There are many rumours about the rock hard body that Hugh Jackman flaunts Deadpool and Wolverineit was also a recurring meta joke throughout the more than two-hour blockbuster comic. But as Jackman explained this week, it took a village, so to speak, to get those incredibly defined six-pack abs.
The 55-year-old took to social media on Wednesday to thank his team for their efforts to get him back into “Wolverine” shape at his age, posting a shirtless selfie as proof of the result.
“A lot of people have talked to me or asked me questions about how I got in shape, what I did, what I ate, how I trained, how hard it is at your age, all of that,” Jackman began in an audio recording. “And honestly, I just wanted to take a second and say, yes, I had to come — yes, I had to do those deadlifts and eat those meals, but I had an incredible team helping me.”
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“When I say team I mean eight people,” X-Men The star continued. “Because there's not a hope in hell that I'd get there without them.” To start, she thanked her trainer of five years, Beth Lewis, who trained her for various projects.
“I’m in better shape, and when I talk about fitness, I mean physical health; the knees, the shoulders that had been bothering me for years are gone,” he said. “He helped me overcome that and get the results I needed while feeling great. He never overworked me, he made me realize that I had overworked myself in the past, he was always there for me, he was thoughtful, he was kind, and then when it was time to push me, he would push me.”
Jackman also thanked the team of chefs and nutritionists who were responsible for his meals during the training. “I didn't have to think about what I was cooking or shopping for about a year,” he explained, noting that he basically just had someone counting the grams of protein and fat. “I had someone making the food for me, which made it a lot easier.”
But it wasn't just diet and exercise that made Jackman look so incredible on screen. There was also a bit of Hollywood magic involved. He also thanked his makeup artist Whitney, who was tasked with applying oil to his body to make his skin glow. “You'd hear about it [director] “When Shawn Levy would yell, 'Fresh oil for Hugh!' everyone would be a little embarrassed; they would be unashamed, they would be laughing,” he joked.
Jackman also shared that everyone worked around his schedule the day of filming the climactic final action scene, including Levy and his co-star and writer Ryan Reynolds, so they could be sure he would look his best.
“That day, I hadn't had any water the night before because I was cranky, I had been eating tilapia and beans for days, and I was thinking about how to make that day the best for me, and everyone on set was facilitating that,” she added.
For now, it looks like Jackman will be taking a break from making superhero movies for the foreseeable future, and he clearly deserves it.