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Hugh Jackman, the actor behind the Wolverine suit who was seen mostly recently opposite Deadpool in the franchise’s latest installment, Deadpool & Wolverine, recalls how the legendary claws of the X-Men character weren’t always “safe.” Jackman has shared how the original X-Men film featured his character fighting Mystique in one of the several action sequences, but there was a design issue that caused some wounds to bleed real blood.
As reported by Cinema Blend, Jackman went on the show Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? to expand on the incident that took place during the production of the 2000 film that started the entire X-Men franchise. As he analyzed the scene clip, Jackman said:
“In that fight, I actually stabbed the double of Mystique. So like in the beginning — I don’t know what we were thinking — they were actually metal, and they were actually sharp…I had to get used to another nine inches behind my hand as I’m fighting. So I had to adjust. So I’d practice, practice, and I would follow through. I’ve stabbed my thighs. I had scars; I still have scars on my thighs.
In that particular scene, there’s one thing where she’s reaching for something, and I go to stab her arm. She forgot to move her arm, and I literally stabbed her. It went about this deep — [shows how deep he went] — into her arm, and I’ll never forget it. I went white.”
Apparently, the stuntwoman didn’t even flinch when Jackman mistakenly took things too far. Though she was bleeding, the scene continued, and it wasn’t until someone yelled “cut!” that someone took care of her injuries. In fact, she seemed rather honored to be part of a risky production that would pave the way for superhero films. Jackman wasn’t as excited about his mistake:
“I’ve literally just stabbed someone for the first time in my life. And she just…the blood was burbling out, like bloop bloop bloop. It was starting to come, and just like this, she goes: ‘I’ve been stabbed by Wolverine!’ There was blue and red pouring down her arm, because she’s a stunt woman, and she’s a hell of a lot tougher than me. It was a badge of honor for her.”
Hugh Jackman probably didn’t know he was making film history when he was making X-Men. One year before, the Australian actor was still making local (and obscure) films. X-Men shot him into stardom and consolidated his presence as Wolverine, aka Logan, in a franchise that’s seen plenty of recastings, except for Jackman’s metal-clawed superhero. The Australian star of The Prestige, The Greatest Showman, Prisoners, and Real Steel, among others, has played Wolverine in a total of ten films:
