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He just belongs in Ohhhhhhhhhklahoma!

Kim Hollis: Is Hugh Jackman a star, or is he just a guy lucky enough to have played Wolverine?

Brandon Scott: Both - only because "star" is kind of a vague term. There are stars and there are mega-stars or constellations. Then there are planets. Then there is the solar system. Hugh Jackman is a star on Earth, which is part of our solar system...or not, I skipped Science and Astronomy. Nevertheless, he was lucky to play Wolverine. And he is the Sexiest Man Alive, so I have to classify that as a star. He's no Spencer Pratt...shoot me for even knowing that name, seriously take my life...now, but he's still a star.

Pete Kilmer: He's a star. But he can't open movies. Let's face it. The X-Men movies were ensemble movies where he did indeed stand out. And the upcoming Wolverine movie will be another ensemble movie. Granted he will be the lead, but the character is so much bigger than Jackman that it will be tough to say if it's Jackman or the character that opens the movie (in reality it's both).

Tim Briody: Actual conversation I had this week:
"Australia? Who's in that?"
"Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman."
"Who?"
"Wolverine."
"Oh, right."

I think that kind of sums it up.

Scott Lumley: I would say he's a talented actor who has been extremely lucky to have been cast in a role as iconic as Wolverine. If you think about it, aside from the X-Men franchise, he's appeared in Van Helsing (which was atrocious...), he co-starred in Swordfish with John Travolta and Halle Berry's breasts (which were not atrocious....) The Prestige (Which was a very good movie that hardly anyone watched...) and the Fountain (which has to be seen to be believed and practically requires Cliff notes.) This is not a spectacular track record.

Yet, looking back, I can't say that any one of those performances was terrible. He might just be a guy who was lucky to play Wolverine, but I can't think of anybody else out there who could pull of this role believeably. He really fits the part. If it's luck, then I think we have to credit the luck to Jackman's surprising talent.

Max Braden: I don't know if he's too much of a good thing or if he's got the Clive Owen curse, but he's the type of tuxedo wearing smile that you'd expect Hollywood to rush to exploit. Too charming to play everyman, too sophisticated to play Will Smith, too approachable to play Tom Cruise, too strong to play vulnerable, maybe? I'd almost suggest he get an iconic villain role but his last two have been hack thrillers. I think he'd be great in a reimagining of Gordon Gekko.

Reagen Sulewski: He's a less violent version of Russell Crowe.

David Mumpower: Jackman is lucky he's not a big enough star for people to take note of everything he does. If he were living in more of a paparazzi fishbowl, The Fountain would have been Gigli X Glitter. My take on Jackman is that people are inclined to like him then have utterly no recollection of him the instant they leave the theater, change the channel or whatever. He's a nice guy with quite a bit of charisma who simply does not linger in the collective conscious for whatever reason. Without Wolverine, he'd be having a Thomas Jane type of career. Dougray Scott should hate his guts oh so much.





Daron Aldridge: Lucky is a great and apt word. While I like him as an actor, (completely biased because of the Wolverine connection), he is not a box office draw alone. He needs the right project. In my opinion, The Prestige is the barometer for what both Bale and Jackman's box office appeal outside of a comic book film truly is at this point, with $15 million opening and total in the $50 or 60 million range. Not a judgment on the acting skills, just their drawing power.

Reagen Sulewski: What I keep coming back to with all these conversations on who is and isn't a draw now is just how few real, solid box office draws there actually are. Perhaps it's just foggy memories, but it seems like it's shakier now than it ever has been for marquee names. Producers must be tearing their hair out trying to figure out who to cast for sure things.

Marty Doskins: Or maybe they're not pulling their hair out. Maybe they're letting their own foggy memories guide their casting decisions, which is why we're not seeing that much high box office consistency from anyone. There are probably a lot of conversations like: "Remember how good Reese was in Sweet Home Alabama?" "Yeah! Let's put her in our sci-fi action thriller!"

For those English teachers keeping track, I used "they're", "their", and "there" correctly in the above paragraph.

Jason Lee: Frankly, I think Jackman is a talented actor whose thespian prowess is best showcased in the type of films that display malaise at the box-office. Stated in simpler terms: he's great in films that don't make money. While he got lucky with Wolverine, in the long run, I see him as a much more successful dramatic leading man in Oscar-ish films.

Jamie Ruccio: The Thomas Jane comparison is very apt. I think without the career tent pole of the Wolverine character he'd be a Thomas Jane or older Josh Hartnett or Hayden Christensen or James Franco or...

I think Hollywood is littered with decent if not great talent that looks good, gets a particular role and turns it into a career. Actors, if they're lucky, always have what I call the Fall Back Movie. It's the movie the can always make a sequel, prequel, etc to and regain some career clout. Jackman just manages to have a Fall Back Franchise Character. He had the good fortune to be able to depict well one of the most iconic comic book characters of the last 25 years.

He's not someone I expect an award winning performance from but he is someone I don't mind seeing in a movie. But as mentioned, again by David, once it's over I pretty much forget he was involved.

David Mumpower: The particularly interesting aspect of Jamie's point about a fallback movie is that Marvel Comics is currently running an Old Man Logan storyline wherein the character is retired and long past his prime. Theoretically, in 2025, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Jackman could still be doing a Wolverine role in this manner.

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