Ahead of the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, which marks the Merc with a Mouth’s first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman spoke about their respective journeys as the superhero characters. While Reynolds first began developing a Deadpool movie a decade before it was eventually released to unexpected global box office success, Jackman has played Wolverine for over two decades.
In an interview with The New York Times, he recalled memories of being cast in the first X-Men movie, as a replacement for actor Dougray Scott, and not understanding the gravity of what he’d signed up for. Jackman said that he nearly lost the part because of a bureaucratic mix-up at the airport, and had to convince the customs officer that he was, in fact, going to play the very popular comic book superhero in a movie.
Also read – Ryan Reynolds reveals he ‘let go getting paid’ for Deadpool, offered his ‘little salary’ to screenwriters to be on set
He said, “In 1999, when I first started, I’d never read the comics, so I really didn’t have that much context of how important it was. It happened when my paperwork wasn’t right at customs in Canada and I was told I’m being sent back. I was like, ‘Oh, I just lost the biggest break of my life.’ I told the guy behind the counter, who had been so cold, and he goes, ‘Sorry, I don’t understand. You mean you’re an animator?’ And I said, ‘No. It’s a normal movie, live action.’ He goes, ‘Hang on, you’re Wolverine in live action?’ And then I was doing photos, autographs, and every bit of paperwork just got stamped.”
Jackman said that it wasn’t until the second X-Men movie that he recognised how important the character is in pop-culture. It was on the first X-Men movie that Jackman first met Kevin Feige, who was then a production assistant, but is now the president of Marvel Studios. He recalled that Feige went out of his way to be nice, even when the director, Bryan Singer, made it obvious that he didn’t want him around. He said, “I was flying up to do a [screen] test with the director, and it was lunch hour. The director was like, ‘I don’t understand what’s going on, I’ve got Dougray Scott playing the part. Why am I auditioning another guy?’ I’ve never known more that I’m not getting a part.”
He continued, “Anyway, as I left, Kevin came up and said, ‘Hey man, I’ll drive you to the airport.’ I said, ‘Kev, you don’t have to. I’ll just get a cab.’ And he goes, ‘No, no. I’ve made us a reservation, we’ll get a steak before you get on the plane.’ I said, ‘Kev, please. We’re all grown-ups here. We all know what’s going on and you don’t have to do that.’ But he did, and he took me out for a steak dinner.”
Jackman said that Feige also sneakily gave him some X-Men comic books while they were working together on the film, because Singer had banned them from set. Directed by Shawn Levy, Deadpool & Wolverine will be released in theatres next week. The film is expected to deliver the biggest box office debut of the year, and will run uncontested in India as well.
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