Birdman has inspired Hugh Jackman to play Wolverine until he dies

Hugh Jackman has gone on the record about how hard it is to maintain the physique needed to portray Wolverine on the big screen, however it's obviously he loves playing the mutant. This has lead to some thinking that Jackman will hang up the adamantium claws in a few years, but in an interview with Cigar Aficionado, the actor says after checking out Michael Keaton in BIRDMAN, he doesn't want to stop playing the character.

I said to my wife, 'The moral is that I should never stop playing Wolverine. I've got to find a way to keep playing him until I die.' I know that someday they'll recast the role with another actor…I'd be happy if the role was eventually recast. It would mean that it had become iconic.

I wonder how Hugh Jackman feels about director Matthew Vaughn's X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST plans, which would have featured a different actor as the younger Wolverine. Although Jackman has played the character in seven movies and has done a great job, he says there's still room left for improvement.

I always want to be in better shape than I was for the last one. I don't believe in stagnation. People say they try to maintain the status quo. But I believe the natural cycle means you're either advancing and getting closer to something or you're receding…Every time I play Wolverine I want to go further, physically and emotionally.

I'm fine with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine until he (or more likely the case, the studio) decides he's finished with the character, and honestly, I don't know which other actors would be a good fit to play the mutant. But based on Jackman's comments above, that isn't something we'll have to worry about for a long time.

Hugh Jackman can be seen next in Neill Blomkamp's CHAPPIE on March 6, 2015, and although it hasn't been officially announced yet, he will probably return as Wolverine in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE, which is due to hit theaters on May 27, 2016.