Fri Oct 10, 2008 — by Josh Wigler

Gambit on 'Wolverine'

Taylor Kitsch Talks About the Ragin' Cajun

Taylor Kitsch is breaking out from under the Friday Night Lights to play on the big screen in next May's X-Men Origins: Wolverine from 20th Century Fox. Kitsch plays Remy LeBeau, commonly known as the smooth-talking mutant called Gambit. The actor spoke with Media Blvd about his role in the film.

"He's just another comic book character that has kinetic energy," Kitsch describes of Gambit. "It's a fun role. You'll have fun watching it."

Kitsch admits that he was largely unfamiliar with the character before working on Wolverine, but has since gained a fondness for the heart-breaking antihero.

"I love the character, I love the powers, and I love what they did with him," Kitsch says. "I didn't know that much [about the role], but in my experience, it was a blessing to go in and create my take on him."

At the moment, Kitsch is best known as Tim Riggins on NBC's Friday Night Lights. That's bound to change in a few short months when the X-movie is released.

"I haven't [been] bombarded yet for the X-Men stuff," Kitsch admits. "I've been told enough about [X-Men fans] that I'm excited for it. I feel the project went incredibly well, and I'm excited to see the result."

For Kitsch, the biggest perk of filming Wolverine was meeting Logan himself. The actor calls Hugh Jackman a huge influence in his life as both an actor and as a person.

"He's incredibly disciplined and free," Kitsch describes Jackman. "He's just this person that's so grounded and so open that you question whether it's real or not. I've met nobody like him."

Some years ago, Lost's Josh Holloway was said to be in talks to play the Ragin' Cajun in X-Men: The Last Stand. He pulled out due to TV commitments, but was linked to return if a fourth X-Men flick ever got off the ground. The part eventually went to Kitsch.

"The reason we didn't use Gambit was because in a sense his persona is a bit like Wolverine in that he's got attitude and his power is not quite as exciting as the others," said Lauren Shuler Donner, producer of both X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in an interview in 2006.

"That's why we went to Nightcrawler," she continues, "because he looked different than everybody else and he had a great power."

For someone who doesn't speak too kindly about ol' Remy, it's a bit surprising that the character wound up in Wolverine's solo film. Guess you can only stay away from that sexy gumbo for so long, right?!

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