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IT was the role that changed an actor’s life, paving the way to a lucrative action franchise, the celebrity A-list and, ultimately, an Oscar nomination.

But Dougray Scott was forced to watch from the sidelines after giving up X-Men and letting Hugh Jackman take the part of Wolverine.

Dougray was all set to play the moody, metal-clawed, mutton-chopped superhero in the first X-men movie until shooting on his other film, Mission Impossible 2, was delayed, forcing the handsome Fife actor to pull out.

His last-minute replacement was the Australian hunk, who went on to star in four more X-Men movies and two Wolverine pictures.

But Dougray has no regrets. “Listen,” said the Desperate Housewives heartthrob, “I’ve really enjoyed the movies I got to do and the TV work. I feel very fortunate anyway.”

He harbours no grudge.

“I like Hugh, he’s a really lovely guy. It wasn’t as if he stole it off me.

“Basically, my movie ran over and I had to pull out. It wasn’t his fault and he did a fantastic job.”

The pair met last year and Hugh admits that he brought up the subject of Wolverine, thanking Dougray for giving him his big break. Hugh says that Dougray was “very gracious”.

And, in any case, Dougray has gone on to be one of Scotland’s busiest stars.

His American werewolf series, Hemlock Grove, is back for a second season, while in Britain he’s providing surprising laughs at the moment in James Corden’s spoof conspiracy series The Wrong Mans.

This week, he’s back on the big screen in Last Passenger, an indie British thriller set on a sabotaged runaway train.

But the project almost ground to a halt before filming because its director had only made commercials and short films and no-one would take a risk on an unknown.

Dougray, a big supporter of new talent, stood by the movie and when first-time filmmaker Omid Nooshin put a 90-second trailer on the internet, movie companies, agents and investors worldwide saw its potential and pitched in funds.

Dougray was in no doubt that Last Passenger was a movie worth backing. A fan of Hitchcock films, the 47-year-old reckons this one shares the same kind of tension.

“The appeal for me was that it was small, contained but very realistic,” said Dougray, who trained in CPR at a Brighton hospital for one scene where his doctor hero tries to revive a panicking passenger.

However, he didn’t need to do any research on late-night trains.

“They can be hotbeds of madness, can’t they?” he laughed. “I sometimes get the Glasgow to Edinburgh train or the Edinburgh back to Fife and they can be crazy sometimes.”

After a difficult separation from his first wife, Sarah, the mother of his 14-year-old twins, Dougray now lives in London with second wife, Claire Forlani, his “soul mate”.

“I swore I would never get involved with an actress, but lo and behold, I met Claire and she’s an amazing human being and my best friend.”

Dougray is always on the lookout for strong British film material but it doesn’t always pay off.

In 2011, the couple teamed up for a movie called Love’s Kitchen, with Dougray as a chef who has lost his mojo, only to regain it with the help of Gordon Ramsay and the love of a good woman, played by Claire.

Unfortunately, although the pair sparked in TV mini-series The Diplomat, Love’s Kitchen was dubbed a turkey, making a derisory £121 in its opening weekend and going straight to DVD. “It was a difficult experience,” he admitted.

Back when he and fellow Scot Ewan McGregor were struggling actors, living in London on a tight budget, Dougray could often be found in the kitchen.

“I used to make a huge pot of lentil and veg soup,” he laughed.

“It was good and would last us three days. But I’m thankful I don’t have to eat it anymore.”

In those days, he did odd jobs between acting gigs, working as a waiter and a furniture mover.

Dougray’s parents, Ella and Allan always believed their son would make it even if no-one else in Glenrothes shared their confidence.

“At school, they thought it was a ridiculous idea to be an actor, because no-one had really done it where I came from,” he recalled.

(Image: Daily Record)

Allan didn’t live to see his boy’s blossoming career but Ella, 79, has seen him on stage, screen and TV.

Dougray travels back to Scotland regularly to visit his mum and watch his beloved Hibs.

And he admits to feeling a little sympathy for Hearts, too, as Hibs’ big rivals struggle to survive.

“The city needs two good football clubs – otherwise where would the rivalry be? I think every Hibs fan would want to see Hearts survive.

“We’ve got to have someone to try and beat three or four times a year – although we haven’t done that very often,” said Dougray, who often appears on the terraces, along with other famous Hibees.

Once a promising footballer himself, Dougray doesn’t play any more, for fear of injury.

“You have to watch yourself so I play golf and tennis nowadays.”

Instead, the actor likes to take his risks on-screen, with a controversial new movie in the pipeline about demonic possession called The Vatican Tapes.

“I’m just thankful that I’m still getting work and doing drama that I’m proud of and that I love doing.”

Still on his bucket list is making a film of Iain Banks’ cult novel, The Bridge. Dougray got his TV break in Banks’ The Crow Road in 1996 and, given the late author’s popularity, is surprised there have been so few screen adaptations of his work.

“I met Iain a few times and really liked him a lot, he was such a lovely man,” said Dougray. Iain was also a fan of his fellow Fifer and had hoped to team up with him before his death at 59 earlier this year.

“It’s sad Iain’s gone” said Dougray.

“I thought his books were sensational and The Bridge is one of my favourite novels. I’d love to help put it on screen”

Last Passenger opens in Scotland tomorrow.