Happy Sad Confused - Hugh Jackman

Episode Date: December 15, 2014

Hugh Jackman is one of the nicest guys in showbiz. He’s charming, he sings, he dances, he acts – he does it all! Hugh joins Josh to chat about starring in a small production on Broadway called The River, how theatre is like sex, his dad always being his rock, what lead to him being cast as Wolverine, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Eligibility restrictions apply. See Golden Nuggett Casino.com for details. Please play responsibly. Hey guys, welcome to another edition of Happy Said Confused. I'm Josh Horowitz, and this is my podcast. Welcome aboard. If you're new to the show, welcome back. Hopefully you've enjoyed past episodes.

And hopefully you're going to enjoy this one. I know I did. This is, you know, it's a cliche to say. There are a few people they always talk about as like, this is the nicest guy in showbiz. And yeah, you hear the same names over and over again. Tom Hanks and this guy, Hugh Jackman. Hugh Jackman. He really is. He's the coolest guy. I can't even tell you. He what you see is what you get with Hugh. He is charming. He is clearly insanely talented. He sings. He dances. He acts. He does it all. Including starring in a kind of a small production on Broadway right now. It's really cool. It's called the River.

and we talk about this one a bit. It's a challenging play. It's it's, it's edgy material. It's from a really talented playwright named Jez Butterworth. And it's, if you can get tickets, go out and check it out because you have not seen Hugh do a role like this before. And the good news, as we talk a little bit about in the podcast, is that despite it being clearly going to be a sold-out run and it runs through early February, they're making tickets available each and every day. So go to the website for the show, for the river, and get the details on how to get in to see it because it's worth your time. As is this podcast, because as I said, Hugh is super awesome in every conceivable way.

We got a chance to kind of go down memory lane a little bit and talk about his beginnings. You know, Wolverine was the one that obviously made his career and the story of how he got that and the struggle for that is, fascinating, plus lots of cool stuff along the way, his ups and downs and to the point where he is kind of ruling Hollywood with an iron, very pleasant fist. This was a treat. Hugh is somebody that I've been privileged to get to know the last few years and to think that he took the time out from his very busy schedule to come by when he really didn't have to is uh it's a it's a huge honor so i hope you guys enjoy this one as much as i did uh as always guys go over to wolfpop dot com check out our other shows over there there's so much good

stuff uh hit me up on twitter joshua harrowitz and uh in the meanwhile the only thing you have to do it's really easy is sit back and enjoy this podcast interview with mr hugh jackman Things are good. Great. Things are good. Busy, but good. As they are for you, I'm sure. So this is your office, office?

This is literally where the magic happens. You can see I'm bouncing off of a lot of silliness. This is a painting by Danny McBride of me. Oh, really? That's fantastic. So at the end of this interview, you have to obviously paint a... Do something. Something.

I'll just do it directly on the wall. Yeah, exactly. Like a child. I love it. Like the child that you are. No, thanks for doing this. Because obviously, congratulations. I saw you after the play recently.

Thank you for coming, man. Oh, of course. Because I know you've got nothing on. I got nothing going on. Lucky, it's a short play. That's always good. No, but I know you don't have to do press for this. This must be a sold-out run.

Are you enjoying it? How's it going? Loving it. You know, I think one of the reasons I want to sort of get out and tell people about it is, apart from the play, and jazz is one of the great playwrights out there. And I love the fact that everyone going in there has no idea what's going to happen. But also I love what Sonia Friedman in the British. producers done and Paul Libbon at Circle in the Square by offering tickets for everyone,

you know? So there are, we release tickets each week for 35 bucks. So if people want to see it, um, I was like one of those. I was one of the ones who cued up and did standing room only for shows. I heard you talk about that for, for, for Hughie, right? Yeah. And so if there's people like that, I just love that they've made that available. And not just a few tickets, like a lot of tickets each week. So yeah. So yeah. And there, as I said to you, there's not, obviously, there's not a seat in the house it's a small theater it's eight rows back which in any theater is a house seat right right that's your top seat that's the back row um it's just so intimate and it's i'm just loving doing that it's been such a long time since i've done that i mean obviously when you're drama school and

early on everything's small right because you can't feel it but uh now it's it's such a thrill to go just back to that intimate space is this as close as you get to kind of like the routine like a day job like your home obviously you have a written nice schedule i love it But I'm a quiet, I'm a, I'm a, what's the politically correct term for it? I think of something which is, but I'm a pack horse. I am quiet as an actor. I mean, I love the things that change, but give me a routine and I'm happiest, particularly this routine because I get to, I finish and I'm home and I sit on my son's bed

and chat with him for half hour about his day, but I'm there when they come home from school. I can be there in the morning, I can hang out during the day. So you get, you feel like. like you're having two days and one. You're doing a job. I love going to work and I love being at home. So it's, or doing whatever. So what do you find, because you're probably a month or two in now, you've got a little more to go, obviously. Are you, how do you not go to autopilot mode? I mean, you've done these long runs before, obviously longer than this one even. Yeah. It, like, do you have devices where, like, where you know, where you can feel like?

It's a way you're directed. It's a way you rehearse. So a director who leaves things really open for exploration might give you a color to play in a scene or a point of concentration rather than I need you to hit that and when you do this line to get the life you go to say it like that the more specific they are the harder it is to break out of that and the harder it is not for it to feel routine but it's literally like okay I can give you two analogies see which one works for you one is like if you're a golfer it's the same game you're hitting same ball with the same clubs but day one of a major or day two you want you are wanting it to be better and better every time you want to go deeper you want to play that shop better you're never fully satisfied

right um the other analogy i have used in the past is sex i mean it's hopefully listeners are not going to have sex just once in their life right each time right it's great that's what theater is theater is sex do you feel like it's interesting because you i know what no follow up on that obviously. But I mean, you've done obviously such different kinds of shows where you do like this roaring big musical like boy from Oz that has like the audience hooting and hollering throughout. And this one, it's so still and you can hear a pin drop at times. You must get off on that in a different way of just hearing that silence and just everybody's in it. In a way, there's something in common. There is an electricity in both. And it's that people always

say, oh, do you do this for the applause? And weirdly, that's not as satisfying the end or the standing innovation that's not as satisfying is that moment when you know mid song mid scene dance number where everyone is in together feeling it together there and in this play there are really powerful moment you can feel the goosebumps you can feel that i have no idea what's going to happen and they're hanging on every word and it's so it kind of feels the same in a very different way if that makes sense yeah yeah it's thrilling and you know to be given these words by someone as great as jazz butterworth is a rare thing i mean i know you talked about this i mean theater theatrical productions are not they don't get up off the ground in two months it takes planning

and especially with your crazy schedule it again it's kind of sounds like you've almost found a weird routine in that like i mean correct me if i'm wrong i feel like you're probably thinking in a year or two blocks where it's like okay i've got i've got a player musical i want to do and i'm going to take the best possible material around that i mean it's you've really prioritized making sure theater is always a part of it well that was that was was a decision, a definite decision. And I've always, I have this incredible agent Patrick Wetzel who was like their young hot shot when I signed with him almost 20 years ago and now runs William Morrison as like, yeah, massive power broker. But right from the beginning,

he's always said, you know, you've got to stay true to your DNA, what speaks to you. And it's good to push yourself, but always, for me, it's going back to the theatre, doing film, doing variety. That's always been what has got the best out of me. I find out of After I do a play, I go back on a soundstage and I am on a set and I am much sharper in front of the camera. There's something about the rigor of eight times a week. You have to be in that zone, right? There's no like, I'll come out of my trailer when I'm ready. You've got to be on.

And it makes you much sharper and more disciplined in a way as an actor. And you get that feeling of the audience. But it actually, you're right. You've smartly looked at my career. It feels actually even more planned than it is. because it's like two or three year gaps regularly I've gone musical play musical play but that has been

a little more happenstance more if anything there's the desire to keep all those options open to keep going back was from 15 years ago was the plan do you find are you bad with downtime because it feels like I mean I mean the last couple times I saw you you know you did the Tony's and literally I think it was

the next morning you flew off you did Pan and then you sounds like he probably didn't have much time off that came right into this play yeah And before that was X-Men, it's like, it's, it's, it's probably, I don't know if you're the same. Like, you're always busy, right? I can actually look back to when I was 15, 4, 12, I was always busy. Partly it's the youngest of five kids and you watch your older brothers and sisters go play cricket and do this and you're not allowed to yet.

And it's that feeling of, I don't want to miss out, I don't want to miss out. It's true. It's like, even this podcast is like literally I, there's no reason for me to do this except I want to do it. Well, that's a great position to be in, you know. That's the greatest way to be busy. Sometimes in my life I've been busy for the wrong reasons, you know. I've been busy because I did a job. I didn't want to let someone down, you know, or I did it for someone else and not, and, you know, that is when you can get into trouble.

But generally, the things in my life that I'm doing, I really love it. And it is hard to find the balance, particularly with family and kids. And I like to think that I'm someone who's totally cool, not working, but maybe I'm not. I haven't really given it much of a go Michelle's good Yeah exactly A lot of body language to read in this room We've obviously talked a lot

But we've never had the opportunity For like a long chat So I want to talk a little bit of background I mean obviously I'm just curious of like influences And sort of like what your first passions were growing up Were you a movie geek Were you a theater first movies or what

Or pop culture? Both My dad My dad was into taking us to the theater I don't think he was overly into it, but we grew up going to the theatre, and I loved it. I mean, when I was 18, I remember my birthday present was a season ticket to the Sydney Theatre Company

because I wanted, and I, that was, once a month, I went to go and see a new show, and I'd go on my own, and he bought me the, he's an accountant, he bought me the cheap package, so I was only allowed to go Saturday matinee. Right. So I was by far the youngest person in the audience, you know. And I used to love that, and I always did theatre.

I did musicals, I did plays, we would put on our own plays at school. So I was reeling into sport, but good at it, but not great. I was reeling into theatre, I was better at that, and all types of theatre. And I loved movies. I never thought being in movies was a possibility. There was somewhere, and I thought, okay, maybe I could be on stage, or maybe that's a possibility. But even when I went to drama school, I was not thinking I was going to be in movies. That's been a complete surprise to me.

Were there examples around? you like what were the first kind of people around you within even at least shouting distance that actually kind of forget it to where you want to be hugo weaving but first first time for those who don't know hugo weaving they were known from the matrix or all the those movies with the brothers which is true yes and he went to the school I went to and I was taken to the high school by my dad to as an I was 10 and this is the school you're going to go to sort of thing. So he took me to a production of Manlovencha. And I remember buying the recording of it and listening to it over and over again. And I can still see his performance over how

incredible he was. He would have been 16 and 17 at the time. And I remember meeting him when I graduated from drama school and I was asked to do this thing at this event and he was there. And I was kind of really starstruck. And he's an amazing, amazing act. That was the first time as someone at my school from where I'm at had gone on to have a career sure and that was the first time I thought it was possible and I went to one of those kind of fancy schools where you meant to be a lawyer doctor judge that kind of thing so and and acting was a hobby and what was always saw him and I thought you know what you can do it was your family was your was your was your dad's attitude was he cool with the ones yeah I didn't think he was going to be cool about

I went to him. It's a good story because I auditioned for a drama school and I got in and then I was so thrilled. I scraped in. It really did. I had to do like a couple of callbacks and they told me you're on the sort of waiting list and I got in. And then the letter came the next day saying you need to bring your check for three and a half grand, right? And I hadn't even thought because in Australia a lot of education is free, right, particularly when I was there. So university was free and I went, oh, right.

enough, well, and I literally tore it up, put it in the bin. And the day after, my dad's mom's bequest came in from her will, and it was $3,500. That's crazy, right? That'll make you believe. And I'm like, in the garbage, I'm like, yeah, I meant to be doing this, I'm going to be doing. But then I was like, I'll get to tell dad. Like, I wonder what dad will think, three enough grand. And I went to, I said, you know, this is what I want to use the money for kind of thing.

And he said, I couldn't think of a better way for. he to use it. He was always big on education and he said, you know, really, at one point I had a choice between being in a very popular soap opera neighbors at the time or going to drama school afterwards, a full three-year drama school. And I asked my dad his advice and he said, I can't answer that for you. And I was like, ah, please now. Don't give me your 21 and you make your own, just give me an easy answer. Treat me like a kid for a second. Please. Tell me what to do. Tell me to go to bed. Something. And when I told him my decision to go to go to drama school, he was overjoyed.

And I was like, why couldn't you just show me a little bit of that? Just a little bit. Why did you play poker so well? I had no idea what he thought was the right thing to do. But he was very supportive, always supportive. And you've seen my own show, but I tell the story at Carnegie Hall when he flew in literally 24 hours, like he had 24 hours in New York. And that's 24-hour flight each way either end to go to Australia, to come and see that.

And I, you know, cut a long story short, I told him it was casual, but he wore a black tie. And when we all, he wanted to walk me to the stage door and when I said, Dad, no one's worrying about tie apart from the choir. And he goes, my son has performed me at Carnegie Hall. That is black tie for me. And I remember seeing him, actually, in the, because at Carnegie Hall, you can see the audience.

It's that opera kind of circular seating. And I could see him while I was sitting down crying. See, there's something that like that really like touches. is like, because I was watching, you know, when I was reading up last night and watching some video, like, I saw your acceptance speech for a boy from Oz, for instance. And it's like, it's like, connecting those moments where you're like, you're reaching this life goal. And then you see out of the audience and it's like, you see your dad. And it's just like it brings it all together. And it's like you're still that kid. You're still. I'm still the kid who wants my dad's approval. And, you know, one he's, and, uh, that'll probably never go. Yeah. Hopefully in a good way. He's, uh, he's always been my rock in, you know. And, and. I think back now to the wisdom of that decision not to say anything to me is amazing. But I don't know, if I didn't have him as a father and I hadn't had that example and flash forward 10 years and my son's asking me, I'm telling, I would have told him. No, no, no, do this, man.

You know, but here's faith, I suppose, in me. And also the patience and love to say, hey, if you're going to make a mistake, make it your mistake. Right. Don't make it my. You've got to make your own path now and live with it. it's a hard thing to do but you know he was it is a great man kind of in the still waters run deep kind of category i'm curious so you know in your 20s through drama school and i know you you you know you get on some tv shows in australia you get some acclaim there you get into

oklahoma which is a big turning point i would think right huge were you before wolverine like were you up for a lot were you doing a lot of hollywood auditions like were you ever close to anything no i did like a general audition uh so close to anything no i'm trying to think there were no nothing i'd literally just sort of signed because of oklahoma and the stir that it made yeah in america because of being an american classic and so i got reviewed i got an agent off the back of that but i was on stage so i hadn't actually ever done the meetings or and i put down a it was my first audition really for an american movie and so my agent was like look just keep going little people are seeing this and i ended up doing about six or seven

auditions over a nine month period um and i never really thought i would do it but my agent was This is great. Look, Bill Mechanic, who was running 20th Century Foxy. He goes, Bill Mechanic wants to see. He wants to actually do a proper film test, you know, the cameras and all that. So this is great. So it was a bit of a shock. Well, that's the irony is, like, looking back, that was actually the casting against type for you.

That was not your career, what you were going for. You had just been in Oklahoma, and you're a foot too tall for the role. In every way. And anyone who knows me knows that I couldn't be further from, like, Wolverine. Even my kid, I've heard friends of Oscars say, Oh, your dad, Wolverine, and he'll go, listen, I'm just going to be up front. He's nothing like Wolverine. He is not cool, he's not tough, nothing like that, okay?

And just shuts it down immediately, and he's absolutely right. So in the kind of luckiest things that have ever happened to me category, being cast in that first was great. I mean, if I'd done, say I'd come here and done boy from Oz first, I would never have been seen for it. Right. You know what I mean? And I think just the fact that nobody knew who I was probably helped.

It feels like it's kind of a, I wonder if today you would be cast in that role and just the environment that Hollywood's in right now. Like, again, also the fan boy service that's out. Like would they be so scared to like cast again, this guy that's a foot too tall? Like back in the day, it was like Bob Hoskins was the ideal for the role. Like that was the guy that should have been. And the effort that went to on X-Men 1 to make me look short, I swear I got there. I never wore my shoes, ever, and I had trenches built.

Jimmy Marsden had to stand on these, like, platform shoes. There is one shot in the movie where you can see his belt, and he looks so weird like he's got his pants, because he's actually standing, like, a 60, and he's not a short guy about it. This is the War of the Rings way back away. And luckily, Fomker and Rebecca, they were all really tall. Yeah.

The only person on said who was allowed to be shorter than me was Anna Pac-Wan, because she was a kid, right? Right. So we went to such effort, and it was such paranoid. annoyer about it. But yeah, probably now no. Do you feel like you had a beat on it from the get-go? Yeah, I remember even in that audition. I think it was probably in a grumpy mood. I wasn't a grumpy mood because I had to do the audition between shows. And I ran from the theater to do it. And then I had to go back to the theater. And Oklahoma was a three-hour show. So it was a lot of singing

all day. And I had two shows to do, blah, blah, blah. And I remember sitting there and they would keep me waiting. And they knew. And I'm like, you guys know I have to be back on stuff I have to go and I actually went and I I said guys listen I don't know where I'm at in the list and I'm sure you're running behind I've got to go I've got to go they probably like that because that's what Wolverine would be able he wouldn't suffer fools you're like totally and I remember fuck this I got a another thing to do I would like to see that tape and I had a perm for one I was playing curly I literally had a perm and because I wore a baseball cap

and he goes take the cap off I said I don't think so I think it's good help anybody nobody wants that I want so And I remember going, you go, can we just go? They said, do you want to, no, let's just roll tape. I've got to go in five minutes, let's go. And I said, okay, done, let's do the next one. And I think they'll be like, who is this dick-in? One, and B, he's perfect.

Exactly. Finally, a time when you want to be a dickhead. We get rid of the perm. Actually, the feedback came, get rid of the perm and lose the southern cowboy accent, you know. Amazing. How the hell I ever got cast? Unbelievable. In the wake of that, it's interesting to look like, you know,

in retrospect now, like the films that you did after. I mean, how did you feel about, like, the choices you were making or the opportunities you were getting them? Because it feels like looking at the first few films after, you know, they're, you know, in all honesty, they're not the best films probably on your resume, but you then in the middle of that, you have Boy from Oz, and then it feels like you click into,

suddenly there's the prestige and you're working with Woody Allen, and it goes to another level, the fountain. It's true. I think at first, and I told you, I have the greatest agent, and he was like, man, you've got this hit and this thing they're probably going to do another one and I want to put you in some movies

where the movie's not hanging on you because and I've seen it I don't want to give examples you've seen many times someone has a hit and then all of a sudden they get given three movies and they come out in a year and career over you know if it doesn't work when it feels like the public resents that's like

who decided this guy is like a car leading man now we'll figure it out exactly and I so I did a number of movies which I really like doing like Caden Leopold or someone like you or Swordfish where it wasn't hanging on my name and I got to, I had no experience in film and I'd done

one TV series in Australia. I really had done nothing and all of a sudden I was getting called all these calls and if you look at those choices I was really trying to do things that showed other ranges. So that was that and, you know, yeah, I don't think they'll end up being the ones that people you know, if they're doing in retrospect of my life, they'll be doing those screenings.

But I learned so much. I got a lot out of those. And, hey, Jim Engold, and that was a great move. I really loved doing that movie. That one stands out in that period, totally. It does, actually. Yeah.

And then Boy From Oz, what happened with Boy From Oz was, when we opened, we got really bad reviews, which I don't read, but I was told. I mean, we had it, you know when you get a company meeting the day after the reviews, and the producer comes in and goes, we really believe in this,

and we're not closing it yet it was one of those we stood in a circle and I'm like so they're all ribs I should have read this because I thought we were doing okay we were able to tell him

the audience seemed to be liking it anyway it ended up being a big hit but there was a ropey period there but in that moment I remember feeling totally apiece with it even if it failed and I had a lot of people

not my agent but a lot of people who said this is a bad idea for you to do but I just felt I had to do it and it was a gut reaction and weirdly off the back of that Darren Aronowski cast me in the fountain off the back of that and Spilberg saw me do that

and was the one who suggested me for the Oscars and I mean Woody Allen's people and it was all of these things where people saw a whole different side to me and gave me these happen and then that's when I clicked into if you have the opportunity to work with the greatest directors you can right And it was Nicole Kippman who told me that, too.

Nick was always like, if you get the option, work with the greatest directors. Because as an actor, it's not easy to get better in film. It's not easy to challenge to get any better. You'll only get better if you work with great directors. It's so true. I mean, to a man, like the actors that I respect. I mean, I've said this for years.

If you look at what Tom Cruise did in the early years, he's working with Sidney Pollock and Scorsese and Oliver Stone. It's like, that's the way to do it. Don't just like go for the payday. Go for. just go for the talent surround yourself by the best people and they'll make you look good

yeah and I was inexperienced in film so I mean Nolan and Woody Allen and Baz Luhrman these guys Darren Aronski I learned a lot about how to be on a set and I would say it took me

three or four years I feel in the last three or four years the culmination of that what I call my film acting school was probably thank God nine years and I don't know if I deserve nine year apprenticeship

but I got it. And I feel that that's starting to pay off now. When you look at The Fountain, which I think is a profoundly beautiful film, emotional film, wrenching experience for an audience member, does it feel that way to you too? I mean, was the experience of that, like, it must have been extraordinary. It was a life-changing experience and profound is a great word for it. I'm still, to this day, so grateful to Darren and the memory of working with him. and every time I think of him

he's literally next to the camera lens and like a brother that feeling of literally working with someone who's like a brother and he will go further than anyone

and that I he's like a general of the old school and I won't tell who the actor is but I never forget this actor going I was about take four or five and Darren can be perfectionist and he goes oh come on you've got it haven't you got it Darren

and he goes I don't understand why you don't want to do another one. He said, oh, come on. He goes, so hang on a sec. I've just spent however many years writing this, doing this, but this morning, about an hour and a half lighting this for you to act. Isn't this what you want to do? Isn't, do you want to be in your trailer?

Do you want to sit there? I thought you'd want to be here. And he treats that set like a cathedral, like chapel, church, synagogue, anything. It's a sacred. space and that respect he has for actors and for the work I have never forgotten and that was a life-changing experience I mean this is what you hear about somebody like you know he gets digs about his many takes but like you hear about Fincher and he always says and he said to me and many others it's like this is for posterity it's like we're we're there to make it as good as possible

totally I'm not trying to get to dinner quickly I'm trying to make the best movie that will stand the best of time yeah there's no argument no I mean on some level I kind of admire the Hootspur of the people who are like, I've done a take, you got it. Right. I'm like, really, you think of that good? I'm one of those guys. I'm the guy on the putting green is like, give me another hundred balls. Like, I'm sure I can do that better.

I just, I know I'm going to go to bed and that scene I will never do again in my life. Yeah. Ever again. So I don't, I want to go to bed just going, I gave everything. Another, I would call them a modern master, Christopher Nolan, prestige, which is another, just a gem. just talk to me a little bit about what he what is he seems to be very again someone who who knows how to do his job better than virtually anybody and it takes it seriously and oh yeah what's i mean what's the environment of a there is a weird ease about him even from

the studio point of view he makes these big studio movies in the studio even the studio people will come and go i'm meant to come and turn up like i'm here like there's nothing for us to do just everyone crowds into the daily trailer and there's no notes to give him because it's all brilliant right but i just have to turn up and i remember them sitting there going hi you know he's there's a real ease about him he wears the same overcoat every day same shoes i don't know if he still does that and he finishes on time every day uh i remember my lawyer at the time saying oh hugh has this kind of trailer i just i'd never get involved with that stuff and chris will ring my lawyer and say hey i'll do you a deal i'm not going to give a full trailer to an actor i'm going to they're going to

share a trailer. So Christian and I had a half trailer each. He says, but I'll promise you that he will never be sitting in that trailer for more than 15 minutes. And he was true to his work. And even that, which is, I mean, not a small film. It's a big film. And all on like, I shot in Los Angeles for England. It was unbelievable. And he gives you a freedom to do your thing. He loves you to create a character. But you just have this great safety in it of knowing that he has this incredible taste and if you're going off a little bit too much or again i learned a lot about film acting from him too and how you need to make it your own and how you need to create a full character that you've got to do the homework right you've got to bring that to set and 10% of what you give

he'll guide you this way but 90% you'll just let you fly he's someone that's always worn his influences of um of i know he's like a huge james bond fan i'm waiting for one day i feel like one day he will actually make a james bond film i'm sure he will Which will be amazing, of course. By the way, I remember getting, after I hosted the Oscars, he gave me a handwritten note because he was there, it was the year with Heath. Probably Inception or Dark Night, yeah, of course, yeah, yeah, yeah. And his note meant probably more to me than anyone because he's one of those bit like my dad. He doesn't give the praise easily.

Right. But when it comes, you never forget it. Speaking of Bond, there was talk, is this one of those old wives tales? Was that ever something that you came close to doing or they said that you turned it down? No, what happened was I got a, my agent said that he had had a call from the bond people asking if I was interested.

You know that typical cigarette service kind of way. I've since found out in chatting to other drunken Brits actors. Five or six people got that phone call. Daniel being one of them. Daniel went for it. At the time I just didn't, and I really thought about it. I actually remember ringing Russell Crow to get his advice on him.

Because I'd always, in a way, dream. That's hard to say no to. But I just started the X-Men thing. And that had taken off. And I was like, my life would be bond. I mean, hey, high-class problems. But I was quite obsessed with that time about variety. Do you...

Pop-pong. I mean, obviously, in the last few years, we've talked a lot about this Wolverine character, who, like the character itself, will never die for you. Clearly, he just keeps going and going, which is amazing. It will. Josh, that. Well, it doesn't seem.

close at hand. You're working on another solo project, another Wolverine. Jim Mangold and I working on it really hard and I'm very, very excited about that actually. You're factoring somewhere into X-Men Apocalypse, right? You're going to pop in there somewhere. You know, I have been speaking to the guys and I am not at liberty to tell exactly what's going on, which is largely framing my answer here. But there's still a lot unknown, actually, about that. But I do know. It's a very exciting things about integrating the whole X-Men world including the Wolfram movie so there's some really cool things going on

yeah I got the chance to talk to Oscar Isaac the other day who's playing Apocalypse the bad guy which is awesome isn't that awesome yeah do you still geek out about like I mean just again as a film fan like he's also in Star Wars and like everybody like I watched the Star Wars trailer like 15 times like I'm like still 12 years old yeah I mean do you get excited I mean have you

become a little jaded beast knowing how the sausage is made it Star Wars or Indiana Jones I still turn into a geek yeah because that's what I They're the turning points for me. Indiana Jones when I was 12. Yeah. You're going to laugh now.

It's all right. No, I mean, Indiana Jones, I've got the fedora right here. What a segue you just did. I love it. Perfect. In our last couple seconds here, moments here. Yes. There's some random questions in there.

Do you want to pick one or two? I love to. Okay. Here we go. Favorite cartoon character? Superman. Growing up with Superman. The League of, no, what was the League of Justice League and the cartoon was

The Hall of Dune was Super Friends, super friends. But there was a Hall of Dune that came out of a swamp. Yes. That was the bad guys. Yeah, bad guys. Were they the Hall of Doom? There was the Fortress of Solitude. Yes.

We're very rusty. Love it. That was my favorite Saturday morning go-to. Nice. I like Plastic Man as well. I thought he was funny. It was good. The Wachowski's were going to do a plastic man.

No. Way back when. Really? Yeah. They had a script and everything. Really? Yeah. I can't.

And then. Then Matrix got a little bit. A little film. Good choice. Yeah, exactly. Went to the Matrix. beard or mustache oh beard you're gifted in that you can i mean pan black beard oh this is this is funky going on that had a little sort of goatee but that was a serious mo that was a serious mo into the whole thing

and the greatest thing about it i spent three days at disney world with my daughter and three of her friends for a birthday not one not once literally not once to the point where i actually was like hey it's me is Deb at this point just sort of like whatever they do to your face fine I've seen it all yeah no no she she's like great it's like having an affair every three months but she was most thrilled that I wasn't being recognized she loved that amazing I mean to walk into Harry Potter world it was just awesome which is amazing by the way having my butter beer bring it on you had butter beer oh my god it's not as good as it sounds I will say I couldn't even get through the whole thing it's very sweet oh I don't think it's allowed with your I've seen your Instagram workouts it is allowed mate none of that that is probably 11,000 calories. It's about like one o'clock or something. How much have you bench pressed today? How many people have you just lifted over your shoulders? So many.

How many have I eaten? That's what you meant to say. Yeah, I've done a bit. Who knows what's coming up next year? So I'm a skinny guy by nature. So part of my fear is I'm really healthy. I have a great trainer who like, I used to have dodgy knees because in the early days I try and get into shape too quickly.

And now so there's a few things like a bench press, a dead. lift and a squat and if I have a number to hit and if I don't hit that I feel like I'm off the wagon and it's just going to be a declining slow or quick downhill and by the way that time will come probably sooner than we all think where I won't need to do it and you watch how fast I fall off and you're like who is that skinny guy walking around he was going to bench press me a few times and go off to do another show today and probably shoot another movie in his downtime uh thanks for stopping by them it's always a pleasure man thank you and uh Congrats on all you do.

And I love that you didn't have to do this. I love that. This is fun. I mean, hello. Thank you, buddy. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Wolf Pop is part of mid-roll media, executive produced by Adam Sacks, Matt Goorley, and Paul Shear.

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