BIRDMAN Plot Inspires Hugh Jackman to Play Wolverine 'Until I Die'

In a new interview with Cigar Aficionado (via E! Online) Broadway star and movie action hero Hugh Jackman revealed that he would like to keep playing the Marvel superhero 'Wolverine' until he dies.

Jackman shared that he was inspired after watching Michael Keaton in Birdman, saying, "I said to my wife, 'The moral is that I should never stop playing Wolverine. I've got to find a way to keep playing him until I die.' I know that someday they'll recast the role with another actor...I'd be happy if the role was eventually recast. It would mean that it had become iconic."

Jackman, who confirmed in December that he will once again reprise his role in the next installment of the Wolverine franchise, also discussed how he plans to approach his character differently each time he plays him. "I always want to be in better shape than I was for the last one," Jackman explained. "I don't believe in stagnation. People say they try to maintain the status quo. But I believe the natural cycle means you're either advancing and getting closer to something or you're receding...Every time I play Wolverine I want to go further, physically and emotionally."

Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as superhero, period, and romance characters. He is best known for his long-running role as Wolverine in the superhero X-Men film series (2000-2014), as well as for his leads in the romantic-comedy fantasy Kate & Leopold (2001), the action-horror film Van Helsing (2004), the magic-themed drama The Prestige (2006), the epic historical romantic drama Australia (2008), the sci-fi sports drama Real Steel (2011), the film version of LES MISERABLES (2012), and the thriller Prisoners (2013).

His work in LES MISERABLES earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in 2013. He is also a singer, dancer, and actor in stage musicals, and won a Tony Award for his role in The Boy from Oz. He recently starred on Broadway in The River.

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