Hugh Jackman would also like to play James Bond, hint hint

Longtime X-Men actor Hugh Jackman said he’d be open to playing the part of James Bond if asked, in case any studio executives are listening.

Daniel Craig still has at least one more James Bond movie to make before his five-picture deal is up, but the internet has been abuzz lately with rumors of who might take up the mantle of the globe-hopping, extra-bedding superspy once Craig steps down. The Wire’s Idris Elba has been put forward as a candidate, but apparently he’s a little “too street” for the role, at least according to Anthony Horowitz, whose James Bond novel Trigger Mortis comes out this month. Yeah, the internet’s not going to let Horowitz forget that one for a while.

Hugh Jackman, who will soon be up on the big screen as Blackbeard in Pan, recently suggested another candidate for the role: Hugh Jackman. The Australian actor was shooting an appearance on news show The Project when this question came up: “Would you consider playing James Bond if you were asked now?” The gist of his answer: “Sure, why not?”

Okay, what Jackman literally said was that he’d “seriously consider it” if asked, but it’s not the worst idea in the world. Jackman looks good in a suit, has a fancy foreign accent, and is only 46, meaning that he has at least 20 years left to be a sex symbol in Hollywood before he’s forced to play characters with grandchildren.

Also of interest: apparently Jackman was offered the role of James Bond way back when he was prepping for X-Men 2, but turned it down because it wasn’t “the right time.” Just think: if Jackman had made a different decision, we could have been watching him sip martinis and shoot dudes as James Bond for the last decade, instead of watching him slug beers and stab dudes as Wolverine. What a wild, weird world it would have been.

Well, no point in dwelling on the road not taken. Spectre, the upcoming James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, will be released stateside in November. Try not to imagine Hugh Jackman in the lead role when you watch it. Craig will know, and he’s got a gun.

Here’s the full interview from The Project. Skip to 13:55 for the James Bondian bits.

H/T Digital Spy

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