Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman on the Perks and Pitfalls of Playing Superheroes

My first day, I walked off the set and Hugh said, “How do you feel?” And I muttered, “Ah, I wish I could go back to that scene we shot earlier in the day because now I sort of see it.” Five minutes later, everyone is being asked to come out of their trailers, lights are being flipped back on, wardrobe is being zipped back up. Hugh made it so I could shoot. He didn’t even know me, we had just met. I thought, “If I’m ever lucky enough to be breathing the rare air that this guy breathes, this is how you do it.”

I still pinch myself because we can be best friends but I can also be going, “That’s Hugh [expletive] Jackman, wow.” That never gets old.

JACKMAN Thanks, brother.

Hugh, you met Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige on his very first movie, since he was an associate producer on the first “X-Men.” What do you remember about him then?

JACKMAN I was flying up to do a [screen] test with the director, and it was lunch hour. The director was like, “I don’t understand what’s going on, I’ve got Dougray Scott playing the part. Why am I auditioning another guy?” I’ve never known more that I’m not getting a part. Anyway, as I left, Kevin came up and said, “Hey man, I’ll drive you to the airport.” I said, “Kev, you don’t have to. I’ll just get a cab.” And he goes, “No, no. I’ve made us a reservation, we’ll get a steak before you get on the plane.” I said, “Kev, please. We’re all grown-ups here. We all know what’s going on and you don’t have to do that.” But he did, and he took me out for a steak dinner.

REYNOLDS He didn’t know whether you were going to get it or not?

JACKMAN No, he was just being a really good guy. We sat and chatted, and then he literally dropped me off at the airport. So we did bond on that film, big time, when I got the part. He was slipping me some comic books under the radar because the director [Bryan Singer] didn’t want them on set.

REYNOLDS Curious.

JACKMAN I think he was worried about people reading the comic, that people would think they were two-dimensional. So we became close and I was so, so happy for [Feige] as his star rocketed.