You'd be hard-pressed to find a Marvel fan who doesn't love Hugh Jackman in the role of Wolverine, this despite the difference in height between the actor and the character. In the comic books and animated shows, Wolverine is typically depicted as rather muscular but fairly short, standing at around 5'3" tall. Jackman is literally a foot taller at 6'3", and this discrepancy nearly cost him from landing the role of Wolverine in the original X-Men movie.
In a new interview with Chris Wallace for CNN, Jackman reflected on getting cast as Wolverine in X-Men. He recalls doing several auditions, and while the consistent callbacks were a good sign, there was one problem that was standing in the way of the casting. Jackman remembers meeting with producer Tom DeSanto where he was told that his height might be an issue.
"I did about seven auditions. I remember, finally, I did audition, audition, audition, and then I went to see - they had a production. We were talking, and he said, 'You know, it's just one problem. I hope the fans are not going to have a problem because the character is meant to be 5'5".' And I said, 'Tom. Really, it's going to be absolutely fine. Don't worry about it, thank you.' "
Jackman mimed crouching down as he walked out of the room, noting that he "literally walked out like that." Ultimately, he was cast in the role, and the rest is history. As for his height, Jackman also recalls how there were efforts made to make him look shorter in the film, though they pretty much abandoned the idea after the first installment.
"Actually, in the first movie, Chris, I never had my shoes on. Every other actor around me - the rule was, unless they were a kid, they had to be taller than me... I was literally crouching like that. Shoes off. People were on planks and boxes all around me. So, we went to a great effort. And I think after a while they just gave up on that."
Hugh Jackman Isn't Finished Just Yet as Wolverine
Even after two decades, Jackman is still not finished playing that role. He initially retired from playing Wolverine after 2017's Logan brought a conclusive end to that character's story. However, it was recently announced that Jackman would reprise the role once again for the upcoming sequel Deadpool 3. Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have been consistently teasing the upcoming film, which has already been generating a great deal of excitement with Marvel fans.
Deadpool 3 will be released in theaters on Nov. 8, 2024.