Hugh Jackman famously turned down the chance to play James Bond, but he had a good reason for rejecting the role. After Daniel Craig wrapped up his tenure as 007 in No Time to Die, the search is on for a new actor to play Bond. The producers have yet to reveal who their frontrunner is, but if history is an indicator, there’s no guarantee that whoever they choose to offer the role to will actually accept it. From Burt Reynolds to Liam Neeson to Christian Bale, a bunch of A-list stars have turned down the opportunity to play 007 over the years – and Jackman is one of them.
When Pierce Brosnan stepped down from playing Bond after Die Another Day, the producers were in the same position they’re in now, in need of a replacement. Eon cast a wide net in the search for a new Bond actor. They ended up narrowing down the shortlist to Craig and Henry Cavill, and eventually chose Craig as Cavill was too young at the time (which is why rumors are flying that an older Cavill will now inherit the role from Craig). Before Craig was officially cast as 007 in Casino Royale, one of the many actors the producers approached was Jackman.
Hugh Jackman Wanted To Focus On Wolverine
In an interview with IndieWire, Jackman revealed that he turned down the role of Bond in order to focus on the X-Men series: “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.’” He didn’t want to take on more than one franchise at a time. When an existing franchise role already takes up half of an actor’s time, they don’t necessarily want to fill the other half with a different franchise. If Jackman was playing Wolverine and Bond at the same time, he would’ve spent a decade just switching between those two characters, which didn’t sound ideal.
He also didn’t want to limit himself as an actor. After he began starring in the X-Men movies, Jackman was offered a lot of similar action hero roles and felt pigeonholed by typecasting. He said, “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 film, that archetype. It was all various forms of heroic guys in tough situations.” Jackman had covered that ground with his performance as Wolverine, and wanted to branch out and try something new.
In the years since Jackman turned down playing Bond, he’s taken advantage of the freedom allowed by only committing to one franchise. He’s played a wide range of different characters. He played a desperate father in Prisoners, a politician in The Front Runner, an escaped convict in Les Misérables, a great showman in The Greatest Showman, a lost rat in Flushed Away, a vindictive Victorian stage magician in The Prestige, a robot boxing trainer in Real Steel, and an intertwined conquistador, scientist, and space traveler in The Fountain. If he played Bond, he might not have gotten those opportunities.
Daniel Craig Won The Role Instead
After Jackman turned down the role of Bond, the producers ended up giving it to Craig. Like Michael Keaton when he was cast as Batman, Craig was met with some criticism when he was cast as 007. The criticism was mainly targeted at Craig’s physical appearance, with some fans complaining about his blond hair and blue eyes. Reflecting on the fan outrage that followed his casting, Craig told Yahoo! Entertainment, “People’s criticism was sort of understandable. I mean, I grew up watching Bond, so I couldn’t criticize other people for having passions about it.”
Producer Barbara Broccoli is less understanding of the upset fans: “The fact that they were complaining that he was blond stupefied me, because Roger Moore [who played Bond in seven movies, more than any other actor] was blond. I didn’t know what they were talking about.” Craig continued to face backlash until he made his debut in the role. Of course, as soon as Casino Royale hit theaters and was instantly praised as a near-perfect Bond movie, those critics were silenced and Craig took his place as one of the most acclaimed Bond actors.
Hugh Jackman Would Have Been The Second Australian Bond Actor
If Jackman had taken the role of 007, it would’ve made him the second Australian actor to play Bond on the big screen. When Sean Connery took a break from playing Bond in between You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever, Australian model-turned-actor George Lazenby took over the role for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. With stunning cinematography, an iconic musical score, and a heartbreaking final twist, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has been praised as one of the greatest Bond movies ever made. Lazenby never played Bond a second time, but he left a heck of a mark on his first go-around. If Jackman had accepted Eon’s offer to play 007, he would’ve had a lot to live up to.