HUGH Jackman “I’m becoming an old man now.” ruben nepales
LOS ANGELES—“It’s happening,” said Hugh Jackman, confirming the film adaptation of the musical “Les Miserables.” Wolverine will keep his sideburns but will have to clip his claws for the role of Jean Valjean. Hugh will battle it out in song against fellow Australian star Russell Crowe who portrays Valjean’s nemesis, Inspector Javert.
“We’re shooting next March,” said Hugh in a recent chat. “We start rehearsals and recording in January and February. I’m actually going this month to start doing initial rehearsals. I auditioned hard and lobbied for the role. I went into a three-hour audition for Tom Hooper, the director.”
Hooper, who directed the award-winning “The King’s Speech,” also cast Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Helena Bonham Carter (Madame Thenardier) and Geoffrey Rush (Monsieur Thenardier).
Emma Watson was rumored to play Cosette in this film adaptation written by William Nicholson based on the classic novel by Victor Hugo, with Cameron Mackintosh as one of the producers. But recent reports deny that the “Harry Potter” actress is in the cast.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the casting of Russell as Javert,” Hugh said.
Russell’s musical side is not as well known as his acting talents. The actor’s current musical venture, Russell Crowe and the Ordinary Fear of God, was preceded by his band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts.
“I know Russell very well and I have great respect for him,” said Hugh. “He’s incredible. I think he will be extraordinary in that role. Javert is a difficult part. The battle between Jean Valjean and Javert is really vital for this movie to work, so I’m really excited about it.”
He’s done a lot of musicals, added Hugh, whose singing and dancing talents are not a secret. He feels that the chance to do another one has been a long time coming.
Road trip
With a smile, he told an anecdote: “I went to France this summer. I was so excited, like I was doing a road trip. We went 6,000 kilometers in this car. Wherever we went, the GPS told us the road we were on. So in the first town, I went, ‘Look, this is Avenue Victor Hugo.’ I stopped the car, got out and said, ‘I’ve got to get a photo.’ We got to the next town and I was like, ‘There’s Avenue Victor Hugo!’ I had no idea that in every town in France, the main road is Avenue Victor Hugo. So don’t come to a slide show night of my trip to France. It’s very boring.”
Hugh, who lives with his family in New York, said there will be “a lot of flying backward and forward” since ‘Les Miz’ is shooting in London. “Schooling becomes a bigger as the kids get older. My kids are both at school in New York. We’ve been in New York for the last couple of years. I’m about to go on Broadway this year. New York at the moment feels like the right place but we don’t take a long-term view about it. My kids are asking constantly, ‘When can we go home?’”
The mention of Broadway refers to Hugh’s return to the stage with his revue that runs from Nov. 10 to Jan. 1. “When I was young,” he recalled, “I wished to have a job where I can travel the world. I got that but now I really miss home. My parents and (wife) Deb’s parents are getting older so we’re trying to spend more time at home if we can.”
In “Real Steel,” Hugh plays a former boxer forced to change with the times as steel robots take over his sport. Asked what he learned about the psychological aspects of boxing as he prepared for the role, Hugh answered: “All boxers I’ve spoken to will tell you that the moment you get angry, you’ve pretty much lost the fight. If you want to see anything in your opponent, you want to see him steaming up because you know you’ve got him.”
What fascinates him about boxing, he said, “is this mix of being instinctual as well as having a strategy. It’s mentally, emotionally and physically hard. The stakes are high. If you get the balance wrong, you’re on the mat knocked out. So it’s really a great metaphor for life.”
He’s also intrigued by the relationship between the boxer and the corner man, which he learned from legendary boxing champ Sugar Ray Leonard, who served as “Real Steel’s” boxing consultant. “Sugar Ray used to hire Angelo Dundee, who was almost as famous as many of the boxers he worked with. Sugar Ray said he would hire Angelo two weeks before a fight because his way of talking to him in the ring was the difference between him winning or losing. Sugar Ray said if you get someone in your corner who doesn’t know how to talk to you, that’s enough to make you lose.”
As for tricks he has learned from his red carpet appearances at the Academy and the Golden Globe Awards, Hugh quipped: “I shower.”
Little tricks
“I change into something more appropriate. I’ll be honest—they usually put a little makeup on me because I’m becoming an old man now. They’re like, ‘I think we need a little something.’ I used to get into the car with the jacket on. Someone pulled me aside and said, ‘No, take your jacket off. Otherwise it’s going to be wrinkled in the back.’ ”
Hugh stood up to demonstrate what he was saying: “When you get out of the car, always get out with your back facing the cameras so that you can put your jacket on. When you turn around, you’re ready to go.’ Little tricks like that.”
After “Les Miz,” is there another movie musical coming? “I would love to do ‘Carousel,’” Hugh admitted. “At the moment, I can’t convince the money people that there’s an audience for it. But hopefully, one day, yes. I think it’s one of the greatest musicals ever written. I don’t think the earlier movie version did it justice.”
E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com.