LOST's Josh Holloway Was Originally Cast as Gambit in X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE
A lot of fans thought that former Lost and Colony star Josh Holloway would make for a great Gambit. It turns out that at one point he almost actually played the character in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine! While talking to Digital Spy, Holloway reveals that he was actually cast as Remy LeBeau before some executive at Fox decided they wanted to go with a younger actor and they ultimately replaced him with Taylor Kitsch.
"I actually screen-tested with Hugh Jackman. It was amazing – they said, ‘You’re it, you’re the guy, you’re Gambit!’ and they shook my hand. Then [the studio head] said, ‘I want someone really young, like that kid in High School Musical!’, so there I went."
It's crazy how something like that could change so quickly. Holloway would have been great as Gambit, but ultimately it might have been better for him not to be in that movie. The actor did admit that there was one aspect of the character that he had a problem with... the accent:
"I’m terrible at the Cajun accent. I wish I could [do it]."
As you know, Channing Tatum has been trying to get a solo Gambit film off the ground for years. That movie is scheduled to start shooting this summer and the studio is hoping to finally release it in June 2019.
Would you have liked to see Holloway play Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine?