Hugh Jackman-Starrer ‘The Wolverine’ Hits Screens On Friday, Actor Thankful For The Role

Hugh Jackman will have portrayed the Marvel comic book superhero a total of six times when “The Wolverine,” opens in theaters across the nation on Friday.

While fans of the character have now started equating the actor with his on-screen alter-ego, Jackman, in a recent interview, said that it won’t be long before he passes on the baton to someone new.

“That’s a given,” Jackman said, during an interview with New York Daily News. “Look, mate, that character has existed for 40 years before I took him on and he’ll exist way longer than me. I feel very lucky I’ve had as many goes as I’ve had.”

“It’ll feel a little weird [seeing someone else in the role], but I’m sure it felt a little weird for Sean Connery watching other people play James Bond,” he added.

The first five movies that starred Jackman as Wolverine were highly successful at the box office, earning $2 billion worldwide, because of Jackman's appeal as the superhero, Daily News reported. Jackman will once again don Wolverine’s claws a seventh time on "X-Men: Days of Future Past," which is slated for a May 2014 release.

While Jackman said he is privileged to be enacting the superhero’s role more times than any actor has portrayed a comic book character, Jackman said he is aware that he will not be able to take on the physical demands of portraying the character for too long.

“I love this character and I never take for granted the opportunity I have to play what I think is one of the cooler, more interesting, multilayered comic book characters, particularly with this one I have wanted to do the story,” Jackman told the Daily News.

“At some point my body will give up, but right now I’m enjoying it more than ever.”