LOGAN Star Hugh Jackman On Saying Goodbye To Wolverine And Turning Down The Chance To Play JAMES BOND
In a new interview, Hugh Jackman reveals that he was offered the role of James Bond but his X-Men commitments got in the way. The actor also discusses his critically acclaimed final performance as Logan...
In anticipation of his latest role as P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman, Variety has published an in-depth profile of Academy Award-Winning actor Hugh Jackman, and it's well worth a read if you're a fan.
The interview touches base on a lot of topics, but perhaps most interestingly, Jackman confirms the rumors that he was offered the role of James Bond before Daniel Craig signed on.
“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.”
The Aussie star also says that it was a bittersweet feeling to bid farewell to Wolverine after playing him for so many years, while expressing some regret that he didn't get the opportunity to fully inhabit a more adult take on the iconic character sooner than Logan.
“I wish I’d started playing him like that 17 years ago. So there’s some sense of missed opportunity, but when I saw ‘Logan,’ I sat there and I did have tears in my eyes. The main feeling I had was: “There, that’s the character. I feel like I’ve done it now.” And I was calm and at peace, but I’m going to miss that guy.”
There are currently whispers that Fox execs haven't ruled out bringing Jackman back as Wolverine under the right circumstances, but if his comments here are any indication, it certainly sounds like he's put his berserker rage days behind him.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.