Liev Schreiber is about to get feral, sinking his teeth and claws into the iconic role of Victor Creed, AKA Sabertooth for next summer’s prequel film X-Men Origins: Wolverine opposite Hugh Jackman as comicdom’s most popular mutant. And as he tells ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype!, he enjoyed vying with Logan to be the best there is at what he does, even if what he does isn’t very nice.
CS/SHH!: Did you ever think you’d be doing a comic book movie like “Wolverine”?
Liev Schreiber: No, I didn’t. I always hoped I would, but I never did. It was a sort of natural graduation from “Defiance,” actually. It’s true. It was a natural next step.
CS/SHH!: Why did you want to do “Wolverine”? What was the attraction?
Schreiber: I hope I’m not blowing anyone’s cover here, but I don’t think men really mature intellectually and emotionally beyond 22. Your bodies evolve, but nothing else, really. And so why should I stop wanting to be in a comic book movie?
CS/SHH!: What was your point of entry to the “X-Men” mythology? Were you familiar with the characters from the comic books at all?
Schreiber: I was a fan of the comic books. I just loved the character of Wolverine. I always have. That sort of deeply ironic and very urban sensibility in a superhero was something that I thought was really groundbreaking. And the style of writing was… particularly the very sort of editorial style. I just always loved it. And I think that we were able to capture some of that darkness in this movie, so I’m very proud of it.
CS/SHH!: So, what can you say about that film, just to touch on it a little, as a character, after…
Schreiber: I’m very excited about it. I’ve seen some footage, and I think it’s gonna be really very good.
CS/SHH!: How bad-ass do you look as Victor Creed?
Schreiber: It’s hard for me to say. But I’m really looking forward to people seeing it. I found it to be really intense. The character I play is incredibly brutal and feral, has blood-lust unlike any other character I’ve ever played. This guy is a real killer.
CS/SHH!: Did you enjoy working with Hugh?
Schreiber: I love Hugh. I mean, Hugh is the reason I did it. We’d been friends for a long time. And it’s just so much fun to work with him
To do fight scenes with Hugh was really terrific, because as a dancer, he has that kind of discipline and choreography. And I always studied to be a fight choreographer, and always wanted to be a dancer too, but didn’t quite have the feet for it. But we had some remarkable fight scenes together, and I’m looking forward to people seeing those.
CS/SHH!: As a veteran of superhero action, did Hugh have any advice for doing that kind of movie?
Schreiber: “Lift weights.” [Laughs] I did. I lifted weights, and I ate an army of chickens.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine hits theaters on May 1st. Look for the new trailer in theaters with The Day the Earth Stood Still on Friday.
