How Hugh Jackman inspired James Bond even though he turned it down: “I owe him”
As the race to find the next James Bond intensifies, everyone is either drawn to speculation or looking back on the many ‘what ifs’ of the franchise.
Since he was the most recent Bond, it’s difficult not to associate Daniel Craig with the character. The actor had many versions of Bond to look up to, but his biggest inspiration for the role was actually X-Men’s Hugh Jackman, who turned down Bond in the past.
It’s been almost six years since Craig confirmed he was passing the torch to someone else. The largest gap in the 007 franchise took place between 1989’s License to Kill and 1995’s GoldenEye, and it looks like that record will inevitably be broken. After Amazon gained creative control of 007 and Dune’s Denis Villeneuve was announced as the director of the next Bond film, the only thing missing is the actor who will take on the iconic role. Fans are getting nervous as many names get floated around: will it be David Jonsson? What about Harris Dickinson?
Craig turned out to be such a perfect fit for 007 that his departure from the franchise left fans in a state of deep mourning – almost as if they weren’t criticising Craig’s casting in 2005 solely because he was blond. Of course, the loss remains accentuated by the long wait for the next Bond. Craig has taken on a new recurring role as Knives Out’s detective Benoit Blanc – a lot more eccentric and chaotic than Bond, but no less charming. His inspiration for Blanc’s unique accent was the American writer Shelby Foote. As for his Bond inspiration, Craig never misses the chance to praise Hugh Jackman.
“I owe him big style,” Craig told The Daily Telegraph. “Hugh is an extraordinary man and had a big influence on me. He is a gentleman, and he loves his job dearly. And through him, I learned to love my job more.”
Although Jackman never got to play Bond, there’s a little of him in Craig’s rendition of the character – an Aussie spirit adding a unique flair to Bond’s distinctively British persona. The two actors have been long-time friends since they co-starred in a play called A Steady Rain in 2009. According to Craig, Jackman played a key role in shaping his version of Bond while helping the actor deal with the explosive fame that comes with joining a franchise this big.
Jackman, whose breakthrough role was none other than Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men, certainly knows a thing or two about becoming too famous too fast. At this point, he’s played Wolverine so many times that the role casts a shadow over him wherever he goes, despite standout performances in movies such as 2006’s The Prestige and 2012’s Les Misérables. It’s more than just being a big movie star – in the eyes of his fans, Jackman is Wolverine. The actor knew Craig would experience something similar by introducing Bond to a new generation of fans.
Interestingly, Jackman came close to playing Bond in the past. All he had to do was sign a paper. However, the actor was worried he wouldn’t have time to, well, be himself, if he accepted to bounce between two franchise roles as big as Wolverine and James Bond. In addition, Jackman wasn’t particularly hot on the increasingly absurd scripts of the Pierce Brosnan era. In the end, Craig got the role, counting on Jackman as his loyal shoulder angel.
