Hugh Jackman Once Turned Down Playing the Role of James Bond
After Pierce Brosnan’s run as James Bond was finished, Daniel Craig seamlessly stepped into the character role and brought the franchise to new heights. As it turns out, however, the James Bond franchise could have gone in a completely different direction.
In a recent interview, X-Men and The Greatest Showman star Hugh Jackman revealed that he was once given an offer to play the role of the suave 007. Jackman turned down the role at the time and has just revealed his reasons for doing so. Jackman told Variety:
“I was about to do ‘X-Men 2’ and a call came from my agent asking if I’d be interested in Bond. I just felt at the time that the scripts had become so unbelievable and crazy, and I felt like they needed to become grittier and real. And the response was: ‘Oh, you don’t get a say. You just have to sign on.’ I was also worried that between Bond and ‘X-Men,’ I’d never have time to do different things.”
James Bond is easily one of the most iconic characters in film history so, turning down a role like this is tremendous. Jackman went on to explain a little further about how he began to feel “claustrophobic” and he started to fear being type-cast into roles. He said:
“I always tried to do different things. But there was a time between ‘X-Men 3’ and the first Wolverine movie when I could see the roles getting smaller. People wanted me to play that kind of hero part exclusively. It felt a little bit claustrophobic.”
Ultimately, it all worked out in the end. Jackman continued with the X-Men and Wolverine franchises while Craig assumed the role of 007. Can you imagine how different those Bond films would have been if Hugh Jackman was cast into the role?
What do you think about Hugh Jackman almost playing James Bond? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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A karaoke obsessed, craft beer enthusiast and lover of all things pop culture, Denise enjoys all facets of entertainment from Broadway to box office blockbusters. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, concerts (lots and lots of concerts), volunteering, reading and playing with her rescue kitten, Samantha (who rescued who, right?).
