Hugh Jackman’s care for his young Logan co-star extended to the hours she worked and the fun she had on set. In a new interview, Dafne Keen remembers him helping her feel supported while she played one of the film’s most demanding roles.
Keen appeared on the November 3 episode of Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. She filmed Logan at 11, playing Laura, the young mutant also known as X-23, opposite Jackman’s exhausted Wolverine.
Looking after the person behind Laura
Recalling Jackman’s support, Keen said “he made sure that no one was abusing my hours.” She also remembered encouragement, useful advice and his efforts to keep behind-the-scenes tensions from affecting her experience. Variety’s report quotes her describing him as a parental presence.
Those are concrete details of what a supportive leading actor can do. For a child performer, attention to working time and the atmosphere around a scene can matter as much as praise after a take.
There was singing on the Logan set
The conversation also supplies a much lighter image of the production. Jackman was preparing for The Greatest Showman, and Keen, who trained in dance and acrobatics, loved musicals. She recalled the two singing and dancing on set. The discussion begins around 35 minutes into the interview.
James Mangold’s 2017 film puts an aging Logan and an ailing Professor X in hiding before Laura’s arrival brings danger to their door. It is a harsh world for a child character to inhabit. Keen’s recollection adds a welcome glimpse of the warmth surrounding the performance.
Featured photograph: Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen at the Logan photo call at the Berlin International Film Festival, February 17, 2017. Maximilian Bühn / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia-resized image; no additional edits. Archival photograph.
