10 More Actors Who Prepared For Roles In The Worst Possible Way

The caveat here, is that it wasn't completely all Hugh Jackman's fault for how unprepared he was for the first X-Men movie.

In several interviews over the years - such as the one below with Stephen Colbert - the Australian actor has said how he was embarrassed by how out of shape he was when that 2000 picture began production. And so unhappy was director Bryan Singer with Jackman's physique, he pushed all of Wolverine's shirtless scenes back to the end of the filming schedule in order to give Hugh more time to work on his body.

Chances are, Hugh Jackman arrived on the X-Men set on that first day looking in way better condition than the vast majority of us have ever looked. But while Jackman wasn't in as insane a condition as he was in follow-up pictures like X2 or The Wolverine, there has to be some major slack given to the star.

For those unaware, Singer's initial choice to play Wolverine was Russell Crowe. After the Gladiator star turned down the role, it was Dougray Scott who would formally sign on to play Logan.

Unfortunately for Scott, he would have to drop out of the film due to scheduling conflicts with Mission: Impossible II and down to injuries he'd suffered in a motorcycle accident. And thus, Hugh Jackman finally got the call to join Bryan Singer's X-Men.

Why Jackman has to be excused for not being in peak Wolvie shape at the start of his X-Men stint though? That's because he wasn't actually brought on to the project until three weeks into shooting.