Laura/X23 Star Dafne Keen Talks Her Return

[This story does not contain major spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine. But it does contain spoilers for The Acolyte.]

24 hours after Dafne Keen performed the tragic demise of her Star Wars: The Acolyte Jedi, she was reviving her signature role from Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine. 

At age 11, Keen played Laura/X-23, the cloned daughter of Hugh Jackman’s Logan/Wolverine, in James Mangold’s revered superhero neo-Western. On account of the character’s immediate popularity, there was talk of a potential X-23 spinoff, but she was soon lost in the shuffle of the Disney-Fox merger that began nine months after Logan’s March 2017 release. The Oscar-nominated film also served as Hugh Jackman’s farewell to his defining role, and the absence of Keen’s “anchor being” only lessened her chances of continuing on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the merger eventually gave way to the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, allowing for just about any combination of Marvel characters to exist in the same frame.

Years later, in September 2022, Jackman and Ryan Reynolds announced that the former would reprise the role of Wolverine in Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine, and the involvement of Keen’s character became all but inevitable. Jackman may not be portraying the same version of Logan that met a tearful end in his eponymously titled film, but the connection between mutant father and daughter still transcends universes.

“Shawn [Levy] told me this lovely story about him reading this scene where Deadpool was telling Wolverine about X–23, and thinking, ‘Maybe we should just have X-23,’” Keen tells The Hollywood Reporter. “She’s a big emotional motor for Wolverine, and Wolverine is her entire emotional motor.”

Naturally, Keen has had Mangold in mind since the early days of her Marvel return. After all, he gave her the biggest break of her young career, beating out a who’s who of child actors in the 10- to- 12-year-old range at the time. The two then addressed the subject at Star Wars Celebration in April 2023, as Keen was there to promote The Acolyte, while Mangold was on hand to talk Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and his upcoming Star Wars film, Dawn of the Jedi.

“Jim and I saw each other at Star Wars Celebration, and … he was like, ‘I heard you’re in Deadpool.’ So we spoke about it, but we chat every so often. He’s good,” Keen shares. “But I hope Jim likes Deadpool & Wolverine. I would hate it if he didn’t like it. I look up to him very much creatively.”

Deadpool & Wolverine winds up being a heartfelt tribute to the bygone eras of Marvel cinema, especially 20th Century Fox’s Marvel universe. Thus, the film’s multiverse exploits are impossible to see coming.

“I had a FaceTime with Shawn a week after I was cast, and he was like, ‘I can’t tell you who they are yet, but all of your scenes are with iconic Hollywood actors,’” Keen says. “I was filming [Whistle] in Toronto, and then they sent me back [to Deadpool]. I took a flight on Thursday and landed [in London] on Friday afternoon, and I immediately drove straight, with suitcase, to set. I then went to Ryan’s trailer, and we all did a read-through and watched the first 15 minutes of the film. I was just completely delirious and jet lagged in a room with Hollywood’s brightest … So it was the most surreal moment of my life, and I was just so terrified. I couldn’t believe my life, and I just sat next to Hugh and was like, ‘Please protect me. This is insane.’ But everyone was hilarious and lovely and so normal. It was amazing.”

Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Keen also discusses how surprised she was to hear that Disney’s marketing team was revealing her confidential role a week ahead of release. Then she offers her thoughts on Osha’s “back-stabby” choice in The Acolyte’s season finale.

Well, you’ve been keeping a lot of secrets the last year and a half or so.

I have!

What was the timeline of The Acolyte versus Deadpool & Wolverine?

They were very back to back. Spoiler alert, my Acolyte character dies in [episode five], so I shot my death and was immediately in [Deadpool & Wolverine] fittings the day after my death scene. I was still shooting other stuff [for The Acolyte], but while I was shooting, I was doing fittings and stuff for Deadpool & Wolverine. So I got the call for Deadpool while we were shooting the second or third episode of the show, and when we wrapped, I immediately went into stunt training with them. I then did two scenes before the SAG-AFTRA strike happened, and then I came back in December.

Who was the first person to raise the subject of Laura’s return? 

I am not really sure, but I’ve spoken to Shawn [Levy] about this. I think it was a question of how they were going to approach telling Wolverine’s story after Logan without ruining the legacy Logan had left. Shawn told me this lovely story about him reading this scene where Deadpool was telling Wolverine about X–23, and thinking, “Maybe we should just have X-23.” To me, she’s a big emotional motor for Wolverine, and Wolverine is her entire emotional motor. So the thought process behind it is that she brings a lot of humanity and empathy to his character, and after they all thought of it together, I was very, very lucky to get that phone call.

Manny Jacinto recently told me about the time you referred to him as a “stunt god” at Star Wars Celebration, which he had to walk back. 

I did say that!

Did you ever get close to revealing your own classified information?

Every time they asked me, “Where is your character going this season?” it was always hard to not say how excited I was about Jecki’s death scene. I always find that the characters who get to epically die are the coolest. I like when a character goes out like a badass, and my character went out like a badass. I got to do a sick fight with double sabers, and she really held her own before dying in a really epic, sudden, tragic way. So I really wanted to tell everyone about that, and I did almost reveal it a bunch of times. But, in my defense, the “stunt god” thing was prompted by Charlie Barnett. I will not take the blame for that. That was all Charlie, and I slipped. So I apologized, but that was Charlie Barnett’s fault.

You were also keeping the Deadpool & Wolverine secret while sitting next to Charlie and Manny during Acolyte press, and people kept asking you about the movie. Did Charlie and Manny figure out that you were in it?

They knew I was back. I told Charlie while we were filming; Charlie is one of my closest friends in real life. And it’s all Disney, so everyone on [The Acolyte] knew that I was in it. If you look closely at the interviews, there’s one interview that Charlie sent to me where it’s so obvious that [the reporter] knew, and the three of us were so awkward. They were like, “What are you doing for [the movie]?” And I was like, “I’m going to go watch it.” And they were like, “We can all go watch it together!” But I had a great time lying about it, and it was a long time coming. Every time I did press for the last year and a half, I was asked about Deadpool & Wolverine, so it’s nice to finally talk about it.

At the Acolyte junket, I brought up the fact that Leslye Headland wanted to see Laura with a lightsaber, and then I asked you if you were amazed that your 11-year-old self is still paying dividends all these years later. And you replied, “Yeah, she keeps getting me roles.” So Deadpool & Wolverine must’ve been the reason why you used the plural form of role? 

Yes, it was me making a little secret joke there that you’d get months later. But, also, very luckily, I was a part of this movie [Logan] that people are still talking about seven years later. When I go into audition rooms, I still get asked about what it was like to work with Jim [Mangold] and Hugh [Jackman] and Patrick [Stewart]. That set was such a school. I got to act with the incredible Patrick Stewart, the incomparable Hugh Jackman, and while I barely had scenes with these other actors, we had an incredible cast with people like Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant and Boyd Holbrook. So I learned so much on that set, and it’s so incredible that people are still talking about it. I owe my entire career to that job, from a projection point to also a creative and growth point. The fact that I got my first big job with a cast that talented really shaped me as an actor.

Of course, you don’t need anyone’s permission, but did you still email Jim Mangold and give him a heads-up so that he didn’t hear about your return through the grapevine?

Jim and I saw each other at Star Wars Celebration, and he mentioned it to me. He was like, “I heard you’re in Deadpool.” And I was like, “Yeah.” So we spoke about it, but we chat every so often. He’s good. He obviously had his amazing trailer [for A Complete Unknown] come out yesterday. I’m really excited about it. I’m actually going to watch it. That’s not me making up another line to distract from me being in it. (Laughs.) But I hope Jim likes Deadpool & Wolverine. I would hate it if he didn’t like it. I look up to him very much creatively.

For what it’s worth, I was very pleased with how well the movie honors Logan. Were you expecting Disney’s marketing team to reveal Laura ahead of release? 

No, it was huge. I was literally doing flat viewings, and I got a text from Shawn while they were in Rio. Both our signals were really bad, so we kept sending really jagged messages to each other. He was like, “Dafne, call me when you’re free.” And I was like, “I’m free now.” And then he was like, “Dafne, call me when you’re free.” And I was like, “I just texted you.” And then he was like, “Dafne, call me when you’re free.” So I was freaking out, and I actually sent him a screenshot of all the messages. I was like, “What is going on, Shawn? Please ring me right now.” And then he rang me and was like, “I’m in Rio, and the signal is really bad. I just wanted to tell you before anyone else tells you that we’re revealing you tomorrow.” And I was like, “What!?” So we spoke about it, and we were both very excited for it, but I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was going to be a secret. There were talks of me going to the premiere and pretending to be Hugh’s plus-one, which would’ve been hilarious. Everyone would’ve been like, “What the fuck is this kid doing here? Obviously, you’re in the film.”

As we see in the trailer, Laura has a very dramatic scene with Wolverine near a campfire, and she concludes by saying, “You were always the wrong guy — till you weren’t.” Was it still emotional for the two of you even though you and your characters both knew that it technically wasn’t the same Logan? 

Yeah, that was a really fun thing for me to play. Imagine losing your only father figure in life, only to reunite with your father almost ten years later, but he doesn’t know that you are his daughter and he doesn’t have that bond with you in return. So it’s heartbreaking and beautiful that they are almost father and daughter in every universe. As soon as they meet each other, he feels comfortable enough to have that conversation with her. I don’t think he would’ve had that conversation with anyone else, and she wouldn’t have had that conversation with anyone else either. So it was a really lovely thing to play, because, even if he doesn’t know her, he does know her. They’re one and the same. So it was a really emotional day for me and Hugh. We were at this campfire, and we’d done scenes at a campfire in Logan. We were in a forest, and we’d done a bunch of forest scenes in Logan. The last time we’d acted together was his death scene [in Logan], I think, and now we were back doing this. It was a night shoot, and you’re already delirious because it’s 3:00 AM, but it was still a very emotional day. 

You found yourself on a couple sets with a very unexpected group of people. We can’t say their names yet, but did you hear ahead of time who you’d be sharing scenes with? Or was it top secret till the day? 

I had a FaceTime with Shawn a week after I was cast, and he was like, “I can’t tell you who they are yet, but all of your scenes are with iconic Hollywood actors.” And I was like, “Okay, whatever.” (Laughs.) So I don’t think anyone told me. And then, a few weeks before we shot, I went into production and I saw the costume designs with them. And I was like, “I wonder if it’s them.” I then had a fitting right after one of the cameos, and I was like, “Are my scenes with him?” They weren’t; it was just another random, but crazy, cameo.

I shot a horror film [Whistle] during the strikes; it had an [interim agreement]. But Deadpool obviously had preference because I’d already been doing it before [Whistle]. So I was filming that in Toronto, and then they sent me back [to Deadpool]. I took a flight on Thursday and landed [in London] on Friday afternoon, and I immediately drove straight, with suitcase, to set. I then went to Ryan’s trailer, and we all did a read-through and watched the first 15 minutes of the film. I was just completely delirious and jet lagged in a room with Hollywood’s brightest doing a read-through. So it was the most surreal moment of my life, and I was just so terrified. I couldn’t believe my life, and I just sat next to Hugh and was like, “Please protect me. This is insane.” But everyone was hilarious and lovely and so normal. It was amazing. 

When was your first proper reunion with Hugh? 

The first reunion we had was after I had the costume fitting where I met the random cameo. I was halfway through the fitting and they were like, “Hugh is on stage next door and he really wants to see you. Can you just rush out?” I was trying on jeans, so I had tags hanging off me, but I was like, “Yeah, sure!” I then ran over while they were approving a set, and I just walked in and Hugh was like, “Oh my god, it’s you!” And then we hugged, and it was really crazy because we hadn’t seen each other in ages. He was like, “Oh my God, you’re so tall.” And I was like, “Well, you haven’t seen me since I was 12.” (Laughs.) So we hugged, but it was very quick because we were both being rushed.

And then, as I was leaving, my car got stopped. They were like, “Shawn, Ryan and Hugh would love for you to read a scene with them.” And I was like, “Right now?” So we went and read the scene, and it was really fun and nice. The picture that Hugh posted of us was taken in that little room. And then our first scene together was not the campfire scene. That was the second scene we shot. The first scene we shot was a very random one that Hugh and I barely have dialogue in, so we just got to catch up off camera, which was really sweet. 

Did they have to make new glasses, or did you rummage through your closet to find your box of Logan stuff? 

(Laughs.) They made me new ones. I think we tried a model of the old ones, but they looked ridiculously small on my face. Everyone was like, “Yeah, that’s silly. We’re not doing that.” But we did make new glasses, and that was my favorite bit of the costume. I also have a belt that has an X on it, which I really liked.

Laura’s ground fighting and wire work had a very specific look back in the day, and Deadpool & Wolverine managed to have your adult self move in the way you once moved as a kid. Was recreating your Logan movement and style actually a priority from the start?  

Yeah, one of the first things that happened was stunt training, and they did a physical assessment to see how in shape I was. Luckily, I’d just come off of Star Wars, so I was nimble. And the second conversation we had was like, “Do you want to show us what you did? This is kind of what we wanted to do, but this is your character. You’ve played her before. Teach us how she moves and how she would do these things.” I also had the most amazing double, Nadia [Hansell], and we basically figured out how she would be now.

So it was very lovely, and we gave a few nods to Logan. A lot of her physicality comes from the sound she makes when she’s doing it, and because she has claws in her feet, she has much more kicking and footwork than Wolverine does. There’s a little nod to Logan’s X-24 fight when she’s on [Spoiler’s] back and is stabbing him. That was similar to X-24 and X-23’s fight at the farmhouse. So there were a lot of little nods to Logan, and yesterday, I actually looked through videos of stunt training for Logan and Deadpool. So it was really sweet to see how insanely different I looked but how similar the fights were. 

When you see footage of yourself from Logan, what tends to cross your mind?

Weirdly, I was just talking to another child actor friend of mine about this. I find it really hard to watch work from the last five years of my life, whereas when I watch Logan, I can just watch it like a home video. I had watched Logan at the premieres, and then I watched little clips of it here and there, but then I had to rewatch the film for Deadpool. So it was crazy to actually watch it and understand it as a grown-up. But I think it’s a very universal child actor thing where all I see is memories when I watch my work as a kid. I’ll watch a scene and I’ll be like, “Oh my god, that was the day that this happened,” and, “Oh my god, Hugh did that on set that day.” Then I’ll watch another scene and I’ll be like, “Oh yeah, my mum was with me on set that day,” or, “That was my dad’s day.” So it’s very weird when I watch it now, and it’s like I’m watching a little journal, except it’s a movie that I made. That would never happen to me now [when I watch work from the last five years].

As for Jecki, she had a connection of sorts with Osha (Amandla Stenberg), so how do you think she would feel if she saw the end of the season where Osha joins forces with her executioner?

I think she’d feel a little bit hurt. It’s a bit back-stabby of Osha. I don’t love that from her, but I do think Jecki would understand because she was a very compassionate person. There’s a very lovely scene where you can see that Osha does care about Jecki. She’s with Stranger, and she was like, “You killed Yorde.” And he was like, “A man who didn’t hesitate to turn you in for a crime you didn’t commit.” And then she went, “You killed Jecki!” And he was like, “That was one-sided.” So I think she would understand, but from her point of view as a Jedi, she’d also be like, “He’s being manipulative. He’s from the Dark Side.” So she’d be compassionate, but she’d also be like, “What the fuck? Get away from Osha.”

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Deadpool & Wolverine is now playing in movie theaters.