Hugh Jackman plays Wolverine for the final time in the recently released Logan, and he made it known while promoting the film that he put everything he had into what he knew would be the last time he pumped himself and donned the claws.
Logan has drawn significant critical praise (including our review), due largely to Jackman’s portrayal of the raging mutant superhero in his cinematic curtain call. Evidently, that intense, grueling performance didn’t just consist of what was seen on screen.
Often during the moviemaking process, actors will have to re-record their dialogue in ADR (Automated Dialog Recording) sessions, providing what either couldn’t be recorded during filming or wasn’t picked up properly by microphones as scenes were being shot. But to sound convincing and authentic to what’s being shown on screen, actors don’t simply read their lines over again. They have to re-enact what’s happening in a scene.
For Jackman, that meant running and raging during Logan‘s climactic scene when charging through a North Dakota forest to protect his daughter/clone Laura from the shadowy mercenaries who want to abduct her for experiments (and likely termination). Jackman posted a video to social media to show how much of himself he put into his ADR session, which looked almost as intense as the original scene from the film.
Hi. @WolverineMovie @20thcenturyfox pic.twitter.com/dr95Zx1Nmg
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) March 7, 2017
No director has ever had to tell Jackman to do another take with “more intensity.” At least not when playing Wolverine. Going into a berserker rage and cutting loose with some lethal, claw-slashing violence is the character’s signature and Jackman has captured that well in the nine times he’s played Logan. He knows what the drill is during a climactic Wolverine fight scene.
The only question that might be worth asking is whether or not that was Jackman’s first take in the booth. If so, that’s pretty impressive, no matter how many times he’s played Wolverine running and slashing his way through the opposition. That doesn’t seem like something an actor could do first thing in the morning. But then again, this is Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine. He probably taped this ADR session after two hours of bench press, squats and deadlifts followed by some chicken breasts and broccoli. Thinking about all the carbs he hasn’t been able to eat over the past few years was likely enough for him to tap into some rage.
Just one last thought: If you’re watching that video on your phone, maybe you shouldn’t do it while in the bathroom, lest other people think you are going through something very intense inside that stall. Of course, that might be how Wolverine approaches it every time.
