Chasing down a director: the movie that floored Hugh Jackman on every level
Song and dance man Hugh Jackman owes his entire career to a franchise, but it was a different sort of companion piece he was so determined to be a part of that he went out of his way to chase down its writer and director to try and pitch himself for the leading role.
It’s been almost a quarter of a century since Jackman first strapped on the claws and grew out the sideburns to play Wolverine in the original X-Men movie, and Deadpool & Wolverine becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film ever made indicates that audiences haven’t grown bored of him yet.
The comic book adaptation strapped a rocket to his back and turned a relative unknown with a background largely in musical theatre into a household name and Hollywood stalwart, but outside of his signature role, Jackman hasn’t been one for getting involved in numerous multi-film properties.
Wolverine remains the one and only character he’s ever played more than once in live-action, but after being left stunned by an acclaimed awards season favourite, he knew he had to get involved should there be a follow-up. At one end of the franchise spectrum exists any and all things Marvel, and right at the opposite end of the scale is where Florian Zellner’s The Father and The Son reside.
Both were adapted by the filmmaker from his own plays, with the latter serving as a quasi-prequel of sorts. Anthony Hopkins became the oldest-ever performer to win an Academy Award when he scooped ‘Best Actor’ for The Father, and The Son sees him briefly reprise the role of Anthony Miller.
Hopkins’ titular patriarch is the old man of Jackman’s Peter Miller, so while they’re far from occupying the traditional franchise model, they’re very much connected. When the Australian star saw The Father, he had no idea if Zellner was even planning to give The Son similar treatment, but he decided to chance his arm anyway.
“That film floored me on every level,” he admitted to A.Frame of the film that also won a second Oscar for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’. “So, I chased him down.” Breaking etiquette somewhat, Jackman – who’d come close to working with Zellner years previously on the stage, sent him an email suggesting that if The Son were to follow suit and become a movie, he’d be the perfect guy to embody Peter.
Less than an hour later, Zellner responded, and by the end of the next day, Jackman was informed that the role was his. It was an aggressive approach, but it paid off. Unfortunately, despite a Golden Globe nomination for ‘Best Actor – Drama’, The Son devolved into blunt-force melodrama that couldn’t hold a candle to its predecessor. Still, the leading man got what he wanted out of the bargain, so there was that.
