If you’ve heard the sound of an approaching ‘snikt!’, that’ll be because Logan is fast approaching. As he nears superhero retirement, we chat to Hugh Jackman and his director James Mangold in the new issue of Empire – but keen to squeeze a bit more information out of them, we spoke some more, this time on camera. (You can watch the videos here.)
Playing a version of Wolverine inspired by the Old Man Logan series, Jackman explained how he used a tip from veteran actor Jim Broadbent. “When he was playing older, [Broadbent] would tape a little stone to his heel,” Jackman said. “I would have that, just to remind myself of a limp. [Logan's] body hurts. His joints hurt. His heart hurts. Psychologically, he’s damaged. What’s the collateral damage of being Wolverine for all those years?”
Director James Mangold, meanwhile, expanded a little on his original pitch to the studio: “I said, “I want to make Little Miss Sunshine with Logan, Charles Xavier, and X-23. Trap these superheroes in a van on a highway in the year 2029 and see what happens.’”
Mangold also explained his thought process on the character’s unusual appearances: Jackman “kind of looks like Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven, while Sir Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier has a little bit of hair, which Mangold acknowledged “could be kind of sacrilege. The theory was that he originally lost all his hair because it’s just too damn busy [in his head] to grow hair – the idea for me was, well, maybe there’s a little fringe on there, because things are slowing down mentally.”
Jackman waxed lyrical about his mentor, on and off the screen. “I always tell my wife, ‘when I grow up, I want to be like Patrick Stewart.’” he told us with a chuckle, before recounting the Shakespearean actor’s morning routine. “He wakes up every morning of his life, and for thirty minutes, he gets a cup of tea, and reads a book. He reads something he loves, every day of his life. This guy knows how to live!”
Watch the full video interviews here. For more from Logan team on the most subversive superhero movie yet, be sure to pick up a new issue of Empire, on sale now. Subscribe to Empire here. Logan, meanwhile, arrives in cinemas from 1 March. Enjoy your retirement, bub.