Hugh Jackman talks about next ‘Wolverine’ film and skin cancer

IN THIS interview, the Aussie actor with a bandaged nose says he wants to make people more aware about carcinoma. RUBEN V. NEPALES

LOS ANGELES—Hugh Jackman walked into a meeting room at the Ritz Carlton in Central Park with a small bandage on the right side of his nose. With the white strip on his face, he looked like he had been in a brawl. He cracked with a grin as he sat down, “I hope this finally puts to bed those nice-guy rumors, all right? That’s done.” Laughing, he jested about who he just had a fight with. “I won’t be doing any more press [tours] with Ian McKellen. That’s it.”

“I had a basal cell carcinoma taken out last night—that’s skin cancer, but the most minor,” explained Hugh. Although common and treatable, basal cell carcinoma recurs. “Unfortunately,” he continued, “it happens more often [to people of English stock living in] Australia. Please tell [your readers] to get regular checkups. Thankfully, my doctors did, and that’s how they found it. Also, wear sunscreen; don’t be like me as a kid.”

It was Hugh’s second minor surgery to remove basal cell carcinoma on his face. “Hopefully, it’s my last,” he said. The actor was eager to talk about the condition, to encourage people to have medical checkups. “I’ve rung everyone I know, particularly my family to make sure they do. [You may not] want to admit you’re old enough to need it. Trust me, people of any age, anywhere in the world [should have checkups].”

Great doctors

HUGH Jackman, in “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” is incredibly fit but he claims another costar stays longer in the gym.

“It’s now quite common in Australia,” he said of basal cell carcinoma. “My mother-in-law has had many of them taken off. My father as well, so it’s something to be taken seriously. I’ve been lucky enough to have checkups and had it spotted. I feel very grateful for my doctors, who spotted it. They’re great. I have to stay vigilant, but I am pretty healthy.”

“As a kid, you don’t think much about health; you just want to have fun,” added Hugh, who is indeed Mr. Nice Guy, one of the most genial and most sincere actors around. “I remember there was more worry about getting into a pool within 30 minutes of lunch than getting into the pool without sunscreen on. That was the full-on thing. No one was like, ‘You can’t get in the pool until you get sunscreen on.’

“Thankfully, that has changed. Australia, in particular, is leading the way. The doctor was telling me last night that, in terms of melanoma, the drop rate in Australia is more dramatic than anywhere else in the world. All this awareness helps.”

Hugh, as Logan/Wolverine, once more top-bills Bryan Singer’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” in which the titular characters fight for the survival of their species across two time periods. Bryan treats moviegoers to the sight of the original X-Men collaborating with their younger selves from the past in an epic battle to save our future. As you know, it’s quite a cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. The latter two get to interact with the younger versions of their characters, played by James and Michael, respectively.

We asked Hugh if this was his last “X-Men movie.” “Probably not,” he replied. “Ever since ‘X-Men 2,’ when I got a two-picture deal, I have made a decision. I waited to first see who the director is and what the script is like. I am working with (director) Jim (James) Mangold right now on another ‘Wolverine’ movie, so I’m excited about it. But I won’t officially say it; nor will Fox officially say it.”

Different direction

The Aussie actor explained that he is waiting for the script, reportedly being written by David James Kelly. In the meantime, this “Wolverine” sequel is said to be positioned for a possible March 2017 release.

“It’s important for me and for the audience to know that Wolverine is going to go in a different direction, to find another way to flesh out this great character,” Hugh remarked, stressing the importance of the story and screenplay. “There are so many ways you can go with it but I’m not going to do them just for the sake of it—I love the character too much. I have too much respect for the fans to do that, so if I was a betting man, I’d say yes but it’s not 100 percent because the script is not done.”

HUGH Jackman (left) said Michael Fassbender (center) and James McAvoy were “amazing” and made their younger versions of “X-Men” characters “more interesting.”

In the meantime, Hugh is filming Neill Blomkamp’s “Chappie” and Joe Wright’s “Pan” (he’s playing Blackbeard). He’s also attached to portray P.T. Barnum in Michael Gracey’s “The Greatest Showman on Earth.”

As for shooting “Days of Future Past,” Hugh said he enjoyed the company of actors from various generations, including the veteran legends. “Have you seen Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart together?” he asked aloud. “They are hilarious. They have childlike spirits. They love being together. There was laughter all around. It was great fun. We go out. There was a party at Ian’s place where everybody got up and sang, including Patrick. We have a real camaraderie, like a family.”

Of the younger cast members, Hugh said, “Michael is one of the most talented actors around. But that young ensemble, and I’m particularly referring to Jennifer, James and Nick (Hoult)—they are really terrific actors. You can’t underestimate how difficult it is to fill the shoes of Ian and Patrick in a movie. Not only do Michael and James do an amazing thing. They do feel like younger versions of those characters and yet they make them their own. They have made those characters and that relationship even more interesting.”

Energizer Bunny

“Michael is like the Energizer Bunny,” Hugh said, smiling. “He never stops. That guy goes and goes. We used to train together. James would train as well, and Nick. We used to all train together on the set. I’ll tell you—among all of us, Michael was the one who wouldn’t want to stop.”

Hugh, who is set to host the Tony Awards in June and who will return to Broadway via “The River” in October, was asked if he ever considered singing in an opera. “I was actually asked about doing a light opera at one point, ‘The Merry Widow.’ I really liked it. I said, ‘Before I do this, I have to go and audition at the Met.’ So I went to the Met because I knew there would be no microphones and it’s a big hall. I just didn’t even know if I could do it. I went there with the director of the opera and I sang. She said, ‘I think that sounds good but I can’t hear you and I’m three quarters of the way back.’ I was like, ‘Okay.’

“In the end, I could feel the space,” he admitted. “I was singing as loud as I could. It made me realize that if I was going to commit to something like that—I sing most days anyway—probably, I need two to three years of real training. I have great respect for opera singers. On top of everything—the purity, their dedication, the fact that they know from the beginning that they’re really not going to get an interesting role or vocally peak until they’re 35 or 40, they have to be so particular about how they look after that instrument. It’s a muscle that’s this big (demonstrates with his hand how small).

“They have amazing dedication. I have the highest respect for the people who do that. It’s like ballet dancing at the highest level. A lot of sacrifice goes into it and I’m probably too spoiled now to do it.”

Married to Deborra-Lee Furness for 19 years (a record by Hollywood standards), Hugh recalled meeting her on the set of “Corelli,” an Australian TV series that she starred in. “She said to me, and this was before we even got together, ‘You’re going to be a big, big star. It’s all going to happen pretty quickly.’ That’s the first time I thought she might have a crush on me because I thought she was out of her mind. I went, okay, wow, this girl must like me. But she was right.

“Things started to happen when ‘X-Men 1’ came out. It was very much like being dragged down the street by a Great Dane. You’re a little out of control. It’s fun. I probably would have just given myself the advice—don’t worry, it’ll calm down and you don’t have to say yes to everything.”

(E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585 @yahoo.com. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.)