Deborra-Lee Furness Once Quipped That Hugh Jackman Is Scary on His Wolverine Diet
Hugh Jackman’s training routine to get into superhero shape can be more than a chore to get through. And according to his ex-wife Deborra Lee-Furness, the dieting often puts him in a mood that’s very similar to his Wolverine character.
How Hugh Jackman’s dieting changes him according to Deborra-Lee Furness
Jackman’s training routine for Wolverine doesn’t only affect him on a physical level, but a mental one as well. Before his days as a Marvel hero, Jackman wasn’t as experienced with physical fitness as he’d later become. Although he used to work at a gym, he more or less pitied some of the weightlifters he’d see before coming one himself.
“Before X-Men I’d never lifted a weight in my life. I used to work at a gym and I’d make fun of all the guys in the weight room. I thought the way they’d look in the mirror for two hours a day was ridiculous,” he once told Toronto (via Metro).
His stint as the anti-hero forced Jackman to get into the mindset of the similar bodybuilders he’d see at the gym. But it isn’t a lifestyle that Jackman indulges in when he’s not filming. As soon as the shoot ends, the Prisoners star shamelessly returns to his comfort food.
“I eat embarrassing amounts of crap. I eat embarrassing amounts of bad food,” Jackman once told Bang Showbiz! (via Female First).
Jackman coming off of his superhero diet was also a relief for his ex-wife at the time. Furness would see firsthand how certain food restrictions would affect her partner. She joked that he really would become the tormented Wolverine if pushed too far.
“I think that’s where he finds his rage [for the character] – you don’t give him nice food … really scary! He’s really scary with no food. Wolverine rage,” Furness said. “It takes a lot of discipline. I’m there to witness it. The world’s most disciplined man.”
Hugh Jackman revealed the food has always been the hardest part of becoming Wolverine
Jackman recently had to get back into Wolverine shape for his recent feature Deadpool & Wolverine. He hadn’t played the character since 2017’s Logan, so rebuilding his body back to its prime could’ve been a daunting task for an older Jackman. But there were certain aspects of his training that he found exhilarating.
“When I came back to it, it was really fun and I was thrilled. My body was a little sore at the beginning, but I was thrilled that my body was still responding. And I realized how good it is for your brain,” Jackman told People.
However, he didn’t seem as thrilled to go back to his old diet.
“But the hardest bit…the food,” he said.
“I have to eat a lot. For me, for my body type, I’m naturally skinny. To get the size on, that’s the hardest bit. That’s the bit that does my head in,” Jackman continued.
But in the end, Jackman was able to live up to and even surpass expectations when it came to his superhero physique. So much so that his co-star Ryan Reynolds couldn’t help but be a little frightened by the actor a times.
“I noticed that in the film that we would change things quite quickly and say, ‘Okay, let’s try this and that.’ And particularly the physicality — that ability, the dance and that background — really came in because you would do stuff where I was convinced when you were coming at me a few times, there is no way this guy’s pulling his punch,” Reynolds said. “I will be decapitated by Hugh Jackman, and that will be his f***ing cross to bear, not mine.”
