Movie fans like to debate the best Hugh Jackman movies, but one thing isn clear: the star of stage and screen is an A-lister. He became a household name for his role in the X-Men movies, but prior to the release of the 2000 original he was more or less a Hollywood unknown. That's around the time he auditioned for Miss Congeniality with Sandra Bullock and it... didn't go well.
Miss Congeniality is one of the best romantic comedies of the early aughts, and is currently streaming with a Paramount+ subscription. In a recent interview with Variety, Jackman spoke about auditioning for the project pre-X-Men, and struggling to keep up with Sandra Bullock during his audition for the role of FBI Agent Eric Matthews. In his words:
‘Holy shit! She’s amazing! And so quick and fast. I’m not even vaguely up to speed here.’ I was pedaling as fast as I could, but I didn’t know the script well enough.
What a bummer. Jackman was still early in his career, so perhaps this specific audition was a learning experience for him. That, or it proved just how great of an actress Bullock is. Either way, it's an experience that the 56 year-old actor remembers all these years later.
While I have to assume that Jackman rarely auditions nowadays, especially after his acclaimed roles projects like Christopher Nolan's The Prestige as well as his Oscar-nominated performance in Les Miserables. Later in the same interview, he spoke about how it felt to lose out the role to Miss Congeniality. He said:
That’s humiliating, when your agent says, ‘I don’t want you to get this job, but just go get it.’ And then you don’t get it.
I wonder why Jackman's agent didn't want him to land the role of Matthews in Miss Congeniality. Perhaps they didn't realize how much of a success the comedy would ultimately be. It's arguably one of Bullock's most iconic projects of all time.
Fans of 2000 comedy will remember that this specific role ultimately went to actor Benjamin Bratt. Long before replacing Jimmy Smits in Star Wars, he played hunky leading man Eric Matthew and had great chemistry with Sandra Bullock. Although now I have to wonder what the movie would have been like if Hugh Jackman was the one who played the charming FBI agent.
X-Men was also released in the same year, and catapulted the 56 year-old into superstardom. Although now I want to see him and Bullock paired in a movie all these years later. Make it happen, people!
Miss Congeniality is streaming on Paramount+, and both Hugh Jackman and Sandra Bullock continue to have thriving careers. They've both got projects coming up on the 2026 movie release list and beyond, but nothing together just yet.
