10 Ridiculous Comic Book Castings (That Actually Totally Worked)

8. Hugh Jackman - Wolverine (X-Men)

Why It Was Ridiculous: You need only look as far as this 1999 Aint It Cool News article to see how vehemently against Hugh Jackman's casting a lot of people were. A virtually unknown Australian actor (at least outside of Oz) with a knack for starring in musicals? It sounded destined for failure at the time, and when we're talking about one of comic book history's greatest characters, that's just not on. The Result: Jackman surprised all of us with a grizzled, physically intense performance that only grew with each passing film. We couldn't notice even a hint of Aussie in his accent, and of course, his role in the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past will be his seventh time behind the camera as the character (if you count his sweary cameo in First Class). So great is Jackman in these movies that even when the film itself doesn't work (as in the case of X-Men Origins: Wolverine), he manages to escape unscathed.