"Kate and Leopold" is a romantic fable about two strangers who meet in New York City, separated by a hundred years. When they meet, a century's worth of differences come crashing together.
Filmmakers had a difficult task of finding a believable Leopold, the charming, Third Duke of Albany bachelor, from the late 19th century. Commenting on the casting of Hugh Jackman, director James Mangold says, "Hugh is an amazing actor and entirely unique in this day and age. He just has the essence of great movie stars of the past. There are times that you can see Errol Flynn or Cary Grant in him."
HUGH JACKMAN (Leopold)
Can you describe your character?
I play Leopold who is a 19th century Duke who - I won't go into it, it's a little complicated - gets transported to present day New York.
Was it difficult to portray a character who moves between centuries?
Yeah, it was difficult. I did a lot of research. I went to England and had etiquette coaching, horse riding lessons, yoga, voice coaching, did the whole thing.
What was it like working on "Kate and Leopold?"
It was probably one of the most fun films I’ve worked on. It was such a light atmosphere and Jim Mangold, who had never done a romantic comedy, seemed liked he’d done millions of them before. Even Meg said to me that she’d never felt so relaxed doing a movie. He was really confident, and Meg was just a gem.
It's kind of great tonight - I'm getting to see all these people that I love, Breckin Meyer, Bradley Whitford - all these great actors that I worked with.
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