Liam McIntyre Dishes on Playing Wolverine: ‘I Tried Not to Think How Impossible It Was’

It’s certainly no small feat to step into Wolverine’s shoes, especially following Hugh Jackman, who has portrayed the character for nearly two decades on the big screen and is likely to continue for some time.

Yet, that’s exactly what Australian actor Liam McIntyre, well known to fans of the series Spartacus, has done. He embraced the challenge to play the video game version in Marvel’s Wolverine, which was released on September 15.

We took the chance to pose some questions to him about this role, a field he’s not entirely new to!

First off, do you have a personal connection to video games? Is it a world you grew up with?

Video games are one of my first true loves. I can’t recall the very first game I played, but I still have 12 of the 3.25-inch floppy disks needed to install Theme Park. I remember playing Dig Dug in a grocery store after shopping with my mom.

I still have a few tapes with music from some C64 games I played. So, I have some fond early memories as a young gamer. Playing Civilization is why I love history, and Mario Paint greatly aided my drawing skills. I’ve loved video games as far back as I can remember.

Wolverine is a character whose voice and physical presence are instantly recognizable. How did you collaborate with the Insomniac team to shape this portrayal—a portrayal that remains true to the established image of the character while clearly bearing your personal stamp?

Ultimately, it all boiled down to serving the character, to allow players to fully embody the dream of being Wolverine, and to best tell our story. This involved looking at Cal Dodd, Steve Blum, Hugh Jackman, and others to see what had been done before, reading as many comics as possible, and then, at least at the beginning of the project, continuing to play.

We tried and tested movements, sounds, sensations, to make everything feel right. Insomniac is an incredibly collaborative team, so it was great to build it with everyone. I guess whatever I do, it will always be a version of myself, so the challenge was to find the parts of me that resembled Wolverine the most! I’m really proud of the result we arrived at with him, and I’m excited for people to take control!

Without revealing key plot details, what do you think distinguishes Marvel’s Wolverine story from previous adaptations of the character? And which aspect of the script most impacted you as an actor?

It’s a story we are all incredibly proud of. Walt Williams and his team keep refining and improving it day after day, year after year. I love the starting point of our story. Logan, as often, doesn’t really know who he is or where he comes from, but he’s fighting alongside a team to advance the mutant cause.

What I particularly appreciate is that our starting point allows us to explore from different and novel angles what makes him who he is. This lets us tell a story that, I believe, will surprise you several times over the course of the narrative. Whether it’s about the characters he meets or works with, their motivations, or what they’re trying to achieve, we remain true to what makes these characters who they are. Specifically, once again, I won’t reveal anything, but as layers peel back and the truth of some of these stories is revealed, there are really shocking and very moving revelations that I’m very proud of.

We can tell a story that is both incredibly violent and visceral, showcasing the unleashed animal that has made Logan famous, while also offering a strong and moving story that highlights the character’s inner strength, resilience, and heart, aspects that are sometimes not as frequently highlighted.

Hugh Jackman has portrayed Wolverine on screen for nearly two decades, creating an image almost inseparable from the character. To what extent did this legacy influence your approach to the role, and how did you try to distinguish yourself from it?

Let’s not talk about the past! I haven’t heard that he’s retired a second time, so I assume he still has some Wolverine to offer us! I hope so, I love his portrayal! Ultimately, it was a blessing, as I had such a wonderful performance, spread over so many years, to draw inspiration from.

You can see Hugh grow in this role over the years, and as they say, “standing on the shoulders of giants.” So, I tried not to think about how impossible it would be to be Wolverine in the shadow of Hugh’s incredible work, but rather to think that we are creating our own Wolverine, with his own story, building our own legacy. It would have been impossible to think otherwise!

It wasn’t about copying or doing things differently, but about understanding what makes Logan who he is, and finding how to convey that through me, for our story. I hope, if I’ve done my job well, that it will feel like Logan in spirit, but with a different approach, for a different story. I’m lucky to be in such good company.

You previously took on a major role, succeeding Andy Whitfield in the series Spartacus. How did that experience influence, in any way, your approach to a character as anticipated as Logan?

This question perfectly sums up much of what I’ve said above. My career, as it is, really started the day I was chosen to play Spartacus. Unfortunately, it was because Andy, whom I adored in the series, had fallen ill and eventually passed away. What a loss for us all, he was so talented. The idea of trying to follow in his footsteps was… again… impossible.

But I tried to focus on what he had so beautifully found in Spartacus, and I realized that trying to copy him would only yield a pale imitation. Of course, people would simply want to see Andy again, not someone trying, and failing, to resemble him! So, I tried to work on the lessons he conveyed through his performance, and to pass them through me, so that even if his appearance, his way of moving and speaking were a bit different, one would hopefully still get the same “feeling” as him.

I did my best and was very happy to have been able to honor his legacy as best I could. I tried to carry those lessons with me into this project… that of trying to learn and honor the character, while accepting that I must do it my way.

You have already played several notable roles in video games, including JD Fenix in Gears of War and Taron Malicos in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. How have these experiences influenced your approach to the character of Wolverine, both vocally and physically?

I’ve been very fortunate to have played all these extraordinary characters. And every time you step on stage, you learn something new. These characters have taught me a lot about what works in video games, how to build characters on these stages, and how to act in these unique Performance Capture stage spaces, with helmets, lycra, velcro, and cameras trained on you.

So now, with Wolverine, I was used to this way of working, and I was able to fully focus on the character, concentrate on the work, without getting distracted, and use all that to my advantage to build this incredibly cool character!