Hugh Jackman is reviving “Wolverine” for the first time since 2017, and the fitness transformation looks a little different at 55.
In an interview with People, Jackman was joined by Ryan Reynolds, who witnessed it all for their upcoming film, “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
“Just the sheer relentlessness that you dedicated yourself towards stunts, choreography,” Reynolds said of Jackman. “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.
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Hugh Jackman had to focus on his diet to prepare for “Deadpool & Wolverine” role. (FlixPix/Alamy Stock Photo/Getty Images)
“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.”
Reynolds emphasized that watching Jackman perform “looked like a clinic on stunt work” and was “one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen in my life.” Jackman thanked his co-star for his compliments.
Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds star in the upcoming “Deadpool & Wolverine” Marvel film. (Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images)
Jackman shared that a large portion of him physically preparing to reprise his role came from working with stunt coordinator Brian Smrz on “dance training” to help him in different scenes.
Jackman told People he “loved” the idea of incorporating dance into his stunts, even as he continues to age.
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“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,” Jackman said.
Hugh Jackman said the hardest part about preparing for “Wolverine” is the diet, noting he’s naturally skinny, so bulking up isn’t easy. (Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty Images)
The actor admitted the hardest part of getting in shape for the film wasn’t the workouts or the dance training, but the diet. Jackman explained that, in the past, he was required to “bulk up” to portray “Wolverine,” which wasn’t easy on him.
“I have to eat a lot,” he explained. “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 chimed in, “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.”
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have been friends 17 years. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for Netflix)
Reynolds explained that even though he and Jackman have been friends 17 years, he was intimidated by seeing him on set.
“I noticed that in the film that we would change things quite quickly and say, ‘OK, 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,” Reynolds said. “I will be decapitated by Hugh Jackman, and that will be his f—ing cross to bear, not mine.
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Ryan Reynolds was intimidated by Hugh Jackman while filming “Deadpool & Wolverine.” (FlixPix/Alamy Stock Photo)
“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. And I will never forget that. And thank God I’m in a mask, because under the mask my face is going, ‘Oh God!'”
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Reynolds’ and Jackman’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” will premiere in theaters July 26.