Hugh Jackman has done Broadway as the Boy From Oz, but he recently told TV Guide Online about something even scarier than sambaing in tight pants to "I Go to Rio." We're referring, of course, to Wolverine's turn as that mysterious hunter of evil creatures in Van Helsing (arriving tomorrow on DVD).
TV Guide Online: What did you think the first time you watched Van Helsing?Hugh Jackman: I was like, "Wow!" I had some idea what it might look like, but had no idea it was going to be such a nonstop roller-coaster ride.
TVGO: Do you enjoy scary movies?Jackman: I was a big horror-movie fan as a kid, like Halloween and The Evil Dead. The skeleton in my closet is — I hate to say this, mate — I've seen all the Friday the 13th films. I haven't seen Freddy vs. Jason yet, so maybe I'm growing out of it.
TVGO: Will you be playing Wolverine again?Jackman: There will be a thi
read more
Vampire action-thrillers are Kate Beckinsale's nasty new niche. Last year, she vamped it up as a spooky heroine in Underworld. Next, she plays a vampire slayer opposite Hugh Jackman in Van Helsing (opening Friday). Has she gone all Buffy on us? The 30-year-old Brit denies it, insisting she doesn't even like all those fanged fiends she's been hanging with.
"I was so surprised to do any vampire movies at all, because I'm not into them," Beckinsale admits. "When I first got sent the script for Underworld, I didn't even want to read it."
So what motivated her return to this gory genre for Van Helsing? (Besides a bloody-good paycheck, we mean.) "When I got the script for [Van Helsing], even though it had vampires and werewolves in it, my character was so different," she enthuses. "First of all, I'm not a vampire myself. [My character's] a gypsy and passionate and human. It just seemed like a different role."
read more
Aussie transplant Hugh Jackman enjoys big Stateside stardom thanks to his roles as Wolverine in the X-Men movies and Peter Allen in Broadway's The Boy from Oz. Still, the 35-year-old hunk hesitated about taking his latest high-profile part as a supernatural crime-fighter in Van Helsing (opening May 7). Hmm... A fat paycheck for doing a big-budget action flick — what's for a working actor not to like?
"After X-Men 2, I was going to do a smaller independent movie," Jackman says. "I was a bit reluctant to be in another big, franchise-type, summer popcorn movie. I feared to go down that road. They take a long time [to make]. It's a year of your life.
"Then, of course, there could be X-Men 3, then Van Helsing 2," he adds. "That could be my film life. [Van Helsing director] Stephen Sommers told me that I am probably the only actor to worry about being in two successful franchises!"
Jackm
read more
