Universal’s Cats was not the mega-hit the studio hoped for, though it has become infamous at this point, developing a cult following despite not doing well at the box office. The film featured a host of Hollywood talent, including Idris Elba, Judi Dench, and more, but there was one name that didn’t end up in the credits after being offered a role in Tom Hooper‘s musical film, and that was Wolverine star Hugh Jackman. Jackman recently spoke to the Daily Beast about a variety of topics, and that included being asked if he had been offered a role in Cats since he and Hooper had worked so well together in Les Miserables. The answer is yes, and as for why he didn’t end up in the film, it came down to availability.
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When asked if he turned down a role in Cats, Jackman said “Umm… yep.” He was then asked who he was going to play, and at the time there were several options
“You know, Tom rang me early on because we did Les Mis together, and there were a couple of options there based on availability and time, and I really… yeah, I just wasn’t available at the time,” Jackman said.
Jackman was then asked after seeing how Cats was received, was he glad he didn’t make the movie. Jackman was diplomatic, and he hasn’t actually seen the movie to make a judgment on it.
“I’m in the theater, man, and I don’t want to be in the business of bashing people—or jumping on bandwagons,” Jackman said. “I haven’t seen it, and Tom Hooper’s one of the great filmmakers we have.
Cats cost around $95 million to make and unfortunately, couldn’t earn that back. It only made $27,166,770 million domestically and added another $46,529,215 million internationally for a worldwide total of $73,695,985 million.
It looks like it worked out for the best for Jackman, but we wouldn’t bet against Hooper either, as he is responsible for some amazing films, so we imagine he’ll bounce back just fine.
You can find the official description for Cats below.
“Oscar®-winning director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Misérables, The Danish Girl) transforms Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-shattering stage musical into a breakthrough cinematic event.”
