Having consistently played Wolverine for 17 years — 2000 to 2017, specifically — Hugh Jackman understands the rigorous preparation required to get ripped for the character. In fact, it should be — pardon the pun — muscle memory for the actor at this point. However, before appearing in James Mangold’s “The Wolverine,” which required a lot of shirtless screen time, Jackman reached out to the walking mountain of muscle known as Dwayne Johnson for advice on how to get bigger and better for his role. These tips have served him well for his “Deadpool 3” preparations, too.
Speaking to Access Hollywood in 2013, Jackman revealed how he was set to do “Les Misérables” and “The Wolverine” right afterward. However, he had one problem: He was supposed to drop weight for the musical then get in shape for the superhero flick, so he rang up The People’s Champ. Jackman explained what Johnson told him, saying: “First of all, he said, ‘When you’re lean-ing down, still keep your strength. You can still go in and push weights, so that as soon as you start eating again you’ll go back quickly.’ But, he said, ‘You gotta eat 6,000 calories a day, you’ve gotta train three hours.'”
Jackman added how these 6,000 calories consisted of him eating a lot of chicken and fish, as per the advice of Johnson who stayed in regular contact with him as he got into tremendous shape for “The Wolverine.”
