Hugh Jackman Claims Wolverine Role Caused Vocal Damage

Hugh Jackman has revealed that playing the Marvel character Wolverine in nine “X-Men” universe films has affected his voice.

While appearing on BBC Radio 4’s “Front Row,” the actor shared that the many years of playing Wolverine have “damage[d] his voice,” specifically “growling and yelling” while in character. Jackman, who is also known for his work on Broadway and starring in musical films, said that his voice is an important instrument, and he has noticed that his falsetto is not as strong as it used to be, which he directly attributes to the growling and yelling in the role.

“I’ve done some damage to my voice with Wolverine. My falsetto is not as strong as it used to be and that I directly put down to some of the growling and yelling. My voice teacher in drama school would’ve been horrified by some of the things I did [in ‘Wolverine’].”

While Jackman was taught a “technique” in school on how to shout and yell without damaging his voice, he thinks that playing Wolverine resulted in lasting effects on his voice. The Tony winner also noted that he works with a singing teacher and puts a lot of effort into both physical movement and vocal preparation for every role.

“During ‘Wolverine,’ I did some screaming and yelling and things that I think did damage my voice, which I think I’m working on. I work with a singing teacher, and I make sure that I try not to hurt myself. And I really put a lot of effort into both physical movement and my vocal preparation for every role.”

Despite the lasting effects on his voice, Jackman will reprise the role of Wolverine for a 10th time in “Deadpool 3,” which is set to be released late next year.

In a recent interview with Chris Wallace for his HBO Max series “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?,” Jackman denied the long-running speculation that he took steroids to prepare for his Wolverine role. He attributed his impressive physique to hard work, adding that he did it “the old school way” and jokingly apologizing to vegans and even the chickens of the world for how much poultry he consumed to pack on muscle.

“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.”

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