After Dougray Scott signed on and then had to walk away due to Mission: Impossible II commitments, Hugh Jackman got his shot, and the rest is history.
One of the most famous behind-the-scenes stories in the history of the project is about the search for the actor to play Wolverine and the production being turned down by both Russell Crowe and Viggo Mortensen.
Michael Jackson and Shaquille O’Neal aren’t the only ones to miss out on being in X-Men, but at the very least they were smart enough to try and go after the project instead of turning it down.