Hugh Jackman had to follow a strict diet and intense physical training to slip into Wolverine’s skin for the 10th time, which he documented on social media.
After putting his adamantium claws away following Logan after 17 years of loyal service, Hugh Jackman no longer regularly lifted weights. But when he accepted Ryan Reynolds’ proposition to reprise the character for Deadpool & Wolverine, the actor had to get back to training, and not just a little bit!
Before filming, he revealed to Empire that now in his fifties, his physical preparation was “really harder than before.” He added, optimistically: “I have 6 months to prepare. I want to be in the best shape possible, even better than ever. I want to be able to do even more things than before. And I have an extra motivation: getting Ryan Reynolds out of his hole every day.” This was followed by months of impressive training that he documented before, during, and after filming the movie, currently in theaters, by regularly posting photos and videos of his sessions on Instagram with the hashtag #becomingwolverineagain.
But that wasn’t the hardest part! Resuming daily training was not the most challenging part of Hugh Jackman’s preparation to become the famous X-Men again, as he told People last May: “When I got back to it, I had a lot of fun and I was thrilled. My body was a bit sore at first, but I was happy that it still responded. And I realized how good it is for the brain. But the hardest part… it was the food.”
“I have to eat a lot. For me, for my body type, as I am naturally thin, the hardest part is getting bigger. That’s what’s bothering me,” admitted the actor, who we have indeed seen much less muscular in recent years in films like Reminiscence or The Son.
This is why Hugh Jackman had to follow a particular diet – based on sirloin steaks, fish, but mostly a lot of chicken and steamed vegetables – to regain his former build. On Twitter, he shared a glimpse of what he had to eat in a day to stay in shape in March 2023, stating: “Bulking. A day in the life. Thank you Chef Mario for helping me stay healthy and properly fed whilst Becoming. Wolverine. Again.”
Once filming was over, he also shared a message of thanks to the film crew on Instagram, stating that he “loved every minute of making this film,” before specifying: “Finally… not the 4 a.m. workouts, or the fish and steamed vegetables 4 times a day for 6 months, but the other 93.2%!” According to the Los Angeles Times, Hugh Jackman had to consume 8300 calories a day (compared to 2700 calories for a “normal” man) in addition to following his rigorous training at the gym to do justice to Wolverine. This he achieved with flying colors, even earning congratulations from his co-star, Ryan Reynolds.
During their interview with People, the Deadpool actor assured that he “couldn’t believe his eyes” at Hugh Jackman’s physicality and his way of shooting action scenes. “You achieve your goals in these fight scenes with a speed and confidence that I had never seen before. It didn’t matter if you were 25, 35, 45, or 55. It was awesome,” he declared to his friend. And he continued, “Watching you do what looked like a stunt class is one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen in my life.” To also be amazed by the action scenes of Deadpool & Wolverine, go to the cinema!