Hugh Jackman had lots of chicken, no steroids to play Wolverine

MANILA, Philippines — Australian actor Hugh Jackman denied that he resorted to using steroids in order to portray his famous character of Wolverine for nearly 20 years, instead focusing on a diet that was mostly chicken.

Jackman appeared on HBO’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” where the journalist asked the actor if he ever used steroids, since many people wondered how Jackman always looked jacked (no pun intended).

The actor told Wallace he never juiced up on steroids, “No, I love my job. And I love Wolverine. I got to be careful what I say here, but I had been told anecdotally what the side effects are of that. And I was like, ‘I don’t love it that much.’"

Instead, Jackman did it the "old school way" and ate a lot of chicken, and jokingly apologized to "all the vegans and vegetarians and to the chickens of the world."

"Literally, the karma is not good for me. If the deity has anything related to chickens, I’m in trouble," Jackman continued humorously.

WATCH: Hugh Jackman shares how he stayed buff for nearly 20 years to play Wolverine

Wallace then asked how would the 54-year-old Jackman prepare to portray Wolverine for the 10th time, as he will reprise the X-Men member in the upcoming "Deadpool 3." Jackman will also have to finish his run on Broadway with "The Music Man" in the middle of this year. 

The actor said he has six months between coming off Broadway and the beginning of the "Deadpool 3" shoot, and he will use that time with family to train as he has no other work in that time span.

"I have learned you can't rush it, that it takes time... that's going to be my job for six months, and I'm really fit right now," Jackman said. "I'm healthy, I've a good place to start. And, apologies chickens, run... a mile, start running now because I'm coming for you!"

In the same interview, Jackman recounted not having heard about wolverines — as they are native to upper Northern Hemisphere — and mistook his character as being part-wolf.

Jackman last portrayed Wolverine in 2017's "Logan," where the famous X-Men character met his demise. It has been clarified that "Deadpool 3" is set before the events of "Logan," and thus, it will not disrupt the timeline of the movies.

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