Hugh Jackman Describes His Disastrous Wolverine Audition and the Kind Gesture Kevin Feige Offered the Actor at the Time
Hugh Jackman is about to step back on the silver screen as Wolverine seven years after his supposed swan song, Logan was released. Jackman first auditioned for the role 25 years ago, after having been turned down once and seeing Dougray Scott cast in the role.
But, unbeknownst to Jackman, the actor's schedule with Mission: Impossible 2 would eventually pull him away entirely, forcing a last-minute recast after filming was underway.
EW reports that Scott later told The Telegraph in 2020 that Tom Cruise wouldn’t let him do both movies and mandated he "stay and finish the film."
Jackman remembers that he was then brought in to read lines for director Bryan Singer in the director's trailer with screenwriter Tom DeSanto sitting in the corner.
Jackman explained, He's just going, 'Quiet… Quieter… Quieter.' By the end, I couldn't even hear myself," Jackman says of DeSanto. "I could tell he was like, Why on my lunch hour am I auditioning some guy for a part that I've already cast? He was pissed off."
Further behind the scenes, "there was a scramble to get our Wolverine," Feige says. "Lauren [Shuler Donner, his boss,] was very excited about this Australian guy, who had been rejected initially.
“In my memory, one of the main reasons was that he was too tall." (Jackman is 6 foot 3.) "Wolverine in the comics is called 'Lil' Fireplugs' sometimes. He's a short guy. But they were desperate."
Jackman left that audition deflated, convinced he was never getting the part. However, instead of driving him directly back to the Toronto airport, Feige offered to first take him out for a meal with the screenwriter. ("I didn't want to just send him out into the cold!") "I said, 'Kevin, we all know I'm not getting the part. You don't have to do dinner.’
“But no, he sat in there and had a steak dinner with me and then drove me to the airport. I'll never forget it. That was the nicest thing. I thought, I'll never see him again."
Not only did Jackman land the career-defining role, but he would definitely see Feige again. The years went by and Fox continued its series of interconnected X-Men movies. Now they have reunited for the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine in theatres on July 26th.