In 2012, Tom Hooper brought Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables" to life as an epic musical feature-film starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. The film was a box-office success and was even nominated for eight Academy Awards! The success of LES MISÉRABLES obviously gave Hooper the confidence to move forward with his next musical – a feature-film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's acclaimed musical "Cats." As we know, that film wasn't met with quite the same reception, and I'm sure there are a handful of actors out there who are breathing a sigh of relief that they passed on the film.
While speaking with The Daily Beast, Hugh Jackman revealed that Tom Hooper had approached him about taking on a role in CATS, but that he had to turn him down.
You know, Tom rang me early on because we did Les Mis together, and there were a couple of options there based on availability and time, and I really… yeah, I just wasn’t available at the time.
Given that the film was dragged through the mud as much as it was, you would imagine that Hugh Jackman might feel as though he dodged a bullet, but the actor took the high road. "I’m in the theater, man, and I don’t want to be in the business of bashing people—or jumping on bandwagons," Jackman said. "I haven’t seen it, and Tom Hooper’s one of the great filmmakers we have." Honestly, for all the bashing which CATS receives, Jackman probably would have been great in it.
Hugh Jackman also touched upon Wolverine, the actor's most famous role which is likely due to be recast now that he's a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Jackman has previously expressed his desire to share screen-time with the Avengers in the MCU, he's fine with letting someone else take the claws.
Honestly, Marlow, if seven years ago that had happened I’d be like, “Oh yeah!” but I knew it was the right time for me to leave the party—not just for me, but for the character. Somebody else will pick it up and run with it. It’s too good of a character not to. It’s kind of like, you’re on your way home and your friend rings you and goes, 'Oh, dude, a new DJ just came on and the music is awesome, are you going to come back?' And you say, 'Sounds good but… no.' They’re fine with someone else.
Hugh Jackman will next be seen in BAD EDUCATION, an upcoming HBO movie finds Jackman starring as Dr. Frank Tassone, the superintendent of the Roslyn School District in Long Island who makes a crucial mistake which hints at corruption spanning decades and millions of dollars worth of theft. When a student reporter begins to put together the pieces, Tassone is forced to deal with the fallout of the scandal in a desperate attempt to protect all those involved. BAD EDUCATION will hit HBO on April 25th.