The Spotlight: Hugh Jackman explains how a dinner with Jerry Seinfeld convinced him to move on from Wolverine
James Mangold's gritty sendoff of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine character in Logan might earn the superhero genre it's first Best Picture nominee.
In a conversation with fellow actor Willem Dafoe hosted by Variety, Jackman credits Jerry Seinfeld for helping him realize how to end his time with the character.
"I had no idea it would be 17 years," Jackman says of his X-Men tenure. "Honestly what happened was I had a dinner with Jerry Seinfeld, who is a friend of mine. I was asking him about the end of the series. I said, 'How did you decide?' Long story, he kind of said, 'Look, I've always believed you should never spend everything, creatively. Because it's almost Herculean to start up again. You should always have something in the tank. 'Leave the party before it gets too late' kind of theory."
By the time he got home that night Jackman knew it was time to move on. He woke up the next morning with a very clear image on a final act, ending Logan's story with a film about the ramifications of a violent life.
"I was thinking The Wrestler. I was thinking The Unforgiven. That kind of thing," Jackman continues. "The moment I'd had that thought, I was super-charged, super excited, absolutely sure I wouldn't play it again and very nervous. Because it's 17 years. You're a theater man like me. At the end of a long run you really want your last show to be the best. You don't want to finish on a bad note."
Another win for the show about nothing. Catch the entire conversation here.
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Big day.
Holy moly https://t.co/oOOgnKQygp
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) November 29, 2017
BTS.
Congrats.
Teamed up with these lads for the Actor roundtable 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/s2Vp2HmoPB
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) November 29, 2017
Gotta dance.
Come on, Mark.
Many Walkens.
Twins.
