Hugh Jackman is back in the saddle as Wolverine, and though it’s been seven years since he suited up, the Academy Award nominee says he was happy with how his body responded to the training at his age (55).
His co-star Ryan Reynolds also sang his praises in a recent interview with People, in which the pair talked about preparing to make the movie, and which parts were great versus the harder aspects.
Reynolds, 47, says he “couldn’t believe” the physicality he saw from Jackman.
“Just the sheer relentlessness that you dedicated yourself towards stunts, choreography. It was the first time I’d ever seen how invaluable a background in song and dance is when you are doing an action movie. You hit your marks in those fight scenes with speed and confidence, the likes of which I have never seen. I don’t care if you were 25, 35, 45 or 55. It was lightning.”
“Watching you do what just looked like a clinic on stunt work was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Reynolds adds as Jackman thanks him for the compliment.
Jackman admits that a lot of that physicality came from working with stunt coordinator Brian Smrz, who introduced him to the idea of dance training in order to do the action sequences successfully.
He says he ended up loving the process of that approach and learning to incorporate aspects of dance into his stunts, even as he’s gotten older.
Jackman admits, though, that one part of the process he’s always had trouble with was bulking up to become Wolverine.
“When I came back to it, it was really fun and I was thrilled. My body was a little sore at the beginning, but I was thrilled that my body was still responding. And I realized how good it is for your brain. But the hardest bit…the food. I have to eat a lot. For me, for my body type, I’m naturally skinny. To get the size on, that’s the hardest bit. That’s the bit that does my head in.”
Reynolds added, “Yeah, the five, six meals a day, which sounds great to some people. I’m sure they’re like, ‘Well, that sounds great.’ But it’s not like the type of food that you would really necessarily enjoy.”
Reynolds went on to joke that even with their 17-year friendship, seeing Jackman’s athleticism on set was both impressive and intimidating.
“I noticed that in the film that we would change things quite quickly and say, ‘Okay, let’s try this and that.’ And particularly the physicality — that ability, the dance and that background — really came in because you would do stuff where I was convinced when you were coming at me a few times, there is no way this guy’s pulling his punch,” he says with a laugh. “I will be decapitated by Hugh Jackman, and that will be his f—ing cross to bear, not mine. When Hugh Jackman is coming at you at 150 Australian miles per hour, you feel like there’s no way you’re not going to be dead in four seconds,” Reynolds quips. “And I will never forget that. And thank God I’m in a mask, because under the mask my face is going, ‘Oh God!'”
It sounds like Jackman and Reynolds had a blast making this movie, and I have a feeling that we are going to have a great time watching it. Deadpool & Wolverine is set to hit theatres on July 26th.