Wolverine Says No To Being 007

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

After months of negotiations with the producers of the James Bond films, Australian front-runner Hugh Jackman has refused a three-film deal to play the smooth-talking agent.

It is 36 years since an Australian swung behind the wheel of the Aston Martin or locked eyes, as Bond, with a scantily clad lovely across the floor of some sumptuous European casino. George Lazenby, in 1969, was the last.

But Lazenby declined to appear a second time as Bond, reportedly because he found the role too intense.

Jackman, likewise, finally found himself unswayed by the job's selective cult status.

He was first offered the role some months ago, but has turned it down after talking with his wife, actress Deborrah-Lee Furness, a British newspaper reported at the weekend.

He was top of the list, and now they have been left with other, less marketable options.

The report said Jackman, 37, rejected the deal because he had a sufficiently high global profile and did not feel the need to throw himself into the strange world of Bond.

The star of X-Men and Van Helsing is in London filming with New York director Woody Allen.