ABC/Ida Mae Astute(LOS ANGELES) — Hugh Jackman rose to stardom playing the iconic Logan/Wolverine character in 2000’s X-Men. At the time, Jackman was a substitute for actor Dougray Scott, who had been cast but then dropped out. Seventeen years later, Jackman is now virtually synonymous with Wolverine, though he says his new movie, simply called Logan, will mark his last appearance as the razor-clawed mutant. Still, he says he’ll miss the comic book hero he’s played in nine movies.
“It’s kind of like leaving the best part of your life,” Jackman told Michael Strahan. “There’s a point where you should go, and this is just that time and I hope it will never leave me. The fans come up to me every day of my life and I love them…this character, I love.”
The idea for a stark film featuring a beaten-down version of Wolverine awoke him from sleep nearly “two years to the day,” the actor explained. “We tried to make something that didn’t feel like a comic book movie…a movie that people [who] never, ever seen a comic book movie who would go to.”
Directed by Oscar-winner James Mangold, who called the shots on The Wolverine, Jackman’s Logan hits theaters March 3, but has already received rave reviews.
With the Oscars two days away, Jackman, a veteran song and dance man who hosted the awards show in 2009, said this year’s host, Jimmy Kimmel, is probably “quite relaxed.”
“Now you go into this thing of camera rehearsals, and today’s Friday so he will be at the stage today,” Jackman explained. “[T]hat guy is a pro. I love Jimmy and I think he’s going to be so excited. It’s his moment…my goal was to have the time of my life whether it worked or not.”
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