First Photo of Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean

[sueb1863]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 10:07am

Thanks to narrows101 for posting this first on the IMDb message board:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/entertainment/confidential/hugh-jackman-barely-recognisable-on-the-set-of-tom-hoopers-new-film-version-of-les-miserables/story-e6freq7o-1226305643686

"DRESSED in filthy rags, his handsome face gaunt and dark hair hacked to the scalp, one time Sexiest Man Alive Hugh Jackman is barely recognisable on the set of Tom Hooper's new film version of Les Miserables."






Updated On: 3/20/12 at 10:07 AM

[JP2]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 10:22am

Wow, he looks pretty amazing!

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 10:27am

I was skeptical but he looks like Hugo's Jean and recalls the great Harry Bauer in the definitive 1934 film.

Things are looking up!

[jo]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 10:49am

Fantastic image of Convict 24601!

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 11:24am

I'm sorry. That beard and hair make him look like he's going to a leather bar.

[Brick]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 11:52am

^Wishful thinking?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 12:50pm

Interesting, but he does not look like he is starving or in need of a loaf of bread

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 12:58pm

I think he looks great. Definitely like someone going through hell. I'm sure his look will change many times throughout the film, which is perfect.

[ChildrenwillListen]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 1:02pm

Looks very real

[peachesr82]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 1:02pm

I agree, he looks great and his look has to change during the story. Maybe I imagined this, but I'm sure I read somewhere that he'd tailored his work out regime to create the the sort of physique Valjean would have had.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 1:13pm

Valjean isn't emaciated or frail while he's in jail. He keeps trying to escape and fights back, which is one of the reasons he's been in jail so long.

Don't forget, he displays superhuman strength raising the wagon up. He is always known as a strong man, even as a prisoner.

[p.s.]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 1:18pm

Any information about the brand upon his chest?

It doesn't look like a number.


p.s. Maybe a triangle?

[Fan2]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 1:32pm

The "triangle" is actually the tie of the coat.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 1:33pm

"Interesting, but he does not look like he is starving or in need of a loaf of bread"

Of course he doesn't. He looks like someone who has been a prisoner for nineteen years on a chain gang, slowly building up the strength which eventually leads to him being recognized after he breaks parole.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 1:40pm

I'm sorry. That beard and hair make him look like he's going to a leather bar.

Or a Bar Mitzvah.

[sueb1863]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 1:55pm

Valjean stole the bread nineteen years before this picture takes place. He spent five years in prison for that crime and fourteen more for constantly trying to escape. So no, he isn't going to look starving and weak by this point.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 2:10pm

"I'm sorry. That beard and hair make him look like he's going to a leather bar."


That is where he was going. But of course he now denies it.

You'd expect that of a con.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 2:28pm

"I'm sorry. That beard and hair make him look like he's going to a leather bar."

No need to apologize!!!

[Fan2]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 3:04pm

Colm Wilkinson is in this set, plus closeups.


Closeups and Colm

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 4:15pm

^I don't think the guy in the boots (smoking, cellphone) is wearing underwear.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 7:25pm

The pictures of Hugh look brutal. Glad to see he's really going for it!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 7:50pm

I can't wait to see what this all looks like in the context of the film, I do love Tom Hooper's style and there are some brilliant shots in THE KING'S SPEECH. I'm getting more and more excited about this movie the more I see of it (and hopefully the actual footage will look as great), I do worry about the timeline. I wonder when they'll even have a trailer.
Jackman looks great, this could be the role that finally gets him nominated! We'll see.

[jo]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 7:50pm

Yes, look at this level of detail --




Can't wait to see how the other characters are going to be portrayed!

[jo]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 8:02pm

>>>I do worry about the timeline. I wonder when they'll even have a trailer.<<<

The filming seems to be going on smoothly, based on what some internet fans can gather from various tweets of actors involved and some sketchy media reports on what has been happening.

It looks like they are already doing the following --

*Filming in Southern France around March 8 has probably been completed, involving only Hugh Jackman, which led to speculations that that was for the Valjean Soliloquy( What Have I Done?)
*Above photos seemed to have been taken while they are filming the Prologue/Convict scenes on outside locations
*Filming of Lovely Ladies, it seems, is also going to happen this week ( based on tweets of actresses involved in the shoot)
*Rehearsals for the Confrontation Scene with Javert have been widely reported, because of the playful bantering between the two co-stars.
*Colm Wilkinson was also seen in a photo, observing the filming of the convict scenes. Maybe the scenes with the Bishop of Digne are forthcoming soon?

They did have a very long intensive rehearsal period ( 5-6 weeks), so maybe that has helped in facilitating the filming process. They have rehearsed the singing and the acting and Tom Hooper has had a chance to see how it is shaping up. They do have a very tight schedule given that this is going to be an epic of a film...But maybe post-production is what may turn out to be worrisome, as one of our co-posters ( Best12Bars) has shared with us on another thread.

Let's hope for the best!

[sueb1863]

Posted: 3/20/12 at 8:02pm

It's hard to tell if he's got a brand or not. It looks like he might have a dark bar going across his chest.

I don't think it'll be a number, because if Valjean had 24601 branded on his chest it would be all too easy for Javert to find out he got the wrong guy later in the story. All the falsely accused guy has to do is show Javert he doesn't have 24601 on his chest and the arrest is over. If it's just a generic prisoner's brand that both Valjean and the falsely accused man could have, it makes the mixup more plausible.

I know the original Broadway run used a number, I have footage from Colm Wilkinson's last night as Valjean in which he shows how they used a stencil to spray paint it on his chest. However, somebody must have pointed out to them that such a thing would screw up the scenario's logic since the fake Valjean clearly wouldn't have 24601 branded on his chest, so they changed it. Now it's just a bar, I think.