Hugh Jackman reveals the struggle of returning to play Wolverine in the MCU after nearly a decade away from the role.

While Hugh Jackman is nowhere near as old as his iconic X-Men character, Wolverine (130+ years old), the actor has admitted he isn’t quite the young gun he was when he first took on the role over two decades ago, and his age has caught up with him for Deadpool & Wolverine. Jackman initially retired the role following his triumphant last performance in James Mangold’s 2017 Logan, which saw the titular hero succumb to blood poisoning from his Adamantium skeleton.

Both Jackman and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) recently sat down with People Magazine to discuss their A-List friendship, and how it felt finally pairing their iconic characters together for Deadpool & Wolverine. During the interview, Jackman was candid about his mindset towards playing Wolverine during the 2010s, and why he decided to retire from the role, saying…

“I had got to the point probably 10 years ago I was like, I’m not enjoying it. It was hurting. It was tough.”

Like any long-fought, tough challenge, Jackman said that stepping away from the role for a while, and focusing his attention towards his other passion projects was the perfect vacation and reset his mental energy towards coming back as Wolverine. He continued:

“But I’ve had a break, and I’ve been doing a lot of dance. I’ve been doing stage shows. And so when I came back to it, it was really fun.”

Hugh Jackman Got Back Into Superhero Shape at 55 Years Old to Play Wolverine Again

As well as some heavy action scenes, Deadpool & Wolverine required Hugh Jackman to get back in tremendous physical shape, especially considering his character was wearing a sleeveless costume. Jackman has shared numerous workout photos online showing his physical transformation to get back in Wolverine shape. His co-star, Ryan Reynolds, is also renowned for undergoing impressive transformations for his various action roles, and the actor had nothing but praise for Jackman’s determination and discipline.

“I couldn’t believe what I saw with what you did physically for this movie,” Reynolds said to Jackman during their conversation. However, Reynolds’ praise went beyond just Jackman’s physique, but also his dedication to immersing himself in the film’s action and fight scenes. Reynolds continued:

“Not just the aesthetic transformation; that’s amazing, that’s incredible that anyone could do that. But just the sheer relentlessness that you dedicated yourself towards stunts [and] choreography. 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 4 seconds.”

Alongside Jackman and Reynolds, Deadpool & Wolverine also welcome Emma Corrin to the MCU as Cassandra Nova. As the evil twin sister of Charles Xavier, Cassandra Nova is an incredibly powerful mutant, and a serious threat to any hero – unfortunately, Earth has to rely on Deadpool to get the job done. Just like his praise for Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds had nothing but kind words for Corrin’s performance, calling her a “skin-covered swiss army knife.”