really rocked it. His performance is why that movie became a franchise(along with McKellen and Stewart).
I remember when Fox had just bought the rights and the move was nowhere near being made, Wizard magazine picked their dream cast for an X-Men movie and picked Glenn Danzig for Wolvie.That probably would have been unintentionally great but I think Jackman was the right choice in retrospect.
Wait until I tell you the story of how well received Michael Keaton’s casting of Batman went over. Actually let me tell you about ever comic book characters casting …ever (with the exception of maybe Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Patrick Stewart as Prof X.).
I remember all that too. Different times back then though. Not as easy to publicize your outrage.
Yeah basically it’s really hard to please 100% with comic book character casting. I mean shit, people were outraged that Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker, hindsight is 20/20.
he’s too old now, but Jackie Earle Haley seemed like he would have made a good Wolverine, assuming you’re not looking for a Logan who is easy on the eyes. the comics never gave me the impression he’s supposed to be good looking tho
https://www.avclub.com/hugh-jackman-didn-t-know-wolverines-were-real-animals-1798262099
It’s perfect that the first comment on that article is a complaint that the AV Club had already posted about it.
Lol, thanks, I was having deja vu while reading the headline.
Thanks. I only came by to pile on.
“I am tired of the AV Club, it’s writers. I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their listicles.”
In fairness, everyone who was writing for the site back then has been taken around back and shot. The current writers were all grown in vats and have never been exposed to dangerous ideas like “unions” and “earning enough money to live on”.
Given the turnover of staff I am surprised that there aren’t even more stories like this. TBH the way my brain handles AVClub content I would probably never realize they are reprinting articles.
To be fair, Jackman told that anecdote to Page Six in 2017 (your link) and then again to Chris Wallace.But I had the exact same deja vu.
Jackmans Wolverine build doesn’t look enhanced. He’s ripped for sure but it looks like something someone in already good shape can pull off with dedicate training. I think we question guys like Chris Pratt or Kumail a bit because their transformation was much more drastic. And people like the Rock and Vin Diesel who literally just look less like humans and more like walking mountains these days.
Exactly. He doesn’t look like a gym rat, he looks like someone who constantly lugs about 30kg of metal around all the time, and whose body can heal from beer.
But enough about Aussie immune systems.
I mean if you add in not drinking any water for like four days before shooting also
Very true. Six-packs abs are less about specific work outs and more about having almost dangerous low levels of body fat combined with dehydration. Blame the rise of body building culture in the 70s. Which was way less about health or strength and more about sculpting your body to a specific form.
Does your fat, ugly wife know this?
Please stop saying “sculpting”.
Sculpting sculpting sculpting!! 🙂
I never got the sense that Hollywood PED use was strictly about getting a body that is impossible naturally, but more impossible to achieve in the 5 months they have (would take more like 1.5 years without PEDs)
This. I strongly suspect that Jackman has and/or will use gear. I’m a powerlifter and I’m natty. I know a lot of people who aren’t. There isn’t really a way to tell just by looking with exceptions like the liverking. Getting shredded in 5 to 6 months when you’re in your 50s is a pretty good indicator. Maybe he’s genetically gifted though. In all likelyhood, he’s prescribed hgh and T replacements for medical reasons and they just happen to help get ripped.
Vin DieselCounterpoint: Vin Diesel looks like your uncle who used to be a muscular gym rat, is now on the paunchier side, but desperately wants you to think he’s jacked. Now the Rock is obviously juiced to the gills and hasn’t looked like a person who could exist in over a decade. I do think Hugh Jackman uses PEDs to quickly get into Wolverine shape, though.
Kumail almost deleted his neck, which is pretty much a giveaway for ‘roiding it up.
“I’m the best there is at what I do, and what I do isn’t very smart.” ~ The Wolferine
I just assume that any animal that kills less than a thousand humans a year is beneath an Australian’s notice.
“It furry and has four legs and it’s only occasional deadly. So a dog? Crickey I thought you said it was something scary!”
Yeah, I kind of have to give him a pass on this as an Aussie. A wolverine is a pretty obscure animal, unless you’re a U of M fan. And Australia has all kinds of horrifying creatures that we Northern Hemispherians know nothing about.
I knew a girl FROM NORTHERN MICHIGAN who thought wolverines were mythical
I worked with a woman a decade ago who didn’t realise dinosaurs or pirates were real.She though the dinosaur bones in museums were there for decoration. Also, I don’t believe she’d ever set foot in a museum but there you go.
pirates?????
p-p-p-p-p-pirate ghosts?!
Did this come up during Ixilan, the Magic the Gathering set that featured both Pirates and Dinosaurs?
well…pirates were real but how we imagine them is mostly based on Treasure Island and its illustrations from Andrew Wyeth’s father…not exactly a documentary 🙂
I didn’t know that Narwhals were real until fairly recently. My wife was pretty surprised that I didn’t.
LOL well just from the description they sound made up, like a unicorn whale WTF. Also JAckman not knowing what a wolverine is. totally expected. As the article mentioned they don’t exist in Austrailia.
“Also JAckman not knowing what a wolverine is. totally expected. As the article mentioned they don’t exist in Austrailia.”
How many Americans do you think don’t believe in Koalas or Kangaroos?
Did she stay with you after something like that?
I mean they do seem pretty improbable. There are plenty of animals that seem like they’re made up…obviously the duckbilled platypus leads the list, it’s like god just had some extra stuff lying around
Didn’t matter, in the end, whether Jackman knew what a wolverine was. He knew who Clint Eastwood was and that worked for the part. (Unless he was doing Kurt Russell doing Eastwood – either way is fine though.)
“He knew who Clint Eastwood was and that worked for the part. (Unless he was doing Kurt Russell doing Eastwood – either way is fine though.)“
So, do YOU not know who Clint Eastwood is?
I miss the non-dehydrated Wolverine from the first two X-Men movies.
Hard agree. Classic Wolverine always had a more functionally muscular body: less sculpted, more burly. Jacked-man as Wolverine feels weird to me. (He stills kills it in the role, though)
Same, Hugh. Same.
Meet the new Hugh, same as the old Hugh.
I’d question the quality of his high school education except that I went to the same one.
I’ve never seen a wolverine, so I am not entirely convinced they are real either.
Could somebody write a song ala “Surfin’ Bird” about a wolverine on the scene?
That’s alright, Hugh. Most of us don’t think dingoes are real.
When I was seven years old, my best friend Robert convinced me that wolverines were all over where we lived (Portsmouth VA), looked like giant sloths in a dinosaur book he had, and killed people on sight. I had nightmares.
An Australian thinking some bizarre sounding animal was simply made-up? Now i’ve heard everything!
Had he never seen Red Dawn? Tragic.