Hugh Jackman returns with `The Wolverine`

As a big screen split open to each side, a man with a huge body strode ahead in the fog just like the Wolverine in the movie of the same title. This is how Hugh Jackman, 45, appeared in a news conference Monday at Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan where he came to advertise his new movie “The Wolverine,” which will be released on July 25.

A white long-sleeved shirt and black suit pants could not hide his muscular body. No wonder the Wolverine has claws coming out of his fists.

“Now I can manage the claws pretty well. It’s been 13 years with the character and I’ve gotten older that much. All these help me play the role of Wolverine better. I think Wolverine is the most interesting character among superheroes.”

Jackman played Wolverine in six movies from “X-men” in 2000, which made him a movie star who played for the longest period and the most number of movies with a same role of a hero. “The Wolverine” is an action blockbuster movie in which a Wolverine, who lives forever because his body heals even most serious types of injury, fight against those who want his extraordinary abilities. “The Wolverine” is different from former sequels of “X-men” in that the movie focuses only on the Wolverine. The movie was shot in Japan.

“In this movie there’re no people with supernatural powers, such as those who fire laser beam from the eyes or whose body color changes. Instead, the movie highlights human-like aspects of the Wolverine including pain, loss and loneliness. Especially, the scene that the Wolverine fight against his enemies on top of a running Shinkansen, a bullet train, is very humane.”

Jackman is a goodwill ambassador of Seoul. He said, “This is my fourth time visiting Seoul, but I always feel sorry for being unable to stay long enough. Though I’m on a diet to maintain my body like a superhero, I ate bulgogi as soon as I arrived Seoul.”

About the last year’s movie “Les Misérables” in which he played the role of Jean Valjean, he said, “I’m happy that so many Korean fans loved the movie. Koreans I meet in restaurants and on airplanes tell me how they liked the movie just as they felt.” 5.91 million Koreans went to theaters to see the movie last year.

From his last visit to Seoul, he bought Hanbok for his daughter and Korea’s national flag for his son. Jackman smiled and said, “Yesterday I received Hanbok for my dog. Maybe I’ll get paparazzi shots taking a walk with my dog in Hanbok.”

Jackman is working on his next movie “X-men: The Days of Future Past.” When asked whether he wanted to star in Korean movies, he said, “I watched the Korean movie “The Thieves” (2012) on the plane, and it was really fun. I like the fact that Koreans love their movies a lot. If anybody in Korea wants to work with me for movies, please feel free to contact me.”