Hugh Jackman is one of the most prolific actors of his generation who has continued to rule the silver screen with his incredible cinematic talent and striking on-screen persona. Jackman has collaborated with many top-tier directors and celebrities in his celebrated career. The 54-year-old star has starred in many big-budgeted blockbusters, thrilling action-packed and genre-busting projects which have helped him display his multiple skills.
He has played varied roles and never shied away from doing significant physical transformations for many of his on-screen parts to demonstrate them flawlessly. He landed his first breakthrough role as Logan / Wolverine in the 2000 superhero film X-Men.
He became synonymous with depicting the beloved Marvel character in the lucrative X-Men film series. However, he was not the first choice to play this famous role. Several A-list actors were considered for it, including Dougray Scott, who turned it down due to a scheduling conflict with Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible 2.
Dougray Scott Nearly Starred in Hugh Jackman-led X-Men Film
Hugh Jackman is a man of many talents. The actor has captivated the audience with his head-turning movie debut, muscled-up, shredded physique, and over-the-top acting chops. Jackman has effectively played his on-screen characters and has earned critical acclaim. However, even though he had ventured into other roles in his career, the mesmeric star has always been closely associated with his popular Marvel character Logan / Wolverine, whom he portrayed in the fan-favorite X-Men film series.
Also Read: “A game changer”: Despite 23 Years in Marvel, Hugh Jackman’s 2 Favorite Superhero Films are DC
The Sydney native star made his iconic character appearance as Wolverine, starting with the 2002 superhero movie X-Men, and delivered a powerful performance. But before he got the perks of depicting this famous character, several A-list actors were in the quest of becoming Logan. According to reports, Russell Crowe was the first choice to play Wolverine, but he turned it down, and later, Dougray Scott was offered the part with a whopping salary deal.
Nevertheless, Scott also passed on the opportunity, though he had initially planned on playing the role, but due to schedule conflicts, he turned down the job. At the time, the actor was filming Mission: Impossible 2 with Hollywood stalwart Tom Cruise. In a candid interview, the Crime star reportedly claimed that Cruise forced him to turn down the offer, as he told The Daily Telegraph:
“That one was out of my control. Tom Cruise didn’t let me do it. We were doing Mission Impossible, and he was like, You’ve got to stay and finish the film, and I said I will, but I’ll go and do that as well. For whatever reason, he said I couldn’t. He was a very powerful guy. Other people were doing everything to make it work. I love what Hugh did with it. He’s a lovely guy.”
Despite his preference to play Wolverine, Dougray Scott was forced to drop the project due to his schedule conflicts with Cruise-led Mission: Impossible 2.
Hugh Jackman Claims He Initially Believed He Would Not Get Wolverine’s Role
In an interview, Hollywood star Hugh Jackman opened up about his experience auditioning for the role of Logan / Wolverine for the 2000 superhero film X-Men. The actor revealed that his audition for the part was only 20 seconds long, saying,
“When I walked into that room, I was pretty sure that I wasn’t playing the role. It was a weird audition because Dougray Scott had the role, and then he got caught up on ‘Mission: Impossible II,’ but everyone thought that would get sorted. But the studio said, ‘Look, we need a backup plan just in case.'”
After Dougray Scott turned down the movie, makers cast Jackman as Wolverine, who gave phenomenal performances in each of its sequels and helped ascend the X-Men series to new heights.
X-Men is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
