Hugh Jackman has played many different, well-known characters through his character. From musicals to crime thrillers, romantic comedies, and even science-fiction, he is one of the most versatile actors in the film industry. So much so, that he has even been nominated for an Academy Award for his work in the period musical, Les Misérables. Despite all his acclaim, there is only one role that a majority of the world knows him for; his time as the Wolverine.
Ever since he was first seen in the 2000 film, X-Men, he has not been able to outrun the fame that comes with playing a character as iconic as this. However, this is not to say that there have been no positives for Jackman after playing him. The actor seemed to have been using Wolverine to get out of things long before the first film was even released. As he revealed during an interview, Jackman almost got deported, until Wolverine saved the day.
Hugh Jackman Was Almost Deported And Put In Jail
Hugh Jackman made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he stated that he was a very bad liar, not failing to comment on the irony, of him being an actor. The actor told a story as an example of this, stating that he was once almost deported and put in jail after he failed to lie properly.
Setting the scene, he mentioned that he had just auditioned for X-Men in Toronto and gotten the role, having gone back home to get a few things before going back to shoot. When he was taking a flight from LA to Toronto again, he was stopped for not having a proper Visa. Though he was told to lie, he was unable to do so.
I just broke. It was pathetic. And he goes, “Go over there.” And it was that room — you know, like, the room. You don’t want to be in that room. That room is bad. And I went in there, and I was there for like an hour and a half. And he made me wait. And I went to make a phone call.”
“That guy literally is like, “Get off the phone now!” This is serious! You have no rights in here! You have no phone calls!” And I’m sitting there going, “Okay, first of all, I’ve just lost the biggest break of my life.” “I’m going to go to jail, and I don’t know what to do and…” So, I finally get up there, and he’s like, “Listen, we’re probably going to send you back on a plane.
The back and forth stressed the actor out so much that he attempted to make a phone call to resolve the situation, which only resulted in him getting yelled at by the officer. He was told that the situation was very serious and he could go to jail for something like this. The actor tried to reason with the officer, telling him that he had just gotten his biggest part to this date and could not go to jail. It was here that the officer asked Jackman what film he got cast in.
Hugh Jackman Was Saved By Wolverine
Hugh Jackman told this officer that he was cast in the live-action adaptation of these comics called X-Men. The officer, who seemed to be a very big fan of the animated show and the comics alike, was not aware that there was a live-action film series coming.
He asked the actor what character he was playing and Jackman told him that it was Wolverine. In disbelief and excitement, the officer called his co-workers over and told them that he had Wolverine with him.
“I said, ‘Listen, I’m sorry. It’s just — I’ve got this part in this thing, and they haven’t got my visa.’ And he [officer] goes, ‘What’s the thing?’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s ‘X-Men.’ It’s like a comic book.’ He goes, ‘What? Well, you mean like the animation thing, ‘X-Men’?” And I goes, ‘Well, no, they’re doing a live-action version of it.’
“He goes, ‘Well, what did you audition for?’ And I said, ‘It’s a character called Wolverine.’ He goes, ‘What?!’ And he literally looked at me, and then he just — to all his mates, he goes, ‘Hey, Jimmy, it’s Wolverine! This is Wolverine!’ Honestly, I went out there with a police escort, just to let me out.”
Jackman then revealed that rather than getting him deported and sending him to jail, the actor was given a police escort out of the airport. This was not before he was asked to sign autographs, which certainly would have gone up in value since then.
