X-Men Star Anna Paquin Says Hugh Jackman Got Put Through the Wringer Making the First Movie

Filmmaking methods have come a long way in the past 20 years, with films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe able to convey fantastical fight scenes relatively easily, though X-Men star Anna Paquin recently detailed that the shoot was especially difficult for Hugh Jackman, who was put through the “wringer” during the production. Despite how tough it was for Jackman, Paquin noted that it never dampened his spirits, as he managed to keep a delightful attitude throughout the whole shoot. Jackman would go on to star as Wolverine for nearly two decades, ultimately saying goodbye to the character with 2017’s Logan.

“Hugh was definitely my best friend on the first one. Then they actually started bringing in cast members that were close to my age, so there was a kind of younger little gaggle of late teens, twentysomethings,” Paquin explained to SiriusXM. “But Hugh was the person that I was close to because I had all my scenes with him and he’s just wonderful. We spent so much time together in the first one and he is still a lovely, gracious human being. He got put through the wringer on that first one and never, ever complained. Like minus 40, he’s being dropped off some building onto his back over and over and over again. He still had all the time in the world to be a nice, normal person.”

Paquin and Jackman would star together in three more X-Men films, with the actor recalling an intimate moment she shared with Jackman in which their friendship was put to the test.

“I did, at one point while we were doing the truck stuff in the very beginning, he had his claws out but he’s also supposed to be smoking a cigar, so I did have to pick the cigar out of his teeth because he couldn’t do it with his claws without causing personal damage. But what are friends for?” Paquin pointed out.

While Paquin last appeared in the franchise with 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, Disney would go on to purchase the rights to the characters when they acquired 20th Century Fox back in 2019. Given that this means those beloved characters can now be incorporated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, some audiences are hoping to see those iconic performers return as their characters. WandaVision and its magical nature even found a way to have Evan Peters appear in the series as Quicksilver, who played the part in the X-Men series while Aaron Taylor-Johnson played the role previously in the MCU.

Stay tuned for details on the future of the X-Men.

Are you hoping to see Paquin and Jackman return as Rogue and Wolverine? Let us know in the comments below!