When Wolverine debuted in the first X-Men movie back in 2000, the adamantium claws didn't come out immediately. Instead, the ferocious mutant left his first impression on moviegoers in a cage fight at a sketchy bar somewhere in Alberta, Canada. The scene had Hugh Jackman and stuntman Kevin Rushton going up against each other, and according to Rushton, both men left shooting with major injuries when it was all over. Ruston explained:
It was me and him the whole time. He didn't have a stuntman in those scenes. We were pretty sore. Our hands were swollen like crazy. There was one point when our hands collide --- and our hands were the size of balloons by the end of it. They were long days. ... I remember director Bryan Singer, we used to call him God. He'd have the microphone and we'd hear him from the speakers. We didn't see him very often. Sometimes, he'd walk out and you realize he's this little guy, this kid. While we were shooting the fight, he'd yell, 'Hit him harder. Hit him a little harder! I want your hands exploding!'
With Logan, the movie that marks Hugh Jackman's last performance as Wolverine, only hours away from being released to the public, THR spoke with Kevin Rushton about his time working on the first X-Men movie, and as you can tell from the above comment, director Bryan Singer didn't let him or Hugh Jackman hold back when they were pounding at one another. It's no wonder they called him "God" from the way he loomed in the background and shouted commands. Rushton added that when it came time to shoot the scene where Wolverine pops his claws for the first time, it took 15 hours to get that right. While it was difficult for Hushton to keep composure during those long days, he noted that Jackman was continuously happy during the process. The two men later reunited during X-Men: The Last Stand, and Jackman immediately recognized Rushton. Rushton also scored autographs from Jackman for his kid both times working with him.
In case you need a refresher, X-Men viewers met Wolverine at the same time Rogue did. After running away from home following her mutant ability awakening, she ended up at that sketchy Canadian bar and saw Wolverine dominating the cage fight while barely exerting himself, as seen above. Having an adamantium covered skeleton is quite the advantage. Wolverine, a.k.a. Logan, later collected his money, but his opponent didn't take kindly to losing and tried to stab him, prompting Logan to pop his claws. When the barkeep pointed his shotgun at Logan and told him to get out, Logan quickly sliced the gun in half, but obliged. It was then that Rogue decided that she wanted to hang around with Logan, recognizing him as a fellow mutant. Side note, there was also a deleted scene from X-Men: The Last Stand where Wolverine revisits that bar after the events that took place on Alcatraz.
Logan officially hits theaters all over the U.S. tomorrow, but in most places, you'll be able to catch screenings starting tonight.
