SUBMITTED BY Typhon24
January 30, 2004 — From The Australian, where they talk to actor Hugh Jackman about his upcoming flick, 'Van Helsing':
Jackman looks the part for what is essentially his first lead role in a film of this size. The 35-year-old, who found Hollywood fame in 2000 as Wolverine in X-Men (followed by X-Men 2), strolls on to the set at a Prague studio wearing a chain-mail top, black leather waistcoat, black skin-tight trousers, boots and hair extensions that he confides his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, finds sexy. Later he will don a black cape and hat and equip himself with a small arsenal of weapons.
"My main weapon in this is a 45lb (20kg) crossbow," he says. "Swords don't go very far with vampires or werewolves; it's all wooden stakes, silver bullets, switchblades and blow darts. I slightly resemble a second-hand watch salesman in the streets of New York with a complete cornucopia of weapons stuffed into my pockets."
Jackman is certainly among friends: in addition to compatriots Roxburgh and Wenham, the cast includes Shuler Hensley, who played tormented farmhand Jud Fry opposite his Curly in the award-winning London revival of Oklahoma!. Hensley takes the role of the monster created by Mary Shelley's Dr Frankenstein. "When (Sommers) rang to tell me, I was like, 'Who else could play it?"' says Jackman. "He's the perfect choice."
As for Roxburgh and Wenham, "I instantly thought (the casting of Roxburgh) was brilliant. I saw him doing Burn This at the Sydney Theatre Company and it was one of those seminal pieces of theatre that made me want to become an actor. David and I have never worked together before but it feels like we have. He and I had been slightly competing for roles back in Australia and here he is playing the slightly dippy sidekick. It feels like we're a gang, we fit - and that really helps."
There's lots more at the link below! And thanks to the always on-top-of-things crew over at Jackman's Landing for the heads up! |
