Readers of this site will probably be aware of my love for Hugh Jackman and my belief that the man can do no wrong (Well; except X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but that’s not his fault. Really). Now we learn that he’s been attached to Tom Hooper’s upcoming musical adaptation of Les Miserables.

Hugh Jackman

Even though he’s probably best known to most of us as The Wolverine, what many don’t know is that Hugh Jackman is also a Tony award-winning actor who both sings and dances. Putting him into a musical of this caliber is a stroke of genius and probably means that he’ll be playing Jean Jean Valjean or Javert, the two male leads of the classic story by Victor Hugo. I’m guessing Jean Valjean, the protagonist of the story on the run from the French Revolution. Traditionally, this role is performed by a tenor, the voice range closest approximated by Hugh Jackman.

Paul Bettany

The other role, Jalvert, is most probably intended for Paul Bettany, an actor also approached by Tom Hooper, a director most recently known for winning the Academy Award for directing The King’s Speech. Paul Bettany has already read for the part and been to the studio to sing for it, meaning that he’s probably already locked in for the role. I’m guessing that this will probably be a nice break for Paul Bettany, seeing as how he’s been in a couple of really crummy movies lately. Legion? The Da Vinci Code? Priest? Definitely not a group of movies to signify the pinnacle of an acting career.

To be honest, I’d much rather see Hugh Jackman appearing in this rather than The Wolverine at this point, and I’m very worried that now that The Wolverine finally looks like it has a director, scheduling conflicts may show up for him. For him to turn down “Les Mis” would be a big shame, to say the least. Simply the fact that he would be working with Tom Hooper should be enough to sway him, in my opinion, but I understand that The Wolverine is a project that he’s already committed to at a previous date. We’ll have to see what happens.

For those of you who still haven’t heard Hugh Jackman sing, last weekend’s Tony Awards saw him singing together with host Neil Patrick Harris, a wonderful song-and-dance routine that had me grinning from ear to ear from start to finish. Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkSpdvmXwDo

What do you think? Does the singing and dancing Australian look like a good match for this musical movie?