Could Hugh Jackman Be the Next James Bond?
The actor reveals a strange connection to the 007 franchise.
The name’s Jackman. Hugh Jackman.
In a recent appearance on Australian news show The Project, the actor best known for his role as clawed mutant Wolverine of the the X-Men franchise revealed that he’d “seriously consider” taking on the mantle of James Bond if offered, Entertainment Weeklyreports.
Jackman said he’d already been approached by the Bond cabal about swapping the adamantium claws and coifed hairdo for a martini and dinner jacket while shooting X2 in 2002, but he turned the role down in favor of continuing on as Wolverine. ““I was like, ‘Ah, I don’t think it’s the right time,'” he told The Project. “But it was not an easy one to give up.”
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Posted by The Project on Wednesday, September 2, 2015
In retrospect, it may have been a smart choice: Jackman’s appeared on the silver screen as Wolverine for nearly 15 years, and the franchise has raked in more than $3 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
But with Jackman planning on hanging up his claws anyway and the post-Daniel Craig era of the 007 franchise in flux (Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, and Damian Lewis are being floated as potential replacements), who knows: perhaps one of the world’s most recognizable mutants may evolve yet again into the suave MI6 agent.