Hugh Jackman 'wasn't available' — nudge nudge wink wink — to star in Cats

Hugh Jackman turned down a role in Cats.

(Image credit: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Hugh Jackman has at last admitted that director Tom Hooper offered him a role in the "jarring fever dream" that was 2019's Cats. Asked directly by The Daily Beast's Marlow Stern if he turned down a role, Jackman replied: "Umm … yep."

Although Jackson earned an Academy Award nomination for his work with Hooper on Les Misérables in 2012, it apparently wasn't enough to sell him on Hooper's follow-up musical, which has since been described as "the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs." When pressed on what role he was offered, Jackman said, "there were a couple of options there based on availability and time, and I really … yeah, I just wasn't available at the time."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.