He spent time in the land down under working on the next installment of the X-Men movies: Wolverine, where he plays alongside Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds as the villainous mutant The Blob also known as Frederick J. Dukes, a perennial X-Men character. The film is set for theatrical release in spring 2009.
"I wasn't a comic book kid because I was busy playing hockey here in Thunder Bay. That's all I wanted to do and all I dreamed of really. But when I saw the first (X-Men film), I was just in awe and the second one (X2:X-Men United) just blew me away," he said.
When he heard the news a new installment was in the works, he was hoping the producers would consider him for a part and luckily for Durand, they already knew his name and called for him to take a look at the part.
And to get the larger than life Blob ready for the cameras, it took six months of costume and special effects preparation.
"I have a feeling people are going to like him," Durand said. X-Men Orgins Wolverine opens May 1, 2009, and is directed by Gavin Hood, with stars Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Kitsch, Will.i.am, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan, Daniel Henney and Lynn Collins.
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