Hugh Jackman says he turned down 'Cats' role

Hugh Jackman is a man of many talents — not only does he act, produce, and sing, but the man has an ongoing (hilarious) public feud with his friend Ryan Reynolds, and just so happens to hold the Guinness World Record for "longest career as a live-action Marvel superhero." From X-Men to Les Misérables, fans have had plenty of opportunities to get an eyeful of the handsome Australian on the big screen over the years… but that’s not to say he agrees to every role that comes his way.

In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Jackman was asked if he had turned down a role in the 2019 movie adaptation of the beloved broadway classic, Cats. His answer was rather short and to the point — as in, he literally just replied, “Umm… yep.” Cue awkward silence.

Mind you, that question should come as no surprise — after all, Jackman worked with Cats director Tom Hooper on Les Misérables, and the two are seemingly good mates.

When asked which role he would have played in the movie, Jackman remained somewhat tight-lipped (or perhaps, just overly polite) saying, “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.” Oh. Okay.

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Of course, the press surrounding the movie hasn’t exactly been positive. Despite the initial hype leading up to its premiere, Cats resulted in mostly confused, disappointed, and overall bewildered reactions from audiences, including celebs like Seth Rogen. It also cleaned up at this years Razzie Awards (the at-home edition.)

So, it would seem Jackman made the right choice — however, that doesn’t mean he’s willing to say what we’re all thinking (at least not on public record). When asked if he was happy with his decision, Jackman simply replied, “I’m in the theatre, man, and I don’t want to be in the business of bashing people — or jumping on bandwagons. I haven’t seen it, and Tom Hooper’s one of the great filmmakers we have.” Hugh, you are truly a class act.

Oh, and if you thought you'd seen everything Cats has to offer, a Twitter user recently discovered the magic that is the descriptive video feature offered on the Blu-ray edition.

Ok, new best thing on the Cats blu ray: the "descriptive video service" track, wherein someone was given the LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE task of verbally explaining what is happening on-screen in Cats in real-time. pic.twitter.com/bUGioSzytq

— Carter McKendry (@cmckendry) April 16, 2020

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