They wanted Keanu Reeves for Wolverine?

[Kevin Roegele]

Keanu Reeves was TALKED TO about Wolverine. In SFX magazine in 1999, he said that he loves X-Men but the early stuff, and admirably admitted he might not be right for the role.


Bryan Singer talked to Russell Crowe, Mel Gibson and Ed Norton. Fox didn't want to sepnd so much on Gibson, while Crowe had just done a similar role with Gladiator. Norton wasn't really intrested.

Dougray Scott was fullu cast as Wolverine. He got the role, but MI2 reshoots meant Logan had to be recast.

 

[inspiritonly]

I think Keanu could have pulled off Gambit possibly(attitude and he could definitely do the long coat) but as Wolverine?
I just saw a couple of stills and realized that the man who should played Cyclops was Jude Law.

 

[inspiritonly]

Angela Basset as Storm- nice choice. Natalie Portman as Rogue- possibly...Josh Holloway could be Gambit if he could do the cajun accent, but the rest of those actors must have been drawn from a hat. I wouldn't mind seeing Jeri Ryan auditioning for the part of Mystique in nothing but the blue prophies, but I don't think just the body could carry the part. Besides you would definitely have to go some to beat the body of Rebecca.

 

[Decay]

I think Keanu could have pulled off Gambit possibly(attitude and he could definitely do the long coat) but as Wolverine?
I just saw a couple of stills and realized that the man who should played Cyclops was Jude Law.

agree...Keanu would be great for Gambit...although I believe something is missing...but as Wolverine...no way!

 

[gap5ewl]

angela is to old for storm now unfortunatly. Besides, Im use to Halle's portrayal of the character and it's pretty good.

 

[Retroman]

Concept artist Miles Teves did this piece of what Gibson would look as Wolverine back in 1997.

Source: http://www.milesteves.com/illu_gal.php

 

[Retroman]

I don't think Keanu Reeves was ever considerd for Logan/Wolverine but he'd certainly have loved to have done it.

From MTV.com:

02.08.2005 9:00 PM EST

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's ... Keanu Reeves?

'Matrix' star says he was asked to play the Man of Steel.

Imagine putting on that bright red cape, the matching boots and the blue shirt with that giant "S" branded across the chest. Soaring into the air, you stick out one arm, let the other dangle by your side, and fly off to rid the world of injustice.
Now imagine you're offered that opportunity and you turn it down flat. For most of us, this is a daydream as plausible as outrunning a speeding bullet; for Keanu Reeves, it's reality.

In late 2002, with the much-anticipated "Matrix" sequels on the way, Reeves was the hottest property this side of Boardwalk and Park Place. When the handsome, dark-haired savior stepped out of a phone booth and flew into the sky at the conclusion of "The Matrix," the role of Neo felt like a big-budget screen test for the most iconic of superheroes.

As Reeves took flight, director Brett Ratner (the "Rush Hour" movies) was searching for the perfect Man of Steel for a big-budget film based on a script called "Superman: Last Son of Krypton," and the role of a lifetime was offered to Keanu. "When Superman came around," Reeves remembered, "I think I was one of 110,000 people who got asked to do that."

"Whoa," you're probably thinking to yourself, "a laid-back actor whose name translates as 'cool breeze over the mountains' playing the square-jawed last son of Krypton?" Keanu felt the same way, calling it one of the clearest cases of miscasting ever presented to him.

"When studios have a big film like that," the black-clad superstar insisted, "everyone wants to be a part of it, so it's kind of like this feeding frenzy, like raw meat thrown into the ocean. So yeah, I've been around those, but it's never been real. But it's nice to be asked."

Reeves said he's dreamed of playing superheroes ever since he first broke into acting at age 15. His pride in selecting offbeat roles, however, allowed him to suppress that desire despite numerous opportunities during the current comics-to-film explosion.

Now, with the Superman movie progressing under a different director and star, Reeves is beaming over his first comic-book adaptation in this month's "Constantine." Ripped from the pages of long-running DC/Vertigo "Hellblazer" series, demon fighter John Constantine is unlike all those other superheroes movie audiences are familiar with, Reeves said, calling him "hard-edged, hard-boiled, world-weary, cynical, fatalistic, nihilistic and self-interested ... with a heart."

Dodging kryptonite and polishing Lex Luthor's chrome dome, it turns out, isn't the only superhero fantasy the leading man has flirted with over the years. "It would be cool to be asked to play Batman," Keanu said, revealing some jealousy toward names like Keaton, Clooney, Kilmer and — soon — Bale (see "Holy Psycho Killers! Christian Bale Cast As Batman"). "That would be fun."

Between the chain-smoking Constantine and the revenge-fueled Batman, it's obvious Reeves prefers heroes who have issues — in both senses of the word. Dressed in black from head-to-toe, the man who stared down the ultimate demon in "The Devil's Advocate" admitted he enjoys exploring the darker side of humanity. This explains his answer when asked to name the comic-book hero he dreams of portraying more than any other.

"If I could, I'd like to do Wolverine," Reeves said, referring to the beer-swigging, Adamantium-clawed "X-Men" antihero recently incarnated by Hugh Jackman. "But that's taken already and done really well, so I think my luck ran out on that one."

Hey, bub, we're just two cool mutants, just hanging on the bus, OK?

Source: http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1496710/02082005/story.jhtml

 

[Neto Magnus]

Concept artist Miles Teves did this piece of what Gibson would look as Wolverine back in 1997.

Source: http://www.milesteves.com/illu_gal.php

wowza!

 

[chaseter]

Concept artist Miles Teves did this piece of what Gibson would look as Wolverine back in 1997.

Source: http://www.milesteves.com/illu_gal.php

He looks like Nick Nolte on drugs.

 

[OliPhoenixFire]

Hey, I was roaming around and stumbled upon a great website that focuses on actors that turned down roles in movies. Here's the list of movie stars that were considered for certain X-roles. Some you may remember and some may make you scratch your head.

X-Men:

Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett turned down the role of Storm.

James Caviezel
James Caviezel was set to play Cyclops but backed out.

Russell Crowe
Considered for the role of Wolverine.

Aaron Eckhart
Considered for the role of Wolverine.

Sarah Michelle Gellar
Considered for the role of Rogue.

Mel Gibson
Considered for the role of Wolverine.

Viggo Mortensen
Considered for the role of Wolverine.

Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash (WWE wrestler) was offered the role of Sabertooth, but turned it down.

Edward Norton
Norton was reportedly considered for the role of Wolverine or Cyclops.

Jada Pinkett-Smith
Jada Pinkett-Smith was once considered for the role of Storm but turned it down.
Actor who got the part: Halle Berry

Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman turned down the part of Rogue.

Keanu Reeves
Considered for the role of Wolverine.

Jeri Ryan
Ryan was considered to play Mystique.
Actor who got the part: Rebecca Romijn

Dougray Scott
Dougray Scott was set to play Wolverine but dropped out to do Mission: Impossible II.
Actor who got the part: Hugh Jackman

Vince Vaughn
Vaughn was reportedly in negotiations for the part of Scott Summers (Cyclops).
Actor who got the part: James Marsden

John Williams (composer)
Bryan Singer originally approached John Williams to compose the score but he was already committed to Saving Private Ryan.


X-Men: The Last Stand:

Jed Bernard
Auditioned for the role of "Angel."
Actor who got the part: Ben Foster

Summer Glau
Auditioned for the role of Kitty Pryde.
Actor who got the part: Ellen Page

Maggie Grace
Was considered to play "Kitty Pryde."
Actor who got the part: Ellen Page

Josh Holloway
Sought the role of "Gambit," a superhero who divides fans of "X-Men" into rabid pro and anti camps. In the end, the producers decided not to include the character in the second sequel.

Nick Stahl
Was considered for the role of "Angel."
Actor who got the part: Ben Foster

Channing Tatum
Channing Tatum auditioned for the role of Gambit, but the role was eventually cut from the film.


Matthew Vaughn
The "Layer Cake" director bowed out of the big-scale sci fi project.
Actor who got the part: Brett Ratner

Mike Vogel
Vogel had to turn down the role of Angel because he was already shooting Poseidon.
Actor who got the part: Ben Foster

Source: NotStarring.com

OK. I'm sooo happy that Hugh Jackman got the role of Wolverine. The others wouldn't of fit... Except for Viggo Mortensen or maybe Russell Crowe. Keanu? He's great in playing Neo but NO WAY Wolverine!!!
Edward Norton? Wolverine??!!? No way! Not after his role in the illusionnist. It just not the role for him.
Vince Vaughn? CYCLOPS?!???! No way again!
Maggie Grace playing Kitty would've been good for me but Ellen Page does a great job.
Jada Pinkett would have been great as Storm but i'm pretty fine with Halle.
Anna Paquin is my Rogue and i can't see others playing her...:heart:
IF there are other X-Movies, Josh Holloway is THE (only) one, IMO, to consider for the roles of Gambit. lol

 

[Malkavian]

Off of the top of my head:

Gina Gershon was set to play Mystique but turned it down for a starring role in a short-lived TV show about a spy group a la Charlie's Angels, called Snoops. HA!

Most actresses that tried out for Mystique also tried out for Jean Grey, including Jeri Ryan and (apparenly) Peta what's-her-face from LXG.

Thats my girl, Peta Wilson.She auditioned for the part of Mystique. The filming schedule of La Femme Nikita, which she was doing at the time in Toronto, conflicted and she had to drop out of the running.

 

[OliPhoenixFire]

Famke Janssen is THE only one for me that could have played Jean. I would have never plugged so much into the X-Men if it wasn't for Famke playing Jean. But... who else tried to have Jean's role?

 

[Retroman]

Edit

 

[Retroman]

He looks like Nick Nolte on drugs.

lol

 

[Retroman]

Edit.

 

[Retroman]

Heres a few more to add to the list of could-have-beens. Not sure many people know of these.

X-Men

Peta Wilson as Dr.Jean Grey (schedule conflict).

Interestingly enough, Peta Wilson also revealed that she was a frontrunner for the role of "Jean Grey" when Fox was casting the first X-Men film but she had to opt out due to a scheduling conflict.

As for part of Mina, it came to Wilson after a near-casting experience with another comics-inspired superwoman. Wilson came within a red hair of play Jean Grey (the Famke Janssen role) in X-Men, "Some said, 'LXG is like X-Men, isn't it?" she recalls, "No, it's not. I auditioned for that, and I would have loved to work with Bryan Singer, but I'm glad it didn't work out for me, because I was able to do this film."

Source: http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/384/384469p1.html
http://www.petawilson-online.com/projects/lxg/starlog06.html


X2 X-Men United

Maggie Cheung as Lady Deathstrike (turned down the role).

2004-11-16 14:52

"Especially since Cannes, I have a nice feeling out in Hong Kong -- like Maggie is ours, and we're proud of her," she said. Shown a script for "X2: X-Men United" a few years back, she declined to pursue it, uninterested in the film itself. "If I start making films like that, they won't be proud," she said. "I'd feel like I was cheating. And I don't want half the world -- we have 1.3 billion people in China -- to know I'm cheating. That matters to me. I have more pride than that."

Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-11/16/content_391986_5.htm

Ethan Embry as Nightcrawler (scheduling conflict).

UGO: You looked extra skinny in this movie.

Ethan Embry: Yeah, I was. When I watched it, I was pretty surprised.

UGO: Did you lose weight for another movie?

EE: Yeah, at the time I was going to do Nightcrawler, so I was working out at night. I was on the Atkins diet. It sucks. I'm back to pasta. Get me a Danish.

Source: http://www.ugo.com/channels/filmtv/features/timeline/ethanembry.asp

Shane West as Nightcrawler (audition).

West said that he's a longtime X-Men fan who auditioned for the role of "Nightcrawler" in X-Men 2. He admitted that he can't do a German accent well and knew that fans would've been greatly displeased if he'd messed it up. West also said he was told that "Angel" had been in X2 at one point but was cut.

Source: http://www.ugo.com/channels/filmtv/features/timeline/ethanembry.asp

Wrestler HAWK as Colossus.

He has been touring the country on the independent scene. As far as acting, he auditioned for X-Men 2 and got the part. The movie filmed in Vancouver which then made them change their mind and go with a Canadian kid then was listed at six foot eight (as opposed to Hawk who is listed at six foot four.

Source:http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2004_/articles/1103073906.php

 

[fallenAngel]

I can't really view anyone else as nightcrawler. Alan Cumming was pefect. Even if he complained a bit too much behind the scenes.

I could have seen Shane West as Angel though.

 

[Retroman]

Continued....

X-Men The Last Stand

Joseph Sayers as Angel (audition).

One of my favorite characters is Angel/Archangel from X-Men. He has virtually no special super powers, BUT he is courageous and fearless. I actually auditioned for this role in X-Men III. I obviously didn't get it, but I'd have to say THAT would've been my dream role.

Source: http://beautiful.blogs.com/beautiful/2006/04/joseph_joe_part_1.html


Mike Minaert as Beast (audition).

He recently e-mailed me with an update: "I was up to play the Beast in X-Men 3 but, alas, Kelsey Grammer got it. So I'm going to fix computers for about a month, then I'm going down to North Carolina for a month as an actor and stuntman on a low-budget SAG feature, then to the Cape Playhouse to do Don't Dress For Dinner. After that, it's all up in the air."

He'll turn 39 this Thursday. Let's all wish Mark Mineart a happy birthday and many, many more roles.

Source: http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/6164
More info: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0591102/
http://home.earthlink.net/~mineart/webresume.htm


Dermot Mulroney as Beast (test).

DERMOT MULRONEY: Lost X-Men 3 to Kelsey Grammar - 7/26/2005
There's a big job Dermot Mulroney didn't get. He admits, "I actually auditioned
for X-Men 3. That was pretty interesting. It's for that part that Kelsey Grammer is going to do of a 400-pound blue hairy creature. It's kind of hard. You're just in a conference room trying to act like a 400-pound blue creature. It's a little tough. I'm not surprised I didn't get that part."

Dermot Mulroney talks about missing out on big fantasy flicks.
"I like it all and I've always enjoyed trying do as many different things as possible, not always that successful as that. I haven't been given those parts in something that's unrealistic or fantasy and it would be interesting because it would be different."

Source: http://www.premrad.com/vfile/2005/07/116.pdf

 

[Neto Magnus]

whoa, must of those I did not know. Thanks man.

 

[Retroman]

whoa, must of those I did not know. Thanks man.

No prob. If i'm not mistaken Eric Bana also auditioned for X2.

I can't really view anyone else as nightcrawler. Alan Cumming was pefect. Even if he complained a bit too much behind the scenes.

I could have seen Shane West as Angel though.

I prefer Ben Foster over West who some have been said would make a good Gambit.

 

[OliPhoenixFire]

Yeah thanks! Do you have some more about people trying to get Jean Grey's role?

 

[PeRfEcT_StOrM]

wow....

how odd.

 

[Retroman]

Yeah thanks! Do you have some more about people trying to get Jean Grey's role?

Maria Bello was apparently considerd to play Jean Grey.

Aug 99

Rogue's Gallery

The X-Men film casting takes new surprising turns, proving that beyond the predicted naming of Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier, director Bryan Singer is fostering an unconventional approach. The mainly young cast even finds an Oscar-winner in its midst with 17-year-old Anna Paquin who is to play psychic schoolgirl Rogue. Paquin was an Academy Award-winner for The Piano and also impressed in Fly Away Home.

Joining her are former beauty queen Halle Berry (Jungle Fever, The Flintstones) as Storm, and ex-Sports Illustrated pinup Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (seen briefly in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) as the blue-tinted, shape-changing villainess Mystique. Mid-July saw a strong hint that Payback's Maria Bello (who made a beguiling addition to the ER cast in the 1997-98 season) will play Jean Grey.

Already on-board are Scotland's Dougray Scott (The Crow Road, Ever After) as Wolverine – a character whose Canadian origins will be retained in this Toronto-based production – and Ian McKellen as Magneto. The only main role that appears vacant at the time of writing is Cyclops, though Jim Caviezel (one of the most prominent actors in the ensemble of The Thin Red Line) has been in -preliminary talks.

http://www.visimag.com/starburst/253_things.htm
http://www.visimag.com/starburst/253text.htm

 

[PeRfEcT_StOrM]

wow..good stuff found retro...

do you have any new pics?

 

[Max J Power]

I couldn't picture any of the other actors considered for Wolverine playing him besides maybe Viggo Mortenson.