‘Logan’ Star Hugh Jackman Injured Himself, Stabbed Others, With Wolverine Claws

After nine performances over 17 years, Hugh Jackman decided to bid farewell to the character of Wolverine with Logan, which was released to rave reviews and a healthy box office start on Thursday.

But while it’s clearly an emotional occasion for the Australian actor, who is likely to forever be remembered as the beloved comic-book character, the fact that he isn’t portraying Wolverine any more saves him the hassle of stabbing himself and those around him, something that has probably happened way too often for his liking.

Hugh Jackman confessed to the Entertainment Weekly that he’d repeatedly stabbed both himself and those around him while working on the X-Men franchise.

“I can’t tell you how many people I stabbed, how I stabbed myself. They were killing machines.”

Jackman didn’t make any specific revelations about stabbing anyone with Wolverine’s claws during production on Logan, however, he did recall a particularly harrowing incident during production on a previous X-Men film, which actually saw him stab the stunt double for Mystique in the arm.

“I stabbed the [stunt] double for Mystique right in the arm. Of course I freaked out a little bit. It’s not every day you stab someone.”

It turns out, though, that the woman who was stabbed in the arm by Hugh Jackman had a much different reaction than he expected. That’s because she celebrated the wound rather than seeking the urgent medical attention that she probably required.

“She said, ‘I’ve been stabbed by Wolverine!’ That was one of the first days of shooting. That’s when you realize this is not a normal character, when people are really happy to be stabbed by your character.”

Hugh Jackman looked to decrease the amount of injuries he dolled out by practicing with his claws. Unfortunately, while he was able to stop himself from hitting people, Hugh Jackman “neglected to practice” his follow-through, which culminated in a number of self-inflicted scars.

“I used to have to practice so I wouldn’t hit people [with the claws]. And one thing I neglected to practice was the follow-through. … I’ve got a number of scars on my thighs, and it’s really not cool. Got pretty close to some sensitive areas, but everything’s fine.”

While repeatedly injuring those around him would be as good an excuse as any for Hugh Jackman to quit as Wolverine, he was actually convinced to do so after a discussion with Jerry Seinfeld.

Hugh Jackman made this admission during a 2015 appearance on Live with Kelly, explaining that Seinfeld made him realize that he should go out on top as the character.

“I was having a chat with him about a year ago at his birthday, and he was talking about why he finished the end of the series and how it was riding high. And he said he just always had this feeling, a belief, that you never know when either your energy or the audience’s energy is going to dip over into, ‘Please go!’ He said you should finish on a high note.”

According to the Telegraph, via the Daily Mail, Hugh Jackman has also admitted that he was thinking a lot about legendary English actor John Gielgud when he was considering how to sign off as Wolverine with Logan, which is what led him to take such a dramatic look at the character.

“(Gielgud) said how he played Hamlet 10 times in his life because he never felt he quite got it. I haven’t had quite 10 — I have done nine — but I was really determined, whether it was my best or not, to get everything out that I had ever felt I wanted to say about this character, what he represented.”

[Featured Image by 20th Century Fox]