Hugh Jackman Takes Fitness Tips From The Rock

Hugh Jackman has been taking tips from former wrestler Dwayne Johnson as he struggles to bulk up for his latest Wolverine movie.

The Australian actor is bringing his X-Men character back for a second solo outing and director Darren Aronofsky has ordered him to hit the gym and make sure he is even more muscled for the X-Men Origins: Wolverine sequel.

Jackman admits he's finding it tough to put on 25 pounds of muscle for the role as the clawed mutant before filming begins early next year, so he called The Rock for advice.

He told Entertainment Weekly, "(Twenty five pounds) is more than I ever have (put on) for the role. It's not easy for me. Because I'm actually quite long and lean. I had a chat with Dwayne Johnson, who did 25 pounds for his movie (Faster). I rang him up and was like, 'Okay, tell me what's going on'."

The website reports Jackman followed Johnson's tips and is now consuming around 6,000 calories a day to gain the extra muscle, gorging on chicken, steak, and brown rice.

Hugh Jackman Charms Japan

Hollywood heartthrob, Hugh Jackman charmed Japan as he promotes his X-Men Origins: Wolverine film at the same time his visit in Japan doubles up as a research trip for the sequel to his successful X-Men film.

Japan is one of the last country where X-men had its premiere nights, and like other premieres, the event was very successful as Hugh proved that he's truly a charming and bankable actor.

Hugh, in his interview with a local Japanese station told everyone that the most successful comic book, Wolverine was set in Japan, so hopefully he can do a sequel there as well.

X-men Origins: Wolverine is scheduled to be released in the US on Blu-Ray and DVD on September 15th.

Star Sighting: Embracing Hugh

Calling it an "incredible night" on his official Twitter account, Hugh Jackman greets his public with outstretched arms Wednesday at the premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Although the movie has just been released, the hunky actor has already announced his next project: the supernatural flick Ghostopolis.

Ryan Reynolds to Reprise Deadpool in "X-Men" Spin-off

Fresh off the muscular box-office performance of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," one of the film's characters is headed for a movie of his own.

20th Century Fox is developing a spin-off featuring Deadpool, the wise-cracking mercenary played in the film by Ryan Reynolds.

In "Deadpool," Reynolds will reprise the "merc with a mouth," known for his slapstick tone and propensity to break the fourth wall.

It is understood that the character would regain the ability to mouth off, after having suffered a setback in "Wolverine." Deadpool also was disfigured in the current film, but it's unclear how much the studio would want to mess with Reynolds' handsome mug in the new feature.

Fox considered a "Deadpool" spin-off early in "Wolverine's" development process, and cast Reynolds with that possibility in mind.

Reynolds, onscreen in the ensemble coming-of-age movie "Adventureland," next stars opposite Sandra Bullock in Disney's romantic comedy "The Proposal."

Hugh Jackman Considered Quitting X-Men

Hugh Jackman contemplated walking away from the X-men franchise after the third movie, because he feared his character Wolverine had gone too "soft".

Jackman reprises his role as the superhero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the fourth movie of the cult series which will be released this Friday, May 1st.

But the film almost didn't happen, because after Jackman had completed 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand he considered stepping down from the role amid concerns over his character's development.

He says, "One thing I never felt we got with Wolverine that I really wanted to get is that berserker rage which is talked about in the comic books.

"It felt like Wolverine had got a little soft by X-Men 3 and I wanted to take it back to that bad a** quality. He's tough, he's gruff, he's not politically correct - he doesn't say the right things.

"There has to be complexity to this character. He's very tough but there's a lot of pain, history to his life that you find out about. It's not pretty. He's a flawed character. That's what I like about it, that's why I'm doing it for the fourth time or else I wouldn't."

Hugh Jackman: New ‘Wolverine’ Trailer

Hugh Jackman, aka The Sexiest Man Alive, growls, jumps and slices his way through this new action-packed trailer for superhero flick "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", due out on May 1st.

Below is the latest trailer, courtesy of YouTube.com.



The movie also stars Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson aka Deadpool), Liev Schreiber (Victor Creed aka Sabretooth), Taylor Kitsch (Remy LeBeau aka Gambit), Lynn Collins (Silver Fox) and Will.i.am (John Wraith aka Kestrel).

For more info, visit X-MenOrigins.com.