9 Strangest Film Casting Choices (That Actually Worked)

9. Hugh Jackman - X-Men

Hugh Jackman's gruff but amicable portrayal of the X-Men's resident berserker has become so ubiquitous with Wolverine that it's difficult to remember a time when his casting was considered controversial.

Before he was known as an action star, Jackman was famous as a song and dance man. He was trained as a theater actor and specialized in musicals and choreography. When he was first announced to be portraying Wolverine, he was not muscular and there was concern that he would struggle to mask his Australian accent.

Comics fans were hardly enthralled by the casting but it took less than five minutes of screen-time for Jackman to put any doubts to bed. From the first shot of him as Wolverine, hunched over in the shadows of a cage fight, he exuded the badass aura of an ageless, unflinching warrior. He'd put on considerable muscle, completely covered his accent, and made the part his own.