Actor Hugh Jackman says that some of the poor conduct on the set of the first “X-Men” movie would not happen today. In a new interview with The Guardian, the Australian actor reflected back on his breakthrough as Wolverine in 2000’s “X-Men” and the topic of that film’s director Bryan Singer came up.
Singer was seen as one of the primary architects of the modern superhero genre and directed four “X-Men” films in his time, including the first two in 2000 and 2003, ‘Days of Future Past’ in 2014 and ‘Apocalypse’ in 2016.
In recent years, Singer has faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct along with allegations of volatile on-set behavior by several of the actors working on the “X-Men” films.
Jackman was mostly known for his work in theater and a few smaller film and TV roles in Australia, like “Paperback Hero” and “Erskineville Kings,” when he was cast as Logan/Wolverine in “X-Men”. Jackman was brought in after Dougray Scott’s “Mission: Impossible 2” filming commitments left him unable to do the role.
Thus Jackman was an unknown thrust into a major role in his first American production which was already a month into filming when he was cast, along with facing a crisis of confidence from a studio wary about investing in a comic book film.
To say there was intense pressure and egos were clashing would be an understatement, and Jackman tells the outlet:
“This was my first movie in America, you gotta understand; it was all so new to me. I think it’s fair to say that… there are some stories, you know… I think there are some ways of being on set that would not happen now. And I think that things have changed for the better.”
He then goes on to talk more broadly about the industry at large, saying:”
“There’s way less tolerance for disrespectful, marginalizing, bullying, any oppressive behavior. There’s zero tolerance for it now, and people will speak out, and I think that’s great.”
Asked how Singer’s misconduct allegations have impacted how he sees the “X-Men” films now, he says it’s complicated, but he remains proud of the works themselves and their impact on movies in general:
“That’s a really, really complicated question. There are a lot of things at stake there. ‘X-Men’ was the turning point, I believe, in terms of comic-book movies and I think there’s a lot to be proud of. And there’s certainly questions to be asked, and I think they should be asked. But I guess I don’t know how to elegantly answer that. I think it’s complex and ultimately, I look back with pride at what we’ve achieved and what momentum that started.”
Jackman is set to return to the role of Wolverine in “Deadpool 3” which co-stars Ryan Reynolds and will go into production this year ahead of a 2024 release. Jackman has previously teased the film will have the Logan character doing some things we never got to see in the X-Men films.
