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Hugh Jackman says he turned down role in Cats, won’t bash film because he hasn’t seen it
Hugh Jackman, who played Jean Valjean in Tom Hooper's Les Miserables, said he did not reunite with the director on his much-derided musical Cats.
Hugh Jackman, who played Jean Valjean in Tom Hooper's Les Miserables, said he did not reunite with the director on his much-derided musical Cats because of his busy schedule. The Australian actor, in an interview with the Daily Beast, confirmed that Hooper had called him to discuss a part.
"There were a couple of options there based on availability and time but I just wasn’t available at the time," he said. Cats turned out to be one of the biggest movie disasters in recent history, both critically and commercially. When asked if it was good in hindsight that he turned down Cats, Jackman didn’t comment.
“I’m in the theatre, man, and I don’t want to be in the business of bashing people—or jumping on bandwagons. I haven’t seen it, and Tom Hooper’s one of the great filmmakers we have," he said. The actor, who decided to end his stint as Wolverine with 2017 movie Logan, said he would not return to the role but is okay with the idea being rebooted with another actor.
"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, gounds good but…no. They’re fine with someone else.”
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