Hugh Jackman can eviscerate a bad guy with adamantium claws that protrude and retract from his skin as Wolverine, fierce X-Men member.

Hugh Jackman can also bring tears to the eyes of audience members as Jean Valjean, imploring God to “Bring Him Home” in Les Miserables.

Jackman can sing. And he can do it in front of a live audience, night after night, just like a real actor.

But Jackman’s next role might have more of the bloody work than he bargained for. He will be in Jez Butterworth’s stage production of The River. In that play, he brings his girlfriend to a remote fishing cabin. In one scene, Jackman will have to clean, prepare and cook a real trout on stage. He will do this every night. And that involves a knife.

Cleaning and cooking a fish in his own kitchen or cabin is fine with Jackman.

“I love the idea of doing all that, in silence and alone, except I’m on stage in front of 750 people. I love the power of theatre to create a moment like that – though if I cut myself and start bleeding all over the place it might not be so silent.”

Jackman had a little more experience with a blade recently than he wanted, The Australian actor had to undergo his third treatment for basal cell carcinoma. He is fine now, but used the experience as an opportunity to warn the public about taking care of their skin.

“I’m realistic about the future and it’s more than likely that I’ll have at least one more but probably many more,” he told Fox News, “which is not uncommon for an Aussie particularly from English stock growing up in Australia where I don’t remember ever being told to put sunscreen on. But the beauty of this is it’s all preventable, it’s just about getting proper check-ups. I can be typical man, a little lazy, I couldn’t be bothered and now I’m not lazy at all.”