In 2000, Australian actor Hugh Jackman mostly appeared in his local film works and “Oklahoma” before he became a household name when brought Marvel’s Wolverine to his life in the first X-Men movie. The Australian actor played the part for two decades and is set to reprise it again in the upcoming “Deadpool” movie with Ryan Reynolds.
Then, “X-Men” series became a smash hit, Jackman quickly found his name on the top of many potential casting lists – including the part that many action-oriented stars would die for, Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007, he was once up for the role of James Bond in 2006’s “Casino Royale”.
Speaking with IndieWire to promote his new drama “The Son,” Jackman revealed his early career choices in Hollywood and confirmed he turned down the chance to play James Bond in order to do more projects that allow him a greater variety of work: “I didn’t want to do the same things. 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.’
[James Bond] 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.”
That decision lead Jackman to find more serious dramatic fare, such as Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige,” Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Prisoners,” and so on. Nevertheless, even though he’s still tackling some action films outside the “X-Men” franchise with films ike “Swordfish” and “Van Helsing”. Meanwhile Daniel Craig ended up playing Bond to great success.
