INT: Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman may be one of the most accomplished
actors of his generation. From
his fanboy pleasing work as Wolverine in the X-MEN franchise to his
work on Broadway including THE BOY FROM OZ. He
is also one of the busiest actors as of late with six films released
in 2006 alone. In the new
animated flick from Dreamworks, FLUSHED
AWAY, he plays a small rodent who lives a life of luxury
until he is; you guessed it, flushed down the toilet.
This is a funny flick that will please both children and
adults with a little bit of crude humor. And Hugh and Kate Winslet
are perfectly cast as rats from opposite sides of the septic tank.

I recently had a chance to sit down with Mr. Jackman
at the Ritz Carlton in

Pasadena
,
California

. And this is one time you can
believe the hype; they don’t get much nicer than this man.
When he stepped in the room, he made it a very comfortable
experience. He is a classy guy
that is nice enough to share his French Fries.
He filled us in on what his children can and cannot see of
his work and what is in store for WOLVERINE.
And of course the adventures of two rodents named Roddy and
Rita in FLUSHED AWAY.

Hugh
Jackman

Have
your kids seen the film yet [Flushed Away]?

My son has seen probably 20 minutes; sort of a
20-minute version of it. He’s very excited about it because he had
just turned four when I started work on it and now he’s six and a
half almost. Every time I would do a session, he would ask me what
happened so I’d tell him the next installment. Of course he’d
want a half-hour version of it. Basically the version he’s heard
is sort of like the talking version, like LORD OF THE RINGS kind of
thing. He might be a little disappointed with some of the characters
I’ve invented to sort of pad it out a little bit. They’re not
actually in the final cut of the movie but there’s just enough
bumps on the head, slapstick, fart jokes to really give a go for
him. [laughter].

What did you make up for him?

What did I make up? Oh, I can’t remember now. I make
up stories for him probably every second or third night. Sometimes
he likes me to read and sometimes he just likes the lights off and
we make up stories. I can’t remember what they are.

Is he really creative?

Very. That’s his thing. He has a great imagination.
All the kids at school have to say what they want to be when they
grow up, draw a picture, and Oscar was like, ‘I want to be a
Pharaoh.’ I was like, ‘Excellent. We need one of those in the
family. That’s good.’ We’ll have this instant pass to the
afterlife. This is great. [laughter]

How did they feel about X-Men?
Have they seen it or is it a little too violent for them?

I’ve shown about 20 minutes of X-Men [Part 1] to
Oscar but I figure it’s still a little weird for him to see his
father slicing people in half. Well, he’d probably like it. It’d
probably give him license to go crazy. Get a tan at school so I
thought I’d probably better not do that.

What did you think of Rodney’s choice of the
tuxedo over the Wolverine costume?

Ah, very good. I laughed so much when I saw that. I
thought ‘I don’t know how many people are going to pick this
up?’ It is so brilliant and of course, I didn’t either until I
saw the movie. When I was working on it [hums], that was it, you
know. I thought it was brilliant but probably it’s my choice not
to go with the Wolverine costume. [laughs] That probably would have
been a bit too much.

When I was watching it, what I really loved about
the film was both you and Kate (Winslet)…I felt like you guys were
reading together. There was an amazing chemistry you had from a
cartoon. Did you ever work at all together or was it just…?

No, but I do know Kate and we do actually get along
very well together. The thing is, to be honest, Kate is one of the
best actors going around so she can make anything work. I think what
happened was once she started to record more and I was recording, I
would listen to her a lot. Sometimes I would even play her to me so
I could hear her, and I also had a fantastic woman called Susan who
would read opposite me and she was at every session that I did in
New York or here. She was great. She would read every part. I mean
she was incredible. She’d go from Toad to Rita to Sid and Whitey
to all of them. The frogs… She did all of them. And so I always
had someone to work with. Kate is just phenomenal, isn’t she?

Yes she is. She’s one of my favorites.
Now, in terms of the animation, I know a lot of the time
they’ll have someone tape it and they’ll use a lot of the
mannerisms and facial features in the final. Did you see a lot of
what you’d done when you were doing the voice work in the finished
product?

I do see some similarities. It’s a little
frightening to see yourself looking like a rodent but he’s an
adorable one, right? A pampered pet shall we say? But there are some
things definitely and they were filming it all the time. It was
great going back in to see how these scenes were evolving, to see
how they were using that. Anyway, yeah, it was interesting.

Does it bother you that the slugs steal your
thunder?

No. I loved them. You know what’s amazing about the
slugs. I don’t remember them ever being…except for that first
bit, ‘Aah! Aah! Aah!,’ that’s the only thing… and how the
slugs were invented. That was so fantastic. They were brilliant.
They steal the show. I agree. Oscar loves the slugs. That’s
my son. He thought the slugs were his favorite thing.

What’s been the time line of all of these
projects? Have you been working non-stop for a couple of years?

I’ve been working fairly steadily but I did Broadway
for over a year and I started recording both of the animated
projects during that year while I was doing the Broadway show. I
think I started on this January 2004. I can’t remember. It’s
been a couple years. Then when I finished that I did “The
Fountain.” I had a bit of time off when my wife did a film and
then I did the Woody Allen movie (Scoop), “X-Men 2,” and then
“The Prestige.” So we had a bit of a gap in between.

I can’t believe there was any time off in between
that.

There was probably a month off in between each. Some
people say you work hard but hey, most people work forty hour weeks
a year. I’m lucky if I do forty so it’s not that bad. But people
say, ‘Ah, he’s so busy.’ I hate to say it but you’re busier
than me.

Is the fact that you’ve started producing changed
your schedule at all?

It does. Ultimately it will free things up for me
because… [we’re] shooting a film in New York and that’s one of
the goals, apart from doing movies I love and roles I want to play
and also being able to give back in areas as a producer. I can do
films in my home town. New York is where we’re based so now I can
do a film and sort of force the issue rather than the film going
somewhere else. I can make sure that film is happening where I live
and that way I can be with my family instead of pulling up roots so
that’s a great decision. It’s great for me. It’s a great
feeling walking on set as a producer. I went on Thursday and sort of
the two thoughts come into mind. The first thought was like ‘Wow,
look at all these jobs I’ve created for all these people. This is
so fantastic.’ And then about a minute later I’m like, ‘Why
are they all standing around?’ [laughter] ‘Let’s go. C’mon,
people. [clapping his hands] Let’s go.’

Do you find it hard to find yourself as a producer
and then as an artist? Or is it an easy transition?

Easy. I find that easy. I find myself now a little bit
… already I’m like, ‘C’mon guys. We’ve got to get
going.’ Whereas as an actor, you’re like, ‘Oh, we’ll finish
it tomorrow.’ It’s a little bit like that. You’re a little
more…you know what’s going on… I know what’s at stake. I
know what the budget is. I know how many days we can go over now and
how many we can’t. It’s actually a thing that I think all actors
and directors should be one day. I just did a film with Chris Nolan
and that guy is so aware of every part of the filmmaking process and
so responsible with it. And there are some directors who aren’t.
They’ve got their vision of the film and if the film goes way over
the budget, they don’t even think about it. Well, I think everyone
should have a go at producing at some point. It’s always easier to
say, ‘Oh, they’ll extend.’ But it’s not ‘they,’ it’s
someone’s money.

What can you tell us about Wolverine?

We just now have the final script, the final draft
from David Benioff which I absolutely love and I know the fans are
going to go crazy for it. It’s just fantastic. Benioff is an
amazing writer. Obviously you know of him, but for the fans who
don’t, he’s probably one of the hottest writers going around
town. Spielberg and everyone are after him. He was beating down our
door to make this movie because he’s the most passionate Wolverine
fan. He’s followed him since he was nine. It’s one of
those rare combinations where you have a writer who all these
Oscar-winning directors are wanting to write for and he’s like
‘I want to do Wolverine.’ He’s written a script which for me
is the most superior of them all. And now we have to find a director
which we’re looking for now. I’ve got a couple movies coming out
so if I see you guys maybe in about a month I may be able to let you
know. So we’re close. And then I’m shooting a movie with Baz
Luhrmann and Nicole Kidman next year in Australia. And then we plan
to do WOLVERINE after that.

Will that
preclude doing more X-Men movies?

For me? In
the immediate future. Yeah.
I think the plan is to do the Wolverine movie. You know, I don’t
know what the future is for that franchise. I’m not sure there’s
no more X-Men movies. I have heard talk about a movie about the
younger X-Men, sort of a more kid-oriented kind of thing, which I
might have a small part in. I’ve heard a story about a Magneto
spin-off as well. But honestly, I’ve probably heard what you’ve
heard. I’ve heard nothing official, but, I do know that we’re
going to make the Wolverine movie.

What intrigues
you the most about Wolverine?

Well, to me, he’s one of the great screen
archetypes. I think he’s like when I was growing up Han Solo, Mad
Max and Dirty Harry. Those were all the kind of roles I loved, you
know. And that’s what Wolverine is. He’s the reluctant hero. He
is a good guy but he’s not a nice guy. I think we all love that
character. He’s the guy you want on your side. At the same time,
there’s no BS about him.

So now that
you’re a producer and an actor, do you wind up spending a lot of
time talking with David Benioff about the character? Do you let him
do his thing and then check in with him?

Well, with someone like Benioff, you let him do his
thing first off. He comes back with it and then we sit down together
and I say, ‘I think this is fantastic but maybe we’ll go a
little in this direction’ or I think ‘what about this?’ He’s
very collaborative and for better or worse, I played the role for
three movies. It’s a character that I know so I feel like I know
what I want to achieve with the film. I don’t want the film to
appear at all like X-Men IV in disguise. I want it to feel like a
very fresh, whole new character piece. I want it to be a character
movie and I really want by the end of the movie for you to know
definitively who this guy was. Some cool action and some great
characters but ultimately that you totally know who Wolverine is.
And he really got that. He totally got that. David is known for
being one of the best character writers in Hollywood. So he’s been
very collaborative and I’m not shy in telling him what I think and
he’ll say, ‘I disagree with you’ or whatever, but it’s been
a really terrific process.

I can’t
believe this whole thing started only about six years ago with the
first X-MEN. How has
your Hollywood journey been?

Well, the great thing about doing the Wolverine first,
in terms of my life as an actor, is for about a year after that film
came out, no one recognized me. Even fans…I’d walk down the
street and they’d go, ‘You’re not him.’ [laughter] At one
point I even got out my driver’s license to show them who I was
because they were having an argument and to settle the argument I
said, ‘Actually I am the guy.’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah…’ He
wasn’t happy about that. [laughter] So it was this great kind of
thing because I had these … The movie really opened up my career
for me. It gave me great opportunities that I’d never had before.
So it was something I’ll always be forever grateful for.

Do you get
perks like tables at restaurants and stuff?

Particularly Bubby’s restaurant in New York. You
heard that story?

No.

Vinny, the maitre d’ there, has a full size color
tattoo of Wolverine on his back. When I first went in there, the
waiter says, ‘By the way, Vinny wants to say hi.’ I look over to
the desk, where they sign in the book over there, and he ducks down
underneath and I was like, ‘This is odd.’ Eventually he came
over and he was sweating and shaking and he says, ‘Oh, man. I
can’t believe I’m meeting Wolverine.’ And I say, ‘Ah,
you’re a fan?’ ‘A fan?!’ He took off his top in the middle
of the restaurant, but he’s the manager, and we ended up, my wife
is laughing her head off, we ended up taking photos the two of us in
the theme by posing down. [laughter] It was crazy. So yeah, it does
help. It got me through customs once actually.

How’s that?

When I first got to Canada, you probably know the
whole thing, but I was very rushed in getting there so… So my
visa was coming through and so I went there and it wasn’t fully
through yet and so I went up there and I just said, ‘Look, I’m
coming over. I’m going to work on a movie, X-MEN.
I’ve come to work in Canada.’ And he says, ‘Well, you
haven’t got a working visa.’ ‘Well, no, I haven’t officially
started work yet and the working visa is coming through. I’m
actually not sure if I got the part yet.’ Which was sort of true
because I hadn’t signed the contract, but I knew I had the part.

He looked at me like that and he goes, ‘What movie?
What are you doing?’ And I said, ‘X-Men.’ ‘X-Men?’
‘Yeah.’ ‘What are you, an animator?’ I said, ‘No, I’m an
actor.’ ‘What do you mean actor? Like in a cartoon? What are you
doing?’ I said, ‘No, they’re making a movie.’ ‘They’re
making a movie? X-Men? You’re kidding! So what are you doing?’ I
said, ‘Hopefully I’m playing the role of Wolverine.’
‘Wolverine? Yo, Jeff!
I’ve got Wolverine in the movie!’ and he’s telling it to all
his buddies and I almost got a police escort out of the place.
[laughter] So this guy, the typical customs guy, was ready to send
me back, you know. Then all of a sudden I was ushered through.

Is Happy Feet
going to be your normal voice or are you doing a character for that?

I do a character. I play a character called Memphis
who thinks he’s Elvis Presley. I’m a penguin who thinks he’s
Elvis.

Have you done
an Elvis voice before?

No, never. In fact, I don’t want to raise your hopes
too high because when I first went in there, the character’s name
was Elvis and the second session I went in all of a sudden his
character was called Memphis. [laughter] I said, ‘George (Miller),
is this a reflection on my ability to…?’ And he said, ‘I was
only ever after the essence of Elvis.’ You know, really, I was
like, ‘Thanks, man.’

With this and
HAPPY FEET, is this something you want to do more of? This kind of
voice over work, is it easier… is this exciting for you?

No, I loved it. I wouldn’t say its easy work. It’s
actually difficult, the acting, but it’s lovely to go to work. You
walk into the studio, they turn on a button, and you record
everything. There’s no hair, no make-up, no nothing and for four
hours you can do the entire script. You ad lib and you play around
and you do things and it’s … You get a lot done and it’s sort
of easy in that way but I really enjoyed it and I loved these
movies. Look, I’ve got a six-year-old and a one-year-old. Probably
at least twice a week I’ll go to an animated movie of some
description playing in my house, right? So it’s good to actually
be involved in one of them. I think I’ve seen SHREK a hundred
times. [laughter]

Thank
you.

Thanks
guys!

Let
me know what you think. Send
questions and comments to [email protected]

.