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Jackman: Bond would have boxed me in

Aussie actor reckons that playing the British spy could have limited his options

Hugh Jackman has talked about turning down the offer to play James Bond.

The star of 'X-Men' and 'Les Miserables' revealed back in 2011 that he was approached to play the iconic British spy.

[Related story: Jackman 'devastated' by father's illness]



“I got a call from my agent saying, 'There's some possible interest in you for Bond, are you interested?'” he said at the time.

“At the time, I wasn't. I was about to shoot 'X-Men 2' and Wolverine had become this thing in my life. But I think every male at some point thinks about playing Bond. So it was not right then, but it may be right if it comes back.”

Now he's explained a little more about why he didn't go for the role.

“I thought it would box me in too much,” Jackman told the Hollywood Reporter. “My natural instinct is to keep as many doors open as possible.”

Jackman has previously joked that Daniel Craig could still leave the role open for him, however.

“I will just wait. The thing about Daniel is that he's, what, 62 now, isn't he? He's falling apart at the seams,” he joked.

“So I just keep telling him, 'I'm ready, whenever you want to let him go'. The good thing is I also have a British passport.”