OnlyOnAOL: How Hugh Jackman pulled a Wolverine in 'Eddie the Eagle'

BY DONNA FREYDKIN

You might know Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, the claw-bearing mutant of the "X-Men" movie franchise. And in real life, he's an exercise fanatic, posting pictures a-plenty of his intense workouts in New York City.

It's all a ruse. Or so he says, biceps notwithstanding. "The truth is, I've worked out once. I took a photographer. We did about seven hours and I'm eking those photos out for the next two years," jokes Jackman, while promoting his underdog comedy "Eddie the Eagle," out Friday.

He's tried to sort of lift his costar Taron Egerton along for the ride. Maybe. "While we're promoting we've been training together," says Jackman, as Egerton shakes his head. "He's Welsh. They're tough. I'm totally making it up."

Egerton, who plays Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, the British skier who in 1988 became the first Brit to compete in Olympic ski jumping, sets Jackman straight. "To be clear, when we say we're training together, basically I go down to the gym and Hugh just benches me," he says.

The two play trainer and trainee in the film, opening Friday. "I just read the script and thought it was brilliant. It was a great opportunity to try and morph a little bit," says Egerton.

Which meant in the most true physical sense. "He had a quite prominent under-bite and that was something I wanted to try and mimic. I wasn't spending much time at the gym," says Egerton of Eddie.

For Jackman, the connection to the subject was more personal. "He's a folk hero in Australia. He's fearless. We loved him. I didn't know half the story. This was this guy's dream from when he was a kid," he says.

Normally, it's Jackman flexing his muscles on screen. Not this time. "It was great to do an entire training montage and be reading a magazine the entire time," he says.

In one scene, he holds Eddie over his head. "I wanted to do it with one hand and (the director) said that was showing off," jokes Jackman.