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Quotes
(On turning down the chance to play Richard
Gere's character in the Harvey Weinstein-produced film Chicago) I
thought I was too young for the role. You have some 34-year-old guy up
against Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger and it becomes a
different movie. At one point, Harvey was telling me they were thinking
of Kevin Spacey, and I told him, 'That's exactly right. You should hire
him.' Then I was in New York when the movie opened and the queue was
around the block. I sat down and thought that I had probably made the
biggest mistake. But I still honestly think that it was the right thing
to do. I still think I was too young for that part.
Finally something my family can be proud of.
Now I meet people with full-color Wolverine
tattoos on their backs. Thank God I did okay, because I think if I
handn't, they'd spit on me in the street." - on his role of
Wolverine.
There is something very secretive about the
way they cast that role. I've never had an official call asking: 'Are
you interested or not', but there's no guy I know who wouldn't want that
role - and that includes me. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. [on the
now [Nov. 2004] opened spot for the next James Bond]
I never read comics as a kid, and when I was
slipped the comics under my trailer door, Bryan Singer didn't want us to
read them. He was very frightened that we would come out with these 2D
characters, and I was amazed at how helpful they were, the images more
than the story. The images, and how they capture emotion or an action
sequence in just, say, three images - I have to say I used them as
inspiration for some of the fighting stances or techniques. The way
Wolverine stands and how he looks. - [on Comic books]
I didn't do the motion capture work; I
didn't do any of that. I don't know if they've used my voice or not,
they probably have.. I did a lot of recordings on the first movie for
dolls and videogames, so they probably just used the same stuff. - [on
Wolverine videogame]
People can stick pins in it, put in the
freezer. It's far more dangerous than a videogame. - [about his action
figures]
The character I play is actually only 1.6
meters [5' 3"]. Before I had any kind of acting profile I was
encouraged to lie about my height. I was told to say I was about six
foot [1.83m] tall. I was worried about it when I first had my audition
because pleasing fans of the franchise is important. My height was
brought up on the Internet. They didn't think it was right. A lot of
people who never met me think I'm very short. Jimmy Marsden (Cyclops),
who's only 10cm [4 inches] shorter than me, was put on boxes and
platforms in our scenes together. You'll notice that every character in
X-men looks taller than me.
Acting is something I
love. It's a great craft that I have a lot of respect for. But I don't
think it's any greater challenge than teaching 8 year olds or any other
career. In my life, I try not to make it more important than it is and I
just hope that rubs off on the people around me.
Becoming
a father, I think it inevitably changes your perspective of life. I
don't get nearly enough sleep. And the simplest things in life are
completely satisfying. I find you don't have to do as much, like you
don't go on as many outings.
Being
on Broadway is the modern equivalent of being a monk. I sleep a lot, eat
a lot, and rest a lot.
I
have a terrific marriage, but unlike a lot of relationships where they
ebb and flow, no matter what happens you fall deeper and deeper in love
every day. It's kind of the best thing that can happen to you. It's
thrilling.
I
have a wife and a son, but the gay rumors have started. I guess it's a
sign that I'm moving up the ladder.
I
have shocking teeth... I'm being a little facetious-I just went to the
dentist the other day, and he looked at my teeth and went, 'Oh, my God,
you've got gray teeth.'
I
just love making a fool out of myself. I made my living as a clown at
kids' parties for about three years.
I
think I was 5 and singing 'Camelot' on stage. It was always a good way
to meet girls. I did musicals, plays. My school encouraged it. We'd do
our own productions. It wasn't until I was about 23 that I thought, 'I
could give this a shot. I might as well do it.'
I
used to feed my action figures to the squids that were off of the bay I
lived near. I tore off their arms and replaced them with other limbs,
stuck them with pins, freezed them and did other awful things to them.
Nothing struck me as more weird than to walk into my trailer and see a
full-blown punching back of myself.
I'm
a big goofball, you know. Don't tell anyone that, but I'm a big
goofball. In Australia we call it a dag.
I'm
an actor who believes we all have triggers to any stage of emotion. It's
not always easy to find but it's still there.
I'm
not a kid. You don't get in this business for anonymity. It's not like I
have posters of myself on the wall, but at the same time, I'm kind of
ready for a little bit of it, but I worry for my little one, and my
family - their privacy. That's what I'm more protective of.
It
dawned on me that acting was what I wanted to do with my life. Nothing
had ever touched my heart like acting did.
My
agent said to me five years ago, 'Hugh, I can see one day you...if I had
to plan a goal for you, it's for you to have the kind of career that
Sinatra had.'
My
father is a real idealist, and he's all about learning. If I asked for a
pair of Nikes growing up, it was just a resounding 'No.' But if I asked
for a saxophone, one would appear and next day and I'd be signed up for
lessons. So anything to do with education or learning, my father would
spare no expense.
My
friends say, 'Man you're going to have kids sleeping on pillowcases with
your face on it! You're going to be on toothbrushes and magnets and
stuff.' I guess now that I'm a dad, I'm thrilled about that.
My
private life is actually pretty dull. I'm incredibly happily married.
Mine is a one-story story, so I don't think I'm going to be hounded
about my private life.
Now
I meet people with full-color Wolverine tattoos on their backs. Thank
God I did okay, because I think if I hadn't, they'd spit on me in the
street.
Sometimes
you have to go places with characters and emotions within yourself you
don't want to do, but you have a duty to the story and as a storyteller
to do it.
There
was a whole display set up of all the X-Men paraphernalia. My wife
couldn't resist telling this 5-year-old boy that I was Wolverine. The
little kid looked up at me and he was staring at me.
We
feel that there are so many kids who need adopting. We thought we'd do
it after having a couple of our own, but we just changed our mind.
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