Hugh Jackman: Why I said (Dr) No to being the next James Bond

HUGH JACKMAN once turned down the role of James Bond — let’s hope the decision won’t be a Spectre hanging over his career.

Film bosses approached the X-Men star when the fifth 007, Pierce Brosnan, handed in his licence to kill.

‘I was about to do X-Men 2 and a call came from my agent asking if I’d be interested in Bond,’ said Hugh, 49, who plays Wolverine in the superhero flicks.

He told Variety: ‘I just felt at the time that the scripts had become so unbelievable and crazy, and I felt they needed to become grittier and real.

‘The response was, “Oh, you don’t get a say. You just have to sign on.”’

Next up for Aussie Hugh is a musical biopic called The Greatest Showman, and yesterday he visited Claridge’s hotel in London with co-stars Zac Efron and Zendaya for a showcase sponsored by Swarovski.

Author: Tom Stichbury