The X-Team Talks Wolverine!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is here! Fans of the X-Men universe have been waiting for a film that would bring popular mutants Gambit (played by "Friday Night Lights"' hot Taylor Kitsch), Wraith (songsmith Will.i.am), Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) and Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) to the big screen. Add in sexy, love-of-Wolverine's-early-life Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins) and director Gavin Hood and you have a great mix for an action packed, mutant angst-ridden film to kick off the summer season.

We got the scoop about pranks pulled during the shoot, fight training, fave on-set music, and fond memories of making the film from the gang at our sit-down on the 20th Century Fox studio lot. Get ready for mutant madness....

TeenHollywood: We'd love to know your special memories from the set. Do tell!

Lynn: I've got a good one. We were on this location and Hugh came up to me and said, 'You know, we've seen some of the dailies and we just think that your outfit needs to be skimpier,' so I was like, 'S**t! Okay, whatever.' He was like, 'So, we found something for you. We put it in your trailer. Can you please try it on?' There was a gaggle of men [standing outside]. And so, I go into my trailer and there is a [tiny] silver spandex dress, and I had this panic attack. I was like, 'Oh, my God, they're all standing in front of the trailer, so I have to put it on.' I put it on and it didn't fit. You could see my butt and my [boobs]. It was horrible. I opened the door and everybody was cracking up, and Hugh was like, 'April Fool's.'

TeenHollywood: Hugh said he was lucky you didn't slap him and that he should put that on the DVD so sales would go through the roof!

Lynn: It was horrible and slit up the thigh where a very tender area of a woman's body was just exposed in front of a lot of men.

Taylor: I'm reminded of the pressure of playing Gambit, especially before I got to [set] but the biggest memory that stuck out for me was when I first got there. I wasn't working my first day. I was nervous and, when I first met Hugh, it was really great because I just felt that I was already at home and I had the opportunity of a lifetime, and this guy was going to catch me, if I fell. He's ready to take risks. With all the pressure, it was just really great to know that I was going to work with someone that was so genuine and open. And then, he stabbed me and I bled a lot, on set [laughter]. [Note: Hugh's explanation? "We were in a fight scene and Taylor reeled back very quickly and someone called, "Cut!" I looked down at my claws and there were only two claws left, and I looked over at Taylor and it was sticking out of his thumb, and he was just looking at it."]

TeenHollywood: Ouch!!

Ryan: For me, there was a weird silver dress in my trailer.[laughter] No. I honestly worked probably the longest day of my life on this movie. It's a huge movie, so there were several units going at once, and I had a day where I was going back and forth, from each unit. It was about a 22-hour day, and there was make-up and all these things, and I had to spin these swords at a million miles an hour around my body and, by about hour 19, I had a couple of extremely close calls with these katana swords. When you're spinning these swords, you wanna wear pants for that. I honestly just about lost my future legacy, a couple of times, and I had to take a little break and pour myself a nice shot of espresso, so I could carry on. That, for me, was probably the worst of it.

Liev: Early on in the film, we were shooting in New Zealand and it was the first big fight sequence for Hugh and I, which was outside of the bar. We had rehearsed, day and night, for that. I'll admit and be candid that I wasn't sure that, physically, I was up to this role. Now, I know I am, but initially, I was a little concerned. Hugh and I, being the elder statesmen of this cast, were both rightfully concerned that we wouldn't be able to pull off the fight that the stunt guys had shown us. Sure, we'd been lifting weights and we looked large, but what they were asking for was truly impossible and brutal.

TeenHollywood: But it looked great in the film!

Liev: Well, I just remember the third night, after shooting until six in the morning, every night, looking over at Hugh and the two of us were just so smashed up by the fight, and desperate to impress our small sons at home. They said, 'Would you guys like to do one more?,' and I remember looking across at Hugh, praying to myself that he would say, 'I'm tired. I want to go home and go to bed.' And, Hugh said, 'No, I feel great!' And I looked across at him and said, 'Yeah, I feel great, too.' They looked at Hugh and said, 'One more?,' and Hugh said, 'No, I could do two more!,' so I said, 'Yeah, I could probably do three or four more!' And that was my sole motivation for the rest of this entire film.

TeenHollywood: Hilarious!

Will.i.am: For me, the whole trip [was a memorable experience]. On the first airplane over to Sydney, I was excited. I was like, 'Wow, this real!' This is my first big thing. Usually, I tour around the world with my friends when we're going to sing in Sydney, but here I was, going by myself, for the first time, which was the total opposite of what I normally do. So, the whole memory was wonderful. I remember each day. But, the one that sticks out the most was the inauguration because I had just got finished performing and then, straight after that, I did CNN, rushed to the airplane, flew back and put on my Wraith suit. I remember staying on set that day, after doing the inauguration, and it was just two different worlds. Of course, I was excited and wanted to share, but I wanted to focus on what I was there to do. It was wonderful to see everybody's face when I walked in. Everybody was excited and said, 'Wow, we just saw it on TV!,' and I was like, 'I was there!' The most memorable thing, for me, was that day.

Gavin Hood: For me, it was trying to figure out how to direct Hugh Jackman when he wouldn't listen, or couldn't listen, to a single thing I said. Hugh was submerged in that tank [of water] and he goes through a range of emotions. He enters the tank fairly nervous, but calm. He sees spinning needles coming down into his body and he goes through this period of escalation where his heart rate goes crazy and he freaks out. And then, he dies. There was a lot he had to remember, as we were going along. And then, he hears someone saying it might erase his memory, and he starts to come around and then he snaps out of the tank, roars up and he is the Wolverine that everybody has been wanting to see. It's the best shot in the movie.

TeenHollywood: But, he couldn't hear you in there?

Gavin: He couldn't hear a thing I was saying. We experimented with this underwater speaker but Hugh was hearing nothing. It was a total disaster. And, he couldn't just do it by himself, unfortunately, even though we'd figured out these steps, because the cameras were moving. So, we had a very advanced technique for that particular scene, where I rolled up my sleeves, stuck my hand in the tank, held onto his big toe and explained to him that, 'One grab of the toe is the moment when the procedure begins. By the time I get down to the baby toe, I'm going to yank that thing and that's when you come roaring out of the tank.' We had this whole system worked out. And then, he screwed it up. I'd be on toe three and he'd think it was toe two, and he'd come roaring out. I'd be like, 'How long do you want to stay under the water for?'

Ryan: This little piggy got pissed. [laughter]

TeenHollywood: Ryan, what kind of work did you do to get yourself ready for all of the fight sequences?

Ryan: I've actually wanted to play Deadpool for a really long time so, for me, it was a bit of a dream come true. I always thought that he was a character that sort of felt like a cross between Commando and Phantom of the Opera, by way of Caddyshack.[Hugh Jackman totally cracks up laughing here!] So, for me, it was a pretty original type of guy, in this universe. I felt like I was ready years ago because I've been wanting to play this guy forever. But, it was a lot of sword training and a lot of working out with Hugh, who I remember, on my first day, looked a lot like a guy who was going to make a necklace out of my teeth. That was the gold standard that was set, from early on. Basically, it was about spending countless hours with the katana sword-training fellas.

TeenHollywood: When you are in full Deadpool costume you have your mouth covered? Was that very claustrophobic?

Ryan: Yes. Having my mouth sewn shut was definitely [uncomfortable]. It's a moment where you say, 'Why am I method?' but you go for it anyway. At lunch, snorting a steak was hard, but I got it down.

TeenHollywood: Liev, you've talked about your fight with Hugh but how was the training for you?

Liev: Something like 12 years ago, Hugh and I did a film together and, believe it or not, I think I actually was bigger than Hugh, in those days [the romance Kate and Leopold]. Things have changed, over the years, and he's grown substantially, as an actor and as a human being, in general. So, the first agenda was getting bigger. I made the awful mistake of going online to see what the fans thought and, of course, they said, 'You need to get bigger'. So, I started working out with Hugh and doing the high-protein diet. Between the two of us, I think we wiped out a whole gene pool of chickens. I know people think that it's a departure for me, but I don't really. I feel right at home, with that sibling rivalry thing with Hugh. It was a lot of fun.

TeenHollywood: As an acting technique, do any of you ever listen to music on set to get into character? If so, what was on your playlist?

Taylor: Obviously, Gambit is from New Orleans, so I was listening to John Lee Hooker, all the time.

Lynn: I had one song, "Apologize," from One Republic. I listened to it constantly, and now I can't listen to it anymore. It ruined the song for me.

Ryan: I heard Faith Hill coming out of Hugh's trailer, to be honest. For me, it was a band called The National. I was obsessed with them. I loved them.

Will.i.am: I'm always making music so I had to stop 'cause I had to focus. This was my first big thing. I took my studio there, at first, and then I got a whisperer, saying, 'You should probably take your studio out of the trailer.' I was making beats in my off time because you're sittin' there and waitin' a lot. So, I made about a thousand beats.

Liev: In between takes, Will and I would play this game where we would hum TV show tunes to each other and see if we could identify them. He has an incredible memory for that, especially with '80's sitcoms.

TeenHollywood: Wraith and Sabretooth doing "Name that Tune"? It boggles the mind. So, Liev, playing such an intense character, how did you de-stress at the end of the day?

Liev: I've never been someone who takes characters home with me, at night. The claws and the teeth came off. Unfortunately, the sideburns didn't. But, I've never really had a problem with that. Also, particularly in my case, I was playing anger, which is a relatively easy emotion to access. I know you're thinking, 'Oh, he's an angry guy!' No. It's easy for everyone. It's a much easier emotion than love.

TeenHollywood: Gavin, with the film leaking early to the Internet, was there a satisfaction in finally being able to show the completed version of this film to a movie theater audience? What reactions have you gotten from people so far?

Gavin: Absolutely! The reaction seems to be positive. It was a huge shock, for all of us, when someone stole the movie. It would be like me reaching out to you and grabbing your notebook right now and saying, 'You know, I'm just going to publish whatever you've written, right now. I know you're not done yet, but we'll just shove it out there and see what people think of your work.' Any piece of work is molded and shaped and, finally, you feel ready to offer it to the public, knowing that you will be judged on that piece of work. So, I'm thrilled that it's finally out there in the form that we wanted it to be, on a big screen, and thank you for coming to see it on a big screen.