Hugh Jackman has starred in both blockbusters and critically acclaimed indies, but what notable roles has the Wolverine actor turned down in his long career? Like any actor who has enjoyed decades of success, Hugh Jackman has turned down several parts in his time. Sometimes scheduling conflicts made accepting the offers impossible, and in other cases, Jackman didn't commit because he didn't believe in the project.
The actor has enjoyed both critical and commercial success over his long screen career, with his role as X-Men's Wolverine remaining one of the most recognizable faces in comic book cinema. With roles ranging from the gritty domestic drama Prisoners to the lavish musical period piece Les Miserables, Jackman has always endeavored to balance his time between big-budget productions and smaller independent projects. It's this balancing act that has seen audiences flock to his hits like the X-Men films, The Prestige, Logan, and the unfairly critically maligned The Greatest Showman.
But for every impressive role that Jackman excelled in, there's an equally prominent part the actor turned down. Sometimes these were blessings in disguise, as the movies he opted to focus on were far more successful than the duds he avoided (like the critically-panned Cats). But often the parts that Jackman was seriously considered for were movies that succeeded regardless of his absence, and it's interesting to imagine how different cinema history might be if he'd decided to work on these films from directors as diverse as Ron Howard, Martin Campbell, Joel Schumacher, and Rob Marshall.
The Da Vinci Code
The adventures of Dan Brown's perpetually endangered professor captured the minds of the public for a hot minute and his bestseller The Da Vinci Code was a genuine phenomenon... for a time. But as 2016's box office bomb Inferno proved, Robert Langdon's box office appeal was short-lived, and by the time Ron Howard's belated film adaptation made it to the screen starring a tired Tom Hanks as Langdon, the film fell flat with critics. Jackman was offered the part and not a lot is known about why he opted not to take it, but scheduling conflicts likely played a role in the decision, as they did with Howard's original choice Bill Paxton. After all, Jackman had a full slate that year starring in Flushed Away (which oddly, also stars The Da Vinci Code's Jean Reno and Ian McKellen) and the famously messy production X-Men: The Last Stand. It's a shame as Jackman would be perfectly suited to Langdon's mixture of everyman charm, quick wit, and resourcefulness, making this the lone title here that might have been salvaged if the Wolverine actor opted to take on the part.
Casino Royale
Probably the most notable title on this list, 2006's Casino Royale was the gritty first outing for Daniel Craig's James Bond. Edgier and darker than the preceding Pierce Brosnan installments, the film was a wholesale re-imagining of the franchise which dispensed with the gadgets and goofy one-liners in favor of Bourne-influenced post 9/11 paranoia and angst. It's a spectacular action film and an engaging thriller, although the argument that Craig's older, more self-serious Bond strays too far from the character's escapist roots could have been counteracted by hiring the less-intense Jackman. But Jackman chose to reprise the role of Wolverine in X2 over playing Bond when producers told him he would have no creative control over the franchise's direction. This put off Jackman, who'd envisioned a grittier Bond (not unlike what producers eventually settled on). But the film was a success without Jackman — unlike other titles he turned down.
The Phantom of the Opera
The late Joel Schumacher's glitzy re-imagining of the Broadway classic The Phantom of the Opera was greenlit on the back of Moulin Rouge's unexpected success. Released in 2004, the resulting film is a messy, often delightful musical melodrama, as campy, colorful, and over-dramatic as any fan could hope for — except for one problem. The title role went to 300 star Gerard Butler, a man no more suited to singing than Michael Crawford is to sword fighting. Phantom of the Opera ranks amongst Schumacher's worst films thanks to Butler butchering many of the biggest musical moments in the movie, and it's impossible to watch this one without wondering what might have been if Jackman, such a strong song-and-dance man in The Greatest Showman, hadn't been too busy shooting the equally melodramatic, over-the-top, and unexpectedly tragic Van Helsing.
Sahara
Of course, not every missed role is cause for angst when you're a blockbuster actor. Sometimes you successfully sidestep a massive flop, as evidenced by Jackman's wise decision to avoid a starring role in 2005's Sahara. The expensive yet relatively unknown Clive Cussler adaptation was the biggest flop of star Matthew McConnaughey's career (and that's saying something, since this is the man who made Fool's Gold, Failure To Launch, and started his career with the unintentionally hilarious Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4). A limp, outdated Indiana Jones pastiche, this forgotten disaster is mostly known only for hilarious onset stories of Cussler's ludicrous demands for creative control and the production's (alleged) involvement in some (alleged) tax-dodging government-bribing shenanigans. Luckily, the court transcripts of these messy legal fights have gifted film fans with an answer as to how Jackman managed to avoid this flop. According to Paramount executives, the actor was busy on Broadway at the time and the production refused to wait for him. What a shame.
The Punisher
Before there were R-rated comic book movies like Deadpool and Jackman's own Logan, there was The Punisher. Not the underrated 2008 action classic Punisher: War Zone or the brilliant Bootleg Universe short Punisher: Dirty Laundry, but rather the more self-serious and boring 2004 Thomas Jane vehicle. The film was unremittingly bleak but had no style, borrowing the pessimism of Sin City without any of its memorable dialogue or unforgettable visuals. Jackman was wise to give this one a wide berth, although upon a rewatch it's hard to deny that seeing him face off against John Travolta's over-the-top villain would have been far more fun than Jane's dour, pouty protagonist. Unfortunately, this never came to pass as Jackman was, once again, busy shooting playing the title role of Stephen Sommers' campy action-horror Van Helsing, so anyone who wants to imagine his version of this 2004 flop is stuck with the earlier Jackman vs. Travolta thriller Swordfish.
Chicago
Jackman spent nine years trying to get The Greatest Showman greenlit, so it's clear the actor loves a good musical. But it's easy to see why he avoided a part in Chicago, as playing a heartless slick-talking lawyer wouldn't have done much for the likable leading man vibe he was cultivating in the early 2000s. Luckily, Chicago replaced Jackman with a perfectly sleazy Richard Gere who, unlike Gerard Butler, was more than able to sing and dance his way through the role of Billy Flynn, an amoral attorney. This one was a massive hit with critics, but so was Tom Hooper's 2012 adaptation of Les Miserables, which is ranked alongside The Greatest Showman and Hamilton as one of the decade's best movie musicals, so it's not like the actor missed out on getting plaudits for his singing ability. However, of all the roles he turned down Jackman admitted that he regretted this one, calling it the biggest mistake of his career. Jackman felt he was too young to pull off the part, but seeing the success and praise lavished on Chicago left him second-guessing that assessment years later. It's no wonder the actor made another successful return to the genre with The Greatest Showman.
Cats
However, as much as Jackman may love musicals, he does have standards. He wisely avoided any involvement with the catastrophe that was last year's laughably terrible Cats. Ever the consummate professional, Jackman remained so tight-lipped about the debacle that, while we know he was approached about the project in some capacity, it's not even clear what role he turned down. Jackman declined to comment further after an interviewer got him to admit he'd been offered an unnamed role in former collaborator Tom Hooper's disastrous Broadway adaptation, and he cited scheduling conflicts (rather than the film's awful premise) as his reason for politely declining the part. Shame, he would have made a great Rum Tum Tugger.