Aussie actor Hugh Jackman was best known for musicals like “Oklahoma” when the Wolverine role was offered to him in the early 2000s. At the time, director Bryan Singer and 20th Century Fox had lost their original choice, Dougray Scott, to Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible II.” After “X-Men” became a huge hit, Jackman was briefly considered for the role of James Bond in what would end up being 2006’s “Casino Royale.” He turned down the part paving the way for Daniel Craig to ultimately take the reins from Pierce Brosnan. And now we have a better idea why he didn’t want to suit up as 007.
While speaking with IndieWire to promote his new drama “The Son,” Jackman got candid about his active choice early on in his Hollywood career to avoid juggling multiple action franchises at once, including turning down the chance to play the next James Bond in the 2000s. Jackman said this was a way to allow him more variety with his projects and not to be held hostage by two very demanding franchise roles.
READ MORE: Daniel Craig Said He Pitched Killing James Bond After The ‘Casino Royale’ Premiere
“I didn’t want to do the same things,” Jackman told IndieWire. “You know, the role of the hero action star. I mean, it was the meat-and-potatoes of a lot of American films, that archetype. It was all various forms of heroic guys in tough situations. I was like, ‘Uh, no. This is a problem.’” When Bond producers eventually inquired about playing James Bond, he wasn’t terribly keen on the idea, “I had a look at it. I was like, ‘If I’m doing that and Wolverine, I’ll have no time to do anything else.’ I clearly find it more interesting to play people who color outside the lines.”
This would allow Jackman the extra time in his schedule to dabble in more dramatic work and flesh out his acting abilities beyond playing the gruff Canadian mutant. Doing things such as Denis Villeneuve’s kidnapping thriller “Prisoners,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige,” and going back to his musical roots with “Les Misérables.” Although, he still ended up pursuing less franchise-focused action projects while also playing Wolverine with things such as the R-rated hacker heist pic “Swordfish,” the monster hunter vehicle “Van Helsing” and Disney’s boxing robot family adventure film “Real Steel.” All those characters and movies were very much different from each other, along with their tones, so he certainly has had plenty of variety over his career.
It’s now more than twenty-two years later. Jackman is set to return to the Wolverine role once more (after a previous retirement from the character post- “Logan”) with Shawn Levy’s “Deadpool 3” which will seemingly see both Logan and Wade Wilson finally join an MCU project for Marvel Studios as they’re inching closer to introducing mutants.
