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X-Men Origins: Wolverine in our magazines

THE MOVIE: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

THE STARS:
Hugh Jackman • Liev Schreiber • Ryan Reynolds • Will.I.Am • Taylor Kitsch • Lynn Collins
DIRECTOR: Gavin Hood

Hugh Jackman

It’s been nine years since X-Men rocketed Hugh Jackman to international stardom for his performance as Logan/Wolverine, a fierce fighting machine who possesses amazing healing powers, adamantium claws and a primal fury known as berserker rage. Now Jackman is front and center in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which chronicles the mutant’s early life.

U.S. RELEASE: May 1 2009, Nationwide • Rated: PG-13

THE COMMENTS:

How protective do you feel about this movie versus the other X-Men movies, since this is really you, front and center?:
Obviously, this movie has a different dimension, as a producer. Particularly, I found myself asking the cast what they thought of the movie, and I was nervous about it. In that way, I feel it’s more personal to me. It’s more my baby. I asked all these actors and Gavin Hood, the director, to come on board, so obviously I’m more attached to it. It feels more personal. That’s the difference.

Why was it important to you to include more of Wolverine’s relationships in this, as well as the action, since comic book fans just want to see the action? :
I don’t think that’s true. Comic book fans have loved Wolverine, and all the X-Men characters, for more than the action. I think that’s what sets it apart from many of the other comic books. In the case of Wolverine, when he appeared, he was a revolution really. He was the first anti-hero. There were not just good guys versus bad guys, but an internal battle of good and bad, going on within the character. That’s why people relate to them. Each one of them has a personal battle going on, and that’s why audiences can relate.

In this Wolverine display the rage he felt in earlier movies...:
I knew exactly what fans wanted, and not just the comic book fans, but fans of the movie. It’s fair to say that, by X-Men 3, Wolverine had gone a little soft, and I agree with them there. What fans love about Wolverine is his more uncompromising approach to life. He is who he is. He’s not always a nice guy. He has got edge. He’s an anti-hero, and there’s also a vulnerability in there.

This is your fourth time playing this same character. What is new for you about it? :
Everything felt new to me. Yes, I’m playing the same character, but I’m filling in approximately 100 years of his life that had never been explored before and had been unknown to him. I wanted to see him evolve. Even though I had played the role three times, and it was the fourth time putting the claws on, I wanted to make it feel fresh, new, deeper and, hopefully, more honest.

Written by Judy Sloane. Back to top

Visit the official X-Men Origins: Wolverine site
Images above © Twentieth Century Fox
Feature © 2009 Visual Imagination.
Not for reproduction.

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