Hugh Jackman ended his tenure as Wolverine when he made his final appearance as the character in 2017’s Logan. Fans continue to speculate about who will take over once Marvel Studios regains the X-Men movie rights. However, it’s still going to be difficult to separate Jackman from the role that made him a star, especially in light of this latest announcement. Via MARVEL.COM, Guinness World Records has honored Jackman for having the longest career as a live-action Marvel superhero.
The distinction specifies that Jackman played Wolverine for 16 years and 228 days, starting with his breakthrough performance in 2000’s X-Men. It also notes that he shares the award with Patrick Stewart, who began playing Professor Charles Xavier in the same film and also retired his role after starring opposite Jackman in Logan. Jackman was presented with his certificate on an episode of ITV’s This Morning. You can check out a clip from the episode.
“When I was a kid, the Guinness Book of Records was it,” Jackman said. “That’s it, I’ve made it! This is why I got into showbiz, thank you.”
It’s true that no other actor has played a superhero for as many years as Jackman has. Nevertheless, a number of stars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have him beat in terms of film totals. Most notably, Robert Downey Jr. will have played Tony Stark / Iron Man in 10 MCU installments by the time Avengers: Endgame is released. Conversely, Jackman appeared in nine entries in the X-Men franchise.