CB is more into Hugh Jackman than I ever was. Don’t get me wrong – I like Hugh. He seems like a lovely man, and God knows I love an old-Hollywood throw-back, an old-fashioned song-and-dance man, a true entertainer, which is exactly what Hugh is. But I’ve never really gotten hot for him, you know? He’s pretty to look at, but my biscuits are all “Meh.” As for the gay rumors – I don’t even know. I’m sure half of you will be yelling at me and telling me that OF COURSE HE HAS A BOYFRIEND because a friend of a friend told you, but… I put more stock in rumors about several other Hollywood dudes before I believe it about Hugh. This may seem weird, but I think the fact that he’s Australian makes me doubt the gay rumors more – not to make a massive generalization about one nationality, but Aussie men just seem to approach relationships and women and family life differently than American men, and I think that difference accounts for how we Americans view his 15-year-marriage to an older woman.

Anyway, Hugh’s wife of 15 years, Deborra-Lee Furness, has spoken to Page Six Magazine, and she gives somewhat of a denial of Hugh’s gay rumors, and she talks about the criticisms of her weight. CB pointed out that Deb has addressed the gay rumors before directly – see her old interview from 2008. Here’s what she said to Page Six:

It’s not easy being Hugh Jackman’s other half. His wife of 15 years, Deborra-Lee Furness, said she’s “been almost pummeled” by crazed fans or “Hughophiles” who try to get to him.

“Literally, they will push you out of the way,” she tells Page Six Magazine, out on Thursday. “Hi, I’m chopped liver. How do you do?”

The sassy blonde brushed off critics of her marriage to the younger star currently on Broadway. She said, “Hugh is much more mature than me, so we balance each other out. And heaven forbid I have a human experience and carry a little weight.”

Responding to speculation about his sexuality, she said, “The line I heard was, ‘Wolverine? Who would have thought?’ Hugh and I don’t pay much heed. It’s kind of tragic that these people have nothing better to do than gossip about people they don’t know.”

[From Page Six]

Deborra-Lee didn’t really offer a direct denial, did she? But should she have to? Whatever Hugh and Deb have, it seems to be working for them. She seems like a normal woman, the kind of woman you would meet and befriend, and I imagine that their marriage grounds Hugh a great deal. Is it really so weird to think that Hugh might love his wife and family?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Hugh Jackman is still doing the publicity rounds for Real Steel, which debuted at #1 last weekend at the domestic box office with a $27 million box-office take. This movie tour has taken an interesting turn for the worse, however, and it’s a damn good thing that Jackman is the self-deprecating type, for he’s admitted that his early stage work was plagued by certain embarrassing difficulties; that is, he nearly wet his pants onstage:

“The first show I ever did, singing and dancing, was Beauty and the Beast. I was playing Gaston,” Jackman, 42, tells Rachael Ray in an interview airing Friday. “Gaston has red tights, knee high boots, and it’s very physical. I had headaches everyday for two months. I went to an astropath [psychic] and he said ‘Well, you’re dehydrated.’ So of course [following his advice] I had four liters of water,” says Jackman of his 1996 theater days in Melbourne, Australia.

“I go down to the stage, getting ready for my first number … and I’m like I really need to go again. [The routine is] the most cardiovascular song I’ve ever done: literally I’m picking up Belle and as I pick her up, I stopped singing and right in that moment I realized the muscles you need to release in order to sing are the ones you do not want to release if you need to go,” the actor tells Ray.

Urinating on stage in front of the audience, Jackman says he had to forgo the number in order to relieve himself.

“I’m carrying her [over one shoulder] not singing, and she’s going ‘What’s going on? What’s going on?’ So finally, it’s embarrassing at this point. I’ve not sung an entire verse.”

[From Us Magazine]

At least he admits it, right? He’s not alone either, and there’s nothing quite like bringing awareness to the such widely-spread issues, but more on that later. For the moment, I’d like to bring your attention to the fact that, according to Jackman, Robert Pattinson is a very disinterested flight passenger. In addition, Sparkles is also very game for Japanese karaoke:

Back in 2009, there was a report that Hugh Jackman and Robert Pattinson hung out at a karaoke bar in Japan together. Now, more than two years later, MTV News heard the tale straight from Jackman himself, who stopped by our offices to chat about Real Steel.

“I actually did karaoke with Rob. That’s random, isn’t it? We were on our way to Japan, and he was promoting [Twilight] and I didn’t talk to him at all on the flight, because he’s this really tall guy with a hood over his head literally, and every time I’d go to the bathroom, I’d be like, ‘Man, that guy takes some serious sleeping pills,’ because this was him [slumps over] the whole time.”

But the twosome quickly went from strangers on a plane to friends at a bar. “When he got out, I was like, ‘Hey, man,’ and Baz Luhrmann was also on the flight because we were promoting Australia. So we went out to this Japanese karaoke bar, and we invited Rob, and he came. And it was so much fun. Man, he’s got a voice. Really soulful.”

Jackman expanded a bit on the night’s debauchery, revealing what really goes on at a Japanese karaoke bar, for the uninitiated.

“The first thing you do is you get inside this room, the doors are closed, and there’s, like, eight of you. So it feels a little weird. And then all of a sudden, they open, and they bring in these boxes, which are basically [full of] dress-up [clothes], and it’s all girls’ clothes. I was a schoolgirl, Baz got dressed up, and Rob did not. He was too cool for school.”

[From MTV]

I can totally believe that Rob was too cool to get properly dressed up for karaoke, but it’s also interesting to note that he did get all dolled up in clown drag for one scene of Water for Elephants, complete with Sparkles nipples. Ugh. I just grossed myself out with the memory.

At any rate, I’d like to emphasize that Hugh’s story of semi-public urinary troubles will resonate with his already substantial female fanbase. After all, most women who have borne a child will realize that the bladder gets pretty knocked around in the process, so subsequent precautions are a necessity. Also, I will never look at Jackman beach play (i.e., watersports) pictures the same way in the future…

Photos courtesy of Fame

Those of you who read us regularly know that I love Hugh Jackman. I just think he’s a genuinely nice guy and super hot to boot. My admiration of Hugh crept up on me. While I’ve had crushes on other celebrities like Matt Damon and Johnny Depp forever, Hugh earned my fangirl status from his actions and interviews. Anyway here’s another reason to love Hugh. In a new interview with Australian newspaper The Herald Sun, the 42 year-old actor opens up about how he and his wife of 15 years, Deborra-Lee Furness, struggled with infertility before deciding to adopt. They are now parents to son Oscar, 11, and daughter Ava, six. Hugh describes it as very difficult to get to the point of adopting, but ultimately rewarding. He also sees the adoption of his two children as fated. It’s touching the way he explains it.

The 42-year-old star is married to wife Deborra-Lee Furness and they have two adopted children – Oscar, 11, and Ava, six.

He spoke to Australia’s Herald Sun about the moment they discovered they weren’t able to have children naturally.

He said: ‘It was painful. It’s not easy. You put a lot of time and effort into it, so it’s emotional.

‘I think any parent can relate – trying to have children is wonderful and when you feel as though that’s not going to happen, there’s a certain anxiety that goes with it.’

He added: ‘We thought we’d have a kid or two biologically and then adopt. But when we decided we’d had enough of IVF, we went ahead with adoption.’

However the couple soon moved on with their plans to become parents.

Jackman said: ‘From the moment we started the adoption process, all the anxiety went away. I don’t think of them as adopted – they’re our children.

‘Deb and I are believers in I suppose you could call it destiny. We feel things happened the way they are meant to. Obviously, biologically wasn’t the way we were meant to have children.

‘Now, as we go through life together, sure there are challenges, but everyone’s in the right place with the right people. It sounds airy-fairy, but it’s something we feel very deeply.’

[From The Daily Mail]

That’s so nice! Hugh and Deborra have been open about this issue, and are involved in several adoption charities. I found this moving interview with Deborra from 2004, before their second child was adopted. She said she’d had two miscarriages before they decided to adopt Oscar. Back when Oscar’s mother was pregnant and Deborra and Hugh were meeting with her about adopting the baby, Deborra thinks she was given a sign that he was meant to be their son. She described how she was in an airplane and saw a lightning storm over Iowa, where his birth mother is from. Here’s that part:

“And I kept saying to Hugh when we were in discussions early on. I said I havn’t got a message yet, I’m waiting for a message. And I was on a flight from Los Angeles to Toronto where Hugh was shooting X-Men 1, I think it was, and I was sitting on this flight and I looked out the window and there was this incredible electric storm outside the window and it was so beautiful, I was just staring at it and I said to the guy sitting next to me, “Wow, look at that, it’s amazing, where are we, and he said I think we’re somewhere over Iowa,” And I, I knew that that was the birth mother I had been speaking to and I grabbed the stewardess and I said do you know where we are and she said oh come up here and took me up to the pilot’s cabin it was before September 11, and went in there and I said where are we? And he said, see down there, there’s Cedar Rapids, and tears started to roll down my face and I knew that was my message. And I loved it, it was like it wasn’t a subtle message, it was like, it’s me already, it’s like this huge electrical storm.”

[From ABC.net.au]

I usually don’t believe in signs and messages. When people tell stories like this I find it fascinating though. I truly believe that they thought they received a sign, and that it was a sign in that way, since signs are what we make of them. (Hopefully that makes sense and doesn’t sound condescending, although it probably does.)

Hugh and Deborra sound like they’re on the exact same page when it comes to their family, and that’s very refreshing to hear, inside or outside of Hollywood.

Update: Here’s a link to a bunch of new gratuitous shirtless pictures of Hugh Jackman.

Most of these photos are from July and August of this year, except for the one where they’re in coats, that’s from October. Credit: Fame

Hugh Jackman is the cover boy for the October issue of Men’s Fitness magazine. His interview is focused around an all day training session and photo shoot he had with boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard. Hugh was preparing for his role as a washed up boxer in Real Steel, which is not-so-jokingly being called the Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots movie. It’s out on October 7, and is yet another role in which Jackman had to take his body to the limit. He’s more than up to it of course, and has the dedication and attitude to do whatever it takes.

Hugh’s article in Men’s Fitness necessarily focuses on the way he trains and eats right, but there’s also a lot of marveling at how down to earth and genuinely friendly he is. Hugh is so nice and normal, the author declares that he’s taken “the nicest guy in Hollywood” title away from Tom Hanks. Here’s more:

A typical “good day” is lunch with Deborra-Lee Furness, his wife of 15 years, a walk, an hour of singing, and a visit with friends. A mention of his 2008 People Magazine “Sexiest Man Alive” crown elicits self-deprecation. “An old friend of mine e-mailed me and he said he had cowboy boots sexier than me,” he says. He discusses his extensive charitable projects, inquires sincerely about my career and life, and perhaps most surprisingly, he’s not on his iPhone when I return from the bathroom. Instead he’s by the front door waiting for me. “Ready, mate?” he asks.

“Honestly,” I say, careful not to fall for that g’day chumminess. “When was the last time someone called you an asshole?” He bellows a deep and genuine laugh. “I don’t really know,” he says. “I”m a bit of a people pleaser, unfortunately. My wife says it’s hard to be married to me. She wishes I were more of an asshole.”

A short walk later we arrive for the cover shoot at Brooklyn’s legendary Gleason’s boxing gym. Old fight posters cover the walls. The air is sharp with sweat. Bells ring, ropes snap, mitts crack, trainers bark…

Two dozen of the gym’s current fighters, entrenched in their daily regimen, barely bat an eye. Jackman needs no sycophants, however. He immediately introduces himself to the gym owner, a few trainers and the photo crew. Smiles and handshakes. A pat on the back here and there. Nothing phony, nothing forced…

At 5 p.m., the shoot wraps. While Leonard doles out pointers to awestruck fighters, Jackman changes into street clothes. THen he eats a small portion of grilled chicken and veggies, his third such plate of the afternoon. When he finishes, he does not, as I expect, bolt for the exit. Instead, he makes his way around the gym thanking all of the folks for their efforts. It’s at this moment that my New York cynicism disappears. When he sidles up to me, flashes that megawatt smile, and asks, “That wasn’t so bad, eh?” a truth hits me like a right cross. Tom Hanks, you’re toast. Hugh Jackman really is the nicest guy in Hollywood.

[From Men's Fitness, print edition, October, 2011]

The journalist spent all day with Hugh and didn’t even see a glimmer of attitude or phoniness. That’s more convincing to me than any interview or quote directly from Hugh. I really like the guy. I know some people think he’s hiding some giant secret, but think about it. With our rampant gossip press, wouldn’t we have heard way more than just vague rumors by now? I think those started because it’s hard to believe that he’s that decent a guy and has been happily married, with nary a cheating rumor, for 15 years.

On a more superficial note, Hugh looks hot on the photos inside the magazine, but he looks tired and worn out on the cover. I’m not a fan of all the stubble, or of his haircut. His pecs and arms are amazing, though. There are more photos, along with Hugh’s workout plan, in the October issue of Men’s Fitness.

Hugh is shown at the Real Steel preview last Friday in London on 9/16/11. Credit: WENN.com

You know it’s going to be a good week when we’re treated on a Monday to so many photos of Hugh Jackman lounging shirtless, frolicking shirtless in the water, and attempting to apply sunscreen to his shirtless buff body. Hugh Jackman knows what we need to jump start our week and he’s delivering it for us with a smile and a wink. Hugh was in St. Tropez with his lucky wife and two kids, soaking up the sun and posing for these glorious sun-soaked photos.

A week ago Jackman hit up ComicCon to promote Real Steel, a film that’s drawing comparisons to the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots game. No sh*t, this is the first I’ve heard of it too. The movie is based on a short story from 1956 about a boxer who joins the dangerous fast-paced world of fighting robotos (chuckle) and it’s supposedly not a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie per se. It also stars Anthony Mackie and Evangeline Lilly. Real Steel is out in the US on October 7 and you can watch the trailer here. It looks totally ridiculous, and is directed by Shawn Levy. (Night at the Museum, Date Night.)

Jackman also confirmed at ComicCon that a script for Wolverine 2 is complete and that he’ll start filming in October. Last year he said he was in training for it by eating right and exercising hard, and it’s clearly paid off. The guy has maintained his incredible physique for years now. Or maybe, if he ever lets himself go a tiny bit, he waits until he’s in top shape again before taking off his shirt.

Photo credit: Fame Pictures

Of course I’ve noticed that Hugh Jackman has a bronzing problem in the past. Sometimes he looks down right orange, or that strange color that people get when they aren’t naturally pale, so when they start with the fake tanning and add bronzer, they end up some sort of weird brownish-orange-yellow color that glows. That’s where Hugh is now. And I mean him no disrespect – I think he’s probably a very lovely man, and very, very talented. Which is why this is so disappointing.

Anyway, these are photos of Hugh last night at the opening night of the Broadway musical The Addams Family. Does Hugh look at his big orange glowing face in the mirror and think, “I look awesome!”? His wife Deb needs to get on this sh-t. Because Deb is a normal color, and she must be tired of watching him apply the bronzer. Look, you even see where the bronzer stops on forehead! That white stuff at his hairline is his natural skin color!

It’s even more noticeable when he stands beside normal-skinned people:

Hugh at the opening night of the Broadway musical ‘The Addams Family’ on April 8, 2010. Credit: WENN.

Hugh Jackman was photographed shirtless and working out on a beach in Australia over the weekend. Why was he working out on the beach instead of in a gym? Seriously, who cares. It’s Wolverine! With no shirt on! Jackman appeared to be vacationing in St. Barth’s, taking in some swimming, boating and even some yoga.

In addition to rocking a pair of swimming trunks, Jackman just completed a very successful run on Broadway with “James Bond” star Daniel Craig in “A Steady Rain.” The play raked in more than $1.5 Million in charity donations for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a non-profit organization dedicated to AIDS/HIV research and social services for those infected with the disease. Both Jackman and Craig were directly involved in the fundraising efforts, donating signed memorabilia for auction, including the clothing they wore on stage. Because there are plenty of theatergoers who’d pay top dollar for a Jackman-sweat-soaked T-shirt.

Never, never, never underestimate the power of a famous, well-sculpted and motivated actor, times two.

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig have been combining their stage savvy, film star dossiers and sex appeal on Broadway in Keith Huff’s drama, “A Steady Rain,” playing a pair of Chicago cops who are lifelong friends and raking in box office grosses of more than $1 million a week.

Now they have broken the record in an annual friendly competition among Broadway casts, in which each tries to outdo the others in raising money for the theater world’s top AIDS charity, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Making appeals after each performance from Oct. 23 to Dec. 6, Jackman and Craig raked in $1,549,953, shattering the past record of $612,000 that Jackman helped set in 2003 when he was making his Broadway debut in “The Boy From Oz.”

The duo worked hard for the money, says Tom Viola, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which calls the competition “Gypsy of the Year” in honor of the unheralded chorus performers who make their living going from show to show.

Besides the customary curtain appeal to drop cash in collection buckets on people’s way out, Viola said, Jackman and Craig would sign and auction the T-shirts they’d worn under their costumes. That brought in $3,000 to $15,000 per night. As much as $20,000 per performance would come from playgoers who took up the stars’ offer to pose for photographs backstage with anyone willing to ante up $2,000.

“This is so huge, I can’t imagine how it could happen again,” Viola said. According to Playbill, at the Dec. 8 ceremonies for “Gypsy of the Year,” Jackman thanked all the donors who “we bullied, cajoled and slept with” to set the mark.

The Jackman-Craig tandem’s performance as super-schnorrers keyed a $4.6-million take overall that broke the old record of $3.9 million set in 2007.

The four runners-up, “Phantom of the Opera,” “Billy Elliot,” “Hair” and “Wicked,” raised $617,000 combined. On the road, where touring Broadway companies typically play in much larger houses, “Rent” led the way at $242,000 for the six weeks.

There’s probably something in it for Southern California: in 2009, according to the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS website, grants to AIDS charities in the region came to $245,000, led by $25,000 for Project Angel Food in L.A. and $20,000 each to L.A.’s Black AIDS Institute and Mama’s Kitchen in San Diego.

[From Los Angeles Times]

“Famous, well-sculpted and motivated.” Yup, those are three words that you could use to describe Mr. Jackman. The only thing that would make these photos better for me is if his stage co-star Daniel Craig decided to drop in for a workout as well. Enjoy!

Hugh Jackman working out on Shell Beach on St. Barth on December 12, 2009. Credit: TRB/Fame Pictures.

These are pictures from yesterday’s photocall for the formal Broadway opening of A Steady Rain. The play has been open a week – which includes the performance that we talked about yesterday, with the jackass audience member and the ringing cell phone, that happened on one of their first performances. In the first week of the play, they broke the Broadway record for highest grossing non-musical show with $1,167,954 in ticket sales. The play runs until December 6, and I guess all of the tickets haven’t been sold, so Daniel and Hugh have been brought out for some extra publicity.

When looking at Daniel Craig with that horrid mustache, the only thing playing in my mind jukebox is “I am the walrus, goo goo kachoo”. While it’s a pleasure to see that Daniel Craig is a real actor who can fight the hot for his art, I can’t wait for Danny to shave that f-cker off. Although… something about the combination of the sketchy blonde mustache, a grey suit and a blue tie really makes Daniel’s blue eyes even more piercing. I feel like The Walrus can see into my soul.

Meanwhile, Hugh is killing me in these pictures. He’s got big diva hair and that big showman smile. He’s so cute! It’s like he’s trying to overcompensate for the Grumpy Walrus. I swear, I’m looking through the pictures, and I can’t find one picture of Daniel giving an actual smile. He seems to be smirking ironically in a few, but for the most part it’s like he’s wincing in pain. Is the mustache painful? It is to look at.

Meanwhile, A Steady Rain is getting solid to glowing reviews. The NYDN says that Hugh and Daniel “ooze confidence and charisma.” Daniel and Hugh also seem to be pulling off their Chicago accents for the roles, which is a relief. I worried that they would sound weird. Daniel seems to be the favorite of the reviewers, the NYDN describing him as more impressive that Jackman, “as an ex-drunk sporting a ’70s porn-star mustache, sad eyes and nervousness that masks a covetous, calculating side. His character’s true nature emerges as the most interesting thing about the play.” Hmm… do you think Daniel will end up with a Tony Award? That would be interesting.

Here’s Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman at the ppening night of ‘A Steady Rain’ at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City yesterday. Images thanks to WENN.com .

If you were looking at Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman side by side, just judging them on their looks and what we think we know about them, who do you think would be the bigger bitch? I would have thought Daniel Craig, in all honesty. Daniel seems to have that snotty ugly-hot thing going for him, and his general attitude seems very prickly. Meanwhile, Hugh seems like one the sweetest men in the world. Turns out, Hugh is perfectly capable of being a big bitch. Thank God!

So it went down like this – during a performance of A Steady Rain, an audience member’s cell phone started ringing. And the guy didn’t pick it up or switch off his phone or anything. The motherf-cker just let it ring! So Hugh channeled his bitch, turned to the audience member and said “You want to get that? You want to get it? Grab it. I don’t care… Come on, just turn it off…Unless you’ve got a better story. You want to get up and tell your stories.” The audience applauds with the last line.

Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman have become the latest stage actors to confront members of the audience for leaving their mobile phones switched on when they were interrupted during a performance of the Broadway play A Steady Rain.

Jackman was playing a Chicago policeman during an intense moment of the Broadway play A Steady Rain when a phone rang in the stalls.

The star of the X-Men sci-fi films won a cheer from the audience as he interrupted his performance to tell the phone’s owner: “You want to get that? You want to get it? Grab it. I don’t care.”

Pacing around the stage and clearly annoyed despite his attempts at levity, when the ringing persisted Jackman pleaded: “Come on, just turn it off…Unless you’ve got a better story. You want to get up and tell your stories?”

A few seconds later another phone went off and it was the turn of Jackman’s co-star, Daniel Craig, to intervene. “Just get the phone,” said the current James Bond star.

New Yorkers are traditionally not easily separated from their mobile phones. Despite pre-performance warnings to switch them off, Craig was also interrupted by one during a monologue at a preview performance 10 days ago.

The British actor Richard Griffiths ordered a woman to leave the theatre or switch her phone off when it it started ringing during a West End performance in 2005.

The following year, he threatened to leave the stage when phone ringing three times interrupted a performance of the History Boys on Broadway.

[From the Telegraph]

That’s actually never happened to me during a play, only during movies. It pisses me off during movies too, but I can’t even imagine how difficult it is for actors doing a live performance to have to deal with these jackasses who are too dumb to turn off their phone. Yes, yes, everybody makes mistakes, and sometimes good people honestly forget to turn off their phones. But to let your phone ring and ring during a play? Dumbass.

There’s some nasty/funny gossip coming out of Broadway as Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman finish their preparations for A Steady Rain. The hot-cop casting announcement was made back in May, and Daniel and Hugh have spent the last month rehearsing and researching their roles as angsty Chicago cops. According to Entertainment Weekly - which got the first promotional image of Hugh and Daniel in character - Hugh plays Denny, “a patrolman with a racist streak and violent temper.” Daniel plays Joey, “a recovering alcoholic and gentler soul who may not be as docile as he first seems.” The play opens on September 10, and people are already talking about the sketchy Village People-esque handlebar mustache Daniel is sporting. While I love Daniel… this is not his best look.

Meanwhile, Page Six is reporting that Daniel Craig is behaving a bit like a diva in the run-up to the play’s debut. Apparently, Daniel has “demanded” personal security while in New York, even though he “rarely” gets approached by anyone. They actually use the word “wimp”. Uh-oh.

HE showed off his muscles as he emerged from the water wearing a pair of tight-fitting trunks as James Bond in “Casino Royale.” But despite his macho image, Daniel Craig seems both shaken and stirred by New York as he prepares for his Broadway debut in “A Steady Rain.”

Craig, 41, has demanded personal security be available to shadow him at all times while his equally famous co-star, Hugh Jackman, hasn’t asked for any protection at all, sources told Page Six.

The Hollywood actors play Chicago cops whose friendship is put to the test in the much-anticipated drama, which starts previews next week and opens Sept. 29.

“Everybody thinks it’s funny because the truth is, Daniel rarely gets approached by the public in the street and at restaurants — especially now that he has the huge handlebar moustache for this role,” a production source said.

Another Broadway insider said, “Security and secrecy around the show are so tight that Jackman and Craig are rehearsing at a secret location outside the city.”

This isn’t the first time that Craig — who’s rented a lavish, $38,000-a-month apartment with top security as his safe haven in town — has been accused of being a wimp. In 2005, he made a splash in London when he was unveiled as the new James Bond on a Royal Marine commando boat — looking seasick and wearing a life jacket. Craig even admitted the ride had scared “the [bleep] out of me.”

His dad, Tim Wroughton-Craig, was forced to jump to his defense following claims the star was scared of guns. He said at the time, “It is all cobblers. Daniel is a hard lad — you wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark street. Is he a wimp? No, I wouldn’t like to call him that to his face. He can look after himself all right.”

Craig’s publicist couldn’t be reached.

[From Page Six]

I’ll buy that Daniel asked for private bodyguards and that he’s probably treating himself to a really fabulous New York apartment (wouldn’t you?). But I don’t think that makes him a wimp. I think that makes him smart. There are a lot of crazies out there, and I can’t even imagine the kind of people who might come up to Daniel Craig shouting “James Bond! Double-O! Hit me, hit me like you’re Bond!” And I thought it was cute that Daniel seemed seasick for his big James Bond announcement – it’s not something that can be helped, you know. It’s not like he barfed on anyone. He just looked a little green.