Was/Is Hugh Jackman the right "Wolverine"?

[jo]

Also --

[jo]

Jackman-as-Wolverine fans are hanging on



www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/sorry-marvel-studios-here-are-7-reasons-why-hugh-jackman-will-be-our-wolverine-forever/

[jo]

[jo]

When he used to be Wolverine --

[njr]

This is hysterical! Watch for the Wolverine reference!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=BabsgCQhpu4

Nancy

[mamaleh]

Harrington’s serious demeanor makes this hilarious sketch even funnier. Loved the quickie Wolvie claws reference, of course.

Ellen

[jo]

Russell Crowe ( who is known for his bluntness) is always generous when praising Hugh Jackman's talent. I remember how he tweeted why he voted for HJ for an Oscar for his role in Les Miserables. Sadly, he may have been asked to delete the post by the AMPAS?

Here's his view on the role that Hugh filled over the years, a year that was first offered to Rusty.


comicbook.com/marvel/2019/06/20/russell-crowe-wolverine-fancast-x-men-hugh-jackman-howard-stern/

ComicBook.com PopCulture.com Gamespot.com


Russell Crowe on Passing on Wolverine to Hugh Jackman: "There's No Way I Would Have Ever Done That"

By Jenna Anderson - June 20, 2019 04:39 pm EDT


For decades, Russell Crowe playing Wolverine has been one of the biggest comic book castings that never quite happened -- and it sounds like the actor is okay with that. In a recent interview on The Howard Stern Show, Crowe spoke about almost being cast as Wolverine in Brian Singer's X-Men, and argued that he would not have been able to give it the brevity that Hugh Jackman ultimately brought to the part.


"There's no way I would have ever done that." Crowe explained. "Even if I'd done the film, I wouldn't have carried it through with the grace and the direction that Hugh gave it."

Given the decades-long time that Jackman spent playing the character - which was capped off by the Oscar-nominated Logan - it's easy to see where Crowe is coming from. As the actor has revealed in previous interviews, his initial decision for turning down the part was much more specific.

"Bryan [Singer] was a friend at the time," Crowe explained in 2017. "And he was really putting the pressure on. If you remember, [in Gladiator,] Maximus has a wolf at the center of his cuirass, and he has a wolf as his companion … which I thought was going to be a bigger deal [at the time]. So I said no because I didn’t want to be ‘wolfy’, like ‘Mr. Wolf’ ...When Ridley [Scott] was cutting the movie, it was inconvenient to keep the dog alive — so the whole wolf thing, no one ever mentions it!"

"I owe [Russell] because two of the biggest roles I’ve ever had in my life, he turned down — and suggested me for them." Jackman explained in 2012. "On X-Men, he was Bryan Singer’s first choice for Wolverine, and he mentioned me also for [Baz Luhrmann’s] Australia. He really is incredibly smart, and generous."

At the moment, the nature of Wolverine's onscreen presence is a bit up in the air, especially as the previously-owned Fox characters are folded into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As those working behind-the-scenes have hinted, the expectation is for a new actor to be cast as Wolverine whenever the time comes.


"Hugh, just the physicality of it all, just to bulk up,” X-Men producer Lauren Schuler Donner said earlier this year. “This man worked so hard to bulk up, would get up at four in the morning to bulk and eat protein meals every two hours because his natural state, they used to call him Worm when he was a kid. So his natural state is a very skinny guy. Once you reach a certain age, the body just won’t go anymore. I think he was wise to say, ‘I’m at that point. I can’t do it.’ Now, that doesn’t mean he can’t come back as older Wolverine. You never know. Future Wolverine, you never know.”

[jo]

While looking for a particular description of Hugh coming from Mangold, I came across this commentary from David Erlich, the hard-to-please critic of IndieWire -- he gave LOGAN only a B rating. But this part of his review is very revelatory as to how he regards Hugh fulfilling the role over the years.

“Logan” isn’t always a satisfying movie, but there’s a very satisfying answer to those questions waiting for viewers at the end of it. Satisfying not only because Mangold resolves things with some brilliantly expressive imagery, or because he endows this story with a no-shits-left-to-give honesty that defies its origins and justifies its spectacular violence and salty vocabulary, but because it proves how iconic Jackman has made this character over the last 17 years.

Wolverine was famous before the actor became him, and the dictums of Hollywood insist that another actor will eventually grin and grimace his way through the role, but it’s telling that he’s one of the only major X-Men who hasn’t been played by another, younger star along the way. Jackman’s performance cut deeper than the spandex he wore for it — he wasn’t a vessel for this character, the character was a vessel for him.

And in this movie’s closing moments, we realize that he’s left us with one of the only big screen superheroes capable of conveying what these stories can do, and why people are drawn to them like moths to the flame no matter how many times they get burned. Whereas most of the cinematic genre’s characters borrow from myth, Jackman’s Wolverine became human enough to forge his own. Whereas most of these characters are shaped by studio notes and watered down by fan service, Jackman’s snarling embodiment of the comic book cover star was built to survive Brett Ratner sequels, recover from Will.i.am cameos, and elevate solid action fare into the pop culture firmaments. He was big even when the pictures got small, and even bigger when they didn’t. “Don’t be what they made you,” Logan tells Laura. That could be an empty line of dialogue, but when Jackman says it, it means something. Maybe even everything.

Which other actor defined a comicbook/superhero character as well as he did to establish a heroic but flawed persona? Deadpool was a fan service interpretation ( fans wanted the sophomoric humor), Batman and Superman actors changed interpretations often ( Bale gave it his deathly stare all the time) and not a growing and fully developing saga towards the end? Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers were also fan service to the hilt!

Jackman's interpretation of the Wolverine saga at its final story must have incorporated a lot of his own thinking on how the character of Wolverine evolved dramatically and logically. Mangold only saw the time frame when Wolverine became a weary character...he did not see how the character who was very different from the others toyed with fitting in for some time. So, there is a really a full arc that Hugh nursed through the 17 years!

Hugh had 2 iconic roles delivered within the same time frame - LOGAN and THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. The Greatest Showman was a passion project on which he spent some 8 years to develop and nurture towards its eventual success ( with an initial slipup in critical perception, eventually offset by public approval). LOGAN was a success to him because it tested his depth in developing a character and interpreting a film role he has helped grow over 17 years! Personally, I would point to LOGAN as the more artistic triumph for him as an actor!


Jo

[jo]

Well said!

"the embodiment of the character like they did with their original casting "

[jo]

[jo]

Missed this interview with BBC when he was doing promo for LOGAN --




I was giggling about Deb scolding him for hurting himself on set


Jo

[jo]

Thanks to JackmansLanding --

Daniel has done stunt double work for Hugh in the 4 Wolverine movies (the solo trilogy - Origins/TheWolverine/Logan and Days of Future Past), as well as for PAN...and now doing it for Reminiscence.


Just my personal take --

*As Wolverine, maybe from afar, he will do in terms of some resemblance -- but he does not have the strong masculine air associated with Hugh's Wolverine persona...nor does he seem to have the solid Jackman physique. But maybe Hugh finds working with him very comfortable ( and maybe they already have an action/acting shorthand between them).

I saw a file photo of him doing the train stunt work for Hugh in The Wolverine. Maybe that was after Hugh almost had a concussion-causing soft injury during filming and was sent home early ( Deb did not like it, if I recall right "Why did you not use your double?? You're not Wolverine! You're old! Yes, this (scolding) is ( an act of) love!" LOL!

*He also did stunt double work for Hugh in PAN. Did he have to shave his head, too

*I think he will do fine for REMINISCENCE. Nick Bannister is not a Wolverine-type ( masculine badass) but he will have some hard-fighting to do


Jo

[njr]

“As Wolverine, maybe from afar, he will do in terms of some resemblance -- but he does not have the strong masculine air associated with Hugh's Wolverine persona...nor does he seem to have the solid Jackman physique. But maybe Hugh finds working with him very comfortable ( and maybe they already have an action/acting shorthand between them).”

I disagree! Click on the instagram link and see Daniel as Wolverine! *THUD*

http://instagram.com/p/Bxaa8pQAPi3

Nancy

[jo]

Yes, I have seen that earlier. But if you look at the photo showing them side by side - in many aspects, he is much less buff than Hugh - shoulders ( Hugh has the shoulders of an athlete/swimmer), chest, and general torso. He is a much leaner and less athletic-looking version.

And Hugh, when in a fearsome Wolverine mode, really looks almost frightening with an air of very rugged masculinity! Daniel in that side-by-side photo does not exude the same fearsome image.

But everything is in in the eye of the beholder


Jo

[jo]

The many travails of Hugh Jackman's hair! Starting with the Wolverine hair!

www.cinemablend.com/news/2484724/turns-out-kevin-feige-originally-wanted-hugh-jackmans-wolverine-to-have-his-comic-book-accurate-hair


Beyond Wolverine --

*Wore a pomparour wig as Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

*Had it permed as Curly ( Oklahoma!)

*Very long, down to his shoulders & secretly wore extensions (Van Helsing) -

*Baldheaded ( The Fountain) ... but surprisingly fitted his facial features

*Turn of the century look - handsome! ( Australia)



*Modern pompadour, looking slightly greasy ( A Steady Rain)

*Hacked/Curled wig - ala House on the Prairie (Les Misérables)

*Back in time with a mullet ( Chappie)

*Fully-shaved again, but with an outlandish wig and even more outlandish costume ( Pan)

*Buzz cut, live ( The River)

*Curled again ( The Greatest Showman)

*Not a hair out of place/slicked back with spray ( #tmtmts)


Now... seems like a disheveled look ( Reminiscence)





But which is your favorite Wolverine look??


Mine is what he wore in XMEN ORIGINS :WOVERINE!





Jo

[hughmanity]

Agree 100% with Jo.  Absolute best hair (even if not "authentic") was Origins.  Best non-Wolverine hair imo was Australia... especially the time he pours water on it and shakes it out - lol.
Speaking of his hair, it looks very short in those Wynn Hotel pictures.  Do you think he was possibly growing it in from THE FOUNTAIN shoot?

[jo]

[jo]

Giggle of the day --

Be patient - wait till you reach the end of the clip


Jo

[jo]

Three years on today - from the release of his final stint as Wolverine ( LOGAN), fans are still not wanting to let the role be recast!

[jo]

[jo]

Just my impression --

The first XMen movies brought in the female demos in numbers not usually associated with comicbook movies! I have a feeling that it was partially helped by an almost concurrent screen appearance of Hugh Jackman as Leopold, the Duke of Albany! He became a poster child of a rough hero but with awesome sex appeal because of his romantic and gentlemanly ways elsewhere


Jo

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/B9RXl0zHdQS

[jo]

www.instagram.com/stories/thehughjackman/

Hugh revisits the LOGAN trailer in his Instagram Stories.

I wonder why he seems to be doing some sort of retrospective?

Could this be a hint of something in the future?

Or was he just bringing back memories of the role that defined his career?


Hey, Bub

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/B9RXl0zHdQS

Keep swiping...

Logan is reminiscing


Jo

[jo]

Nine months from the release of LOGAN ( and seeing all those poses as the definitive X-MAN)

Can you believe he has evolved to this

http://instagram.com/p/BbMVaDBDFtr

Mr. SHOWMAN!