Australian actor Hugh Jackman has revealed that his iconic role Wolverine may have done permanent damage to his vocal cords.
The 54-year-old, who recently concluded a year-long run on Broadway in the musical The Music Man, said: “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.”
He was speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row show last week when he admitted that his role as the clawed mutant in nine X-Men superhero movies from 2000 to 2017 had taken a toll.
“My voice teacher in drama school would’ve been horrified by some of the things I did because we’ve learnt the technique of how to shout and how to yell without ruining your voice,” he said.
“However, during Wolverine, I did some screaming and yelling and things that I think did damage my voice, which I think I’m working on,” added the star of musical films such as Les Miserables (2012) and The Greatest Showman (2017).
“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,” he said.
He is set to reprise the role of Wolverine in superhero movie Deadpool 3, co-starring Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, which he said “will be very different to anything that I’ve done with Wolverine before”. Filming is set to start in May.
He added: “My yelling will be more healthy for my voice.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network