It’s almost impossible to imagine anyone else playing Wolverine on the big screen other than Hugh Jackman. With all due respect to Henry Cavill, of course. Though we won’t see the X-Men on the 2025 movie schedule, it’s still worth looking back on Jackman’s original casting as the mutant and how it was, to say the least, a controversial decision by Marvel Studios at the time.
Jackman wasn’t the first choice for the role by anyone, including Marvel. He went through an arduous audition process, and by his own account, wasn’t sure he’d get the part, even after an endorsement from fellow Australian Russell Crowe. There are also three big reasons fans weren’t totally sold on Jackman when he was named Wolverine.
Jackman Was Pretty Much Unknown To Most Fans
There were quite a few big names being tossed around when director Bryan Singer and Marvel were casting the original X-Men in 1999. Names like the aforementioned Russell Crowe, Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp, and, weirdly, Bob Hoskins and Glenn Danzig were all rumored to be in contention to play the very popular comic book character.
Jackman was virtually unknown to everyone in America. To that point, his only movie credits were two Australian productions, Erskineville Kings and Paperback Hero. While we know that sometimes the best casting can be of unknown actors, many fans were expecting one of the most popular comic book characters ever to be played by an established star.
Of course, this is a bit of a ridiculous argument, and you only have to look at the casting of a similarly unknown actor, Christopher Reeve, being cast as Superman in the 1978 movie. Now, every Superman movie is in the shadow of Reeve’s performance, fairly or unfairly, just as any actor who takes on the role of Wolverine in the future will be compared to Jackman.
He Was Too Tall To Play Wolverine
In Deadpool & Wolverine, while Deadpool is warping through universes looking to replace Logan in his own, he comes across a short, “comic book accurate” Wolvie. In the comics, Wolverine is known for being quite diminutive in stature, anywhere from 5’3” to 5’5” according to various sources. That is about a foot shorter than Jackman, who reportedly stands at 6’2” or 6’3” (again, depending on the source).
Fans, of course, questioned why an actor so tall would be cast, and this was probably the number one reason people were skeptical. It’s actually a common complaint by some fans even in 2025. Especially early in the series, the filmmakers used camera tricks and other effects to make Wolverine look more like his comic book size, but as Jackman became more familiar with audiences, they backed off these techniques. That’s what made the scene in Deadpool & Wolverine so funny.
He Had The Wrong Physique And Perceived Temperament
Not only did fans think the star was too tall to play Wolverine, but they felt he had the wrong physique completely. To be fair to those fans, Jackman was not nearly as shredded as he would get before filming started, so this one makes little sense. Of course, he proved everyone wrong when he did get…jacked…for the role. (Sorry, no pun intended.)
The wrong build, some fans felt, also contributed to the wrong temperament to be the angry, bitter anti-hero. They didn’t see enough menace in Jackman. Boy, were fans wrong about that, because setting aside his height, he nailed the vibe of Wolverine perfectly from the first movie on.
Jackman may not have been seen as an action star both in physique and acting style, but it didn’t take long for him to prove all the critics wrong. Not only has he defined the look of Wolverine on the big screen, but his salty attitude in every single appearance, no matter how brief, is exactly in line with the comic book character.
Jackman Was Too Good Looking And Had The Wrong Accent
In the comics, Wolverine is short, stocky, and hairy. The mutant is not what most people would call “good looking.” Jackman, on the other hand, is about as handsome a human as has ever been. Fans thought the song-and-dance man was just too pretty to play the rugged Weapon X. This was pretty unfair, because makeup can do a lot in movies, as the makeup artists on the various X-Men projects have proven.
Jackman is also, of course, Australian. That means he has the wrong natural accent for Wolverine, who in the comics is Canadian. Like being too good-looking, this was also a pretty weak argument against the talent, as actors often use different accents in movies, though not always with as much effect as Jackman as Wolverine. He nailed it. In fact, I think most people forget that he’s Australian at all when watching the films.
Now, If Anyone Takes Over The Role, They Will Have Big Shoes To Fill
Jackman has now played Logan/Wolverine in 10 different films (some only as cameos) and if and when Marvel does recast the role, it will be earth-shattering. As much criticism as there might have been when he won the role a quarter of a century ago, there would be as much or more today for anyone taking over the legendary part.
Not only has his portrayal been widely praised, especially after the tragic events of Logan, but actors will be expected to go through a similar physical transformation that Jackman did in his dedication to the character. It’s not an enviable position for any actor, in any way.
While Henry Cavill’s cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine does give fans a look at a possible alternate universe Wolverine, it’s really hard to imagine what a recasting of the role would do. Luckily, that’s not something we have to deal with, at least not yet, and we can watch all the X-Men films with a Disney+ subscription and appreciate just how inspired the casting choice of Hugh Jackman has been.
