Jackman on Wolverine and Ledger Death

Jackman is deep into shooting the X-Men spinoff and new Seed project Wolverine in Sydney with co-stars Liev Schreiber and Ryan Reynolds.

"I'm used to these movies now," he says. "They're big and there's a lot involved, a lot at stake, so it's always high pressure. But Gavin Hood, our director, is a real force. He's an Oscar-winning director (for Tsotsi) and he's used to working under different kinds of pressure and stresses."

Jackman hand-picked Melbourne youngster Kodi Smit-McPhee (Romulus, My Father) to play Wolverine as a young man.

"He's one of those kids who's fearless," Jackman says. "I hope he doesn't read this article because yes, there is pressure on him because of who he's playing and the expectations of fans. I was lucky to be completely ignorant of fans' expectations and the whole world before X-Men came out. I just hope he doesn't read too much or go on the internet because he naturally has the goods I know the fans will love."

It's indicative of Jackman's clout that he arranged for Wolverine to be shot in Sydney.

As for The Dark Knight and Heath Ledger...

The late Heath Ledger was a regular visitor to the New York set of "Deception" (out now) where Jackman plays the bad guy, and and his co-star was Ledger's then partner Michelle Williams...

"At the time of shooting, beginning of last year, the situation was very different, those guys were together and both very committed parents and Michelle obviously still is," Jackman says.

"I just really feel for her. It's an incredibly difficult time and she's an unbelievably committed mother. As a working actress, a year ago her focus was very much on (daughter) Matilda and looking after her. Nothing has changed there."