The actor who rose out of absolute anonymity starred in one short-lived Aussie series where he met the love of his life and future wife and went on to then audition for the defining role of his lifetime. As such, the early start and breakthrough in his career then allowed Hugh Jackman to portray the world’s most famous clawed mutant from the comics in the big-screen adaptations of X-Men.
His Wolverine, for all intents and purposes, has not only become the most loved and revered of all the Foxverse superheroes but also the most extraordinarily competent and the only one who was supposed to retire in a grand ceremonious hoopla in the form of James Mangold’s Logan.
But fate, it seems, had to intervene for the sake of the audience who waited decades to see the X-Men fighting under the same banner as that of the Avengers. And so, Jackman returns one more time to fight the good fight alongside the one and only Deadpool.
Also read: “Secret Wars?”: Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3 Reportedly Not Hugh Jackman’s Final Hunt as Wolverine
Hugh Jackman Gets Into Shape For Wolverine’s Comeback
When he retired, Hugh Jackman was a 17-year veteran serving as the beloved mutant Wolverine over the course of 9 films in twice as many years. His remarkable will to stay in such fine form in these films had the fans in complete awe of the actor as well as his character, and Jackman, like his comic counterpart seemed to not age at all despite his presence in so many interspersed films from 2000 to 2017.
When September 2022 rolled around, one pandemic later, and after 4 long years of utter silence from the Deadpool team, Ryan Reynolds shook the ground open by getting Hugh Jackman back on board as Wolverine. And although it meant only good things for the fans, it was anything but for the actor himself. For the 54-year-old Aussie actor, stringing his muscles out has not been the best of experiences.
However, the long-lived experience of doing the same for the better part of his career has helped him whip himself back into shape through an inhumane routine of diet and workout. But, despite all his concerted efforts, the actor has relentlessly been exposed to a barrage of negative criticism and speculation about the usage of steroids and other PEDs (performance-enhancement drugs).
Hugh Jackman Comments on His Wolverine Workout Routine
No steroids. Only natural growth. Those are the two facts that Hugh Jackman has stressed as being completely true as far as his training as Wolverine is concerned. The Aussie has done nothing but push himself for the sake of his fans, his unlikely inadvertent bff (Ryan Reynolds), and the character of Wolverine. And despite his age, his ungodly workout regimen has been devoid of any trace of steroids to make his character look shredded and ripped on the screen.
When asked point-black about the subject, Jackman addressed the issue by saying:
“I love my job, and I love Wolverine–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 do it the old-school way.”
All of it, however, now seems to be a thing of the past. The latest status of the Deadpool 3 film claims that the filming process is almost halfway through to completion. The project will enter its post-production phase in September-October of 2023. Directed by Shawn Levy, the Ryan Reynolds-starrer has also been reported to have much more slash and gore attributed to the Adamantium clawed presence of Wolverine in the film.
Deadpool 3 arrives in theatres on May 3, 2024.
Source: Chris Wallace [CNN]; via The Wrap
