9) Bob Hoskins – Wolverine
Back in the early 1990s, James Cameron and his then-wife Kathryn Bigelow were on board to helm a movie version of the X-Men, with comics legend Chris Claremont on consulting duties. Before the project fell through (leading to Cameron’s next plan to make a Spider-Man movie, which also never happened), they had some of the cast lined up, including Angela Bassett as Storm. Who would have played the coveted role of Wolverine, though? Well, Bob Hoskins, obviously.
Viewers used to Hugh Jackman’s ripped version of Logan might scoff at the idea of the bulldog-like Hoskins, most known for his part in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, as the Wolverine. However, it should be remembered that the character is a fierce, diminutive person in the comics. In that regard, Hoskins would have fit the bill very well.
8) Neil Patrick Harris – Nightcrawler
When blue beasty Nightcrawler was introduced into the franchise in X2, they really needed to find an actor with a lot of energy and likeability to play him, so that audiences could get past the extreme make-up and actually care for the character.
With his bamf-ing abilities, the actor also needed to be light on their feet. Given that, it makes a lot of sense that singer/dancer and sitcom star Neil Patrick Harris was originally one of the favourites to nab the part. Allegedly, he was one of the final choices and only lost out on the part to Alan Cumming due to the Scottish actor’s ability to speak fluent German – a handy plus when playing a German-born mutant.
