Hugh Jackman Reveals How Wolverine Got Him Out Of Trouble With The Government
Sometimes it's good to be Wolvie.
Sometimes it’s good to be the best at what you do, even if what you do isn’t very nice. That’s what Hugh Jackman learned just as he was about to embark on the role of Logan, aka the X-Men’s Wolverine. Jackman was on The Tonight Show last Friday, and he used the opportunity to explain how he avoided getting deported by revealing he played one of Marvel’s most popular tough guys.
Jimmy Kimmel was guest hosting The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last Friday when Hugh Jackman gave the example of how, in spite of being an Oscar-nominated actor, the Aussie is apparently a terrible liar. According to his story, Jackman was summoned to Toronto in 1999 to begin shooting X-Men about a week after he auditioned for the role. Someone from the film’s production warned the actor to tell Canadian customs agents that — because Jackman’s Asutralian work visa hadn’t yet arrived — he needed to say that he was there for an audition. Once at customs, the actor apparently cracked almost under no pressure at all. You can hear what happened in the clip below.
Hugh Jackman tells Fallon that after he admitted to the Canadian customs agent that he was in fact entering the country for work, he was sent to a room to wait. The agent eventually told him he would likely soon be deported back to the United States by plane. Jackman explained why he was in the country, and the customs agent — who was clearly an X-Men fan and had no idea there was a live-action movie on the way — was only too happy to let the actor go when he found out Jackman was playing Wolverine. Jackman said he was given a police escort and was signing autographs on his way out of the airport.
That, of course, is great news for all of us. While it seems unlikely that Hugh Jackman would have been recast at the 11th hour if he had been deported, you never know. Stranger things have happened. It may very well be that, in some small part, we have that Canadian customs agent to thank for great films like X-Men and Logan. Of course, conversely, you could say we have them to blame for stuff like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but let’s leave that aside.
Ever since 2017’s Logan, Hugh Jackman has set aside his signature role, but the rest of us seem to have a tougher time with it than he does. He’s currently starring in much different fare — the Broadway production of The Music Man. But that doesn’t stop fans from speculating he could, or would, or should reprise the role that made him a household name. In particular, with everything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe currently revolving around Marvel’s multiverse, there are — depending on who you ask — either rumors or just loudly echoed hopes that Jackman will play some version of Wolverine in the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. With Patrick Stewart seemingly returning to play Professor X in the film, it would be a wonderful chance to catch up with at least one of his old friends, if not more.
