Hugh Jackman ‘Put Through the Wringer’ on ‘X-Men’ Set, Says Anna Paquin

Ryan Lattanzio
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

After at least nine movies appearing as Wolverine, Hugh Jackman is pretty much ready to hang up his hat as the X-Men mutant. (He even revealed as much recently that he’d love for Tom Hardy to take the reins.) Might that have something to do with how physically taxing the role was?

Academy Award winner Anna Paquin (now back on TV with the second season of “Flack” as a self-destructive public relations manager) recently came onto SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show” to talk about her career, and of course the question of “X-Men” came up. The New Zealand-born actress played Rogue in the original live-action “X-Men” franchise. And Paquin said she became fast friends with Jackman on the set of the 2000 movie. (Via The Hollywood Reporter.)

More from IndieWire

“Hugh was the person I was always closest with because I had all my scenes with him,” she said. “He is still a lovely, gracious human being.”

But she also said being close to him made her feel bad for how brutalized he was throughout the production.

“He got put through the wringer on that first one and never ever complained,” she said. “It’s minus 40 [degrees] and he’s being dropped off some building onto his back over and over and over again. And still has all the time in the world to be a nice, normal person.”

Paquin also recalled helping Jackman’s character with his signature cigar during a moment where Wolverine’s claws were out.

“I did have to pick cigar out of his teeth because he couldn’t do it with his claws [out] without causing personal damage,” she said.

Jackman’s deep history as a regular player in the “X-Men” universe included not only Bryan Singer’s 2000 film, but also “X2: X-Men United,” “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “The Wolverine,” “Logan,” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”

Tehe last movie to spin out of the “X-Men” universe was last year’s “The New Mutants,” a critical bomb but, all things considered, a COVID-era box office success, earning $48 million.

Watch the view interview with Anna Paquin discussing her collaboration with Hugh Jackman on the “X-Men” films below.

Best of IndieWire

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.