Celebrating Hugh Jackman’s Time as Logan
Hugh Jackman takes his last ride as Wolverine today, as Logan (you can read our spoiler-free review here) opens in theaters in America and around the world. Jackman’s ride as the scruffy, fierce, protective, adamantium-clawed mutant began 18 years ago, back in 1999. At the time of his casting, Jackman was an Australian-born actor performing in London as Curly in the musical Oklahoma. According to Aint It Cool News, who reported Jackman’s casting back in ’99, Dougray Scott and Russell Crowe were both up for the part of Wolverine in X-Men, but Jackman ultimately got it. Jackman reflected on the casting on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this week, remembering that Bryan Singer had asked him to work on his southern accent and lose the perm.
Jackman’s turn as Logan currently holds the record for actors appearing in Marvel movie. So far, including cameos, Jackman has appeared in 9 Marvel/Fox films: X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse and Logan. Jackman is the perfect Wolverine, since his introduction in the cage fight in X-Men to his last stand as Old Man Logan in Logan. His casting is right up there with Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. as Captain American and Iron Man — intense, meaningful, perfect. The Marvel Report has a few favorite Jackman moments to share, which we gathered below.
Hugh Jackman’s Most Memorable Moments by TMR
Lauren Gallaway The Wolverine
My favorite Hugh Jackman performance in a Wolverine movie is definitely The Wolverine. While his performances in X-Men and X-Men: Days of Future Past were both remarkable, I loved watching Hugh Jackman hold down a solo film that was mainly focused on Wolverine. I thought the Japanese WWII story was powerful and I’ll never forget the scene where he shelters Yashida from the blast fire. I also loved Jackman’s dynamics with Rila Fukushima, who played Yukio. I felt like their relationship was a precursor to the relationship Logan will have with Laura/X-23 in Logan. I also loved seeing him deal with the loss of Jean Grey and how human he felt in those scenes where he was dreaming about her.
Carolyn Poddig X-Men: First Class
I’m a big fan of Wolverine’s appearance in X-Men: First Class. It was a sudden cameo and completely unexpected. I remember when the first X-Men movie came out in the theaters so seeing a young Charles and a young Eric meeting Wolverine was amazing and hilarious. It was a brief scene but it’s one of my favorites and it was a nice nod to a big part of my childhood.
Ozzie Mejia X-Men
I’m a huge fan of Jackman’s Wolverine in the original X-Men, both as the tough-as-nails heart of the team and also as Rogue’s father figure. But his interactions with Cyclops were always my favorite part of the movie, especially right before the big climax. “Wait! It’s me!” “Prove it!” “You’re a dick.” … “Okay.”
Brittany Rivera X-Men
My favorite moments of Jackman as Wolverine are when he’s acting as a mentor to the younger X-Men and taking them under his wing. It’s also one of the main reasons I’m so excited for Logan, I can’t wait to see and X-23. I love his relationship with Rogue in X-Men and X2 and later with Kitty Pryde. Logan is able to relate to Rogue especially because of their powers and status as outcasts and (self-imposed) loners. Their moments together are touching and really creates a great father/daughter dynamic between the two (and a really funny scene when he meets Bobby Drake for the first time).
Bryan Kersey X-Men 2
Personally, love most of the X-Men films, and he’s part of the reason why. He just really incubuses the complexities of the tragic but awesome hero. One of my favorite moments of his is when he’s going Berserker Mode in X-Men 2. He is really plowing down all those soldiers. The choreography is great, but it’s Jackman’s performance that puts it over the top. You can really tell this is a man embracing his darker side to protect his new family.
Josh Webb Wolverine Franchise
Wolverine was the reason I got into comics. I could relate to him as a loner with anger issues. I was able to connect with his story on an emotional level. Following him around led me to the X-Men, which led me to a world I didn’t even know existed. I didn’t love all of the Wolverine movies, but I loved what they meant for the genre and pushing it forward as a mainstream attraction. Hugh Jackman dedicated a lot of time to playing the character and ought to be commended for the amount of work he put in making comic cool. Logan looks like exactly the type of ride he should take into the sunset and I can’t wait to see it.
Logan opens in theaters today. Click here to read our spoiler-free review of Jackman’s last ride as Wolverine.