Hugh Jackman

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Biography

Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor, singer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer and producer. Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as superhero, period, and romance characters. He is best known for his long-running role as Wolverine in the X-Men film series, as well as for his lead roles in the romantic-comedy fantasy Kate & Leopold . In his spare time, Jackman plays piano, golf, and guitar, and likes to windsurf.

  • Primary profession
  • Actor·soundtrack·producer
  • Country
  • Australia
  • Nationality
  • Australian
  • Gender
  • Male
  • Birth date
  • 12 October 1968
  • Place of birth
  • Sydney
  • Spouses
  • Deborra-Lee Furness
  • Education
  • University of Technology Sydney
  • Knows language
  • English language

Movies

TV

Books

Awards

Trivia

For Sunset Boulevard (as Joe Gillis), he won a Variety Club, a Mo and a Green Room Award as best male actor in a musical. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 1998 as Curly in the Royal National Theatres Oklahoma!.

Adopted a son, Oscar Maximillian Jackman, in May 2000 (b. 15 May 2000).

Met his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness , while co-starring in the Australian TV series "Correlli" .

Chosen as one of People magazines "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" 5 years in a row, 2000-2004.

He was one of the presenters at the 2002 Academy Awards, but says hell think twice about presenting again. He says, "I slept for about an hour and Id have liked a little bit of sushi to come down. Therell be a lot of drunken parties back home and people betting and thats usually what Im at, so getting up there in a suit and talking for a little bit is kind of bizarre.".

He sang "People Will Say Were in Love" from "Oklahoma!" with Shirley Jones , when they reprised their respective roles of Curly and Laurie, at the opening of Fox Studios in Sydney.

He was a last-minute addition to the X-Men cast. Dougray Scott was originally cast as Wolverine, but Mission: Impossible II required two extra months of shooting.

According to the comic books, Wolverine stands 5-feet-3-inches in height. Jackman, who plays Wolverine, stands a whole foot taller than his character.

He was nominated for a 1999 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for the 1998 season for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in "Oklahoma.".

Was offered the role of "Captain William Gordon" in Mangal Pandey: The Rising .

While filming Van Helsing , he accidentally broke an extras hand.

Voted one of "The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine [2003]

Named Best Actor in a Musical by Drama Desk in New York for his portrayal of Peter Allen in "The Boy From Oz" (April 2004).

Won Broadways 2004 Tony Award as Best Actor for his portrayal of Australian singer/songwriter Peter Allen in "The Boy From Oz." Jackman also served as host for the televised ceremony for the American Theatre Wings annual Antoinette Perry (aka Tony) Awards in 2003, 2004, and 2005.

Before attending WAAPA (Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts), he did a year-long acting program called "The Journey" at the Actors Centre in Sydney.

His parents separated when he was eight. His mother then moved back to England. His father, an accountant, brought up five children, by himself. The first 18 months of Hughs life were spent with his godparents.

He is terribly near-sighted and has extremely blurry vision when he isnt wearing contacts. Even when hosting the Tonys and "Saturday Night Live" , Jackman memorized almost everything he had to say so he wouldnt have to struggle to read.

Once said in an interview with Jay Leno that he is a fan of the "Friday The 13th" film series, and he became an actor because he wanted to play Jason in one.

Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2005 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was listed as a suggestion in the Worst Actor category for his performance in the film Van Helsing . However, he did not receive a nomination.

Expressed great fondness for the comic book character Superman. Ironically, Superman is owned by DC Comics, the rival company of Marvel Comics, which owns X-Men and Wolverine.

He admitted after X-Men that it was difficult to summon up the rage and darkness necessary for the character of Logan/Wolverine and it took weeks off work with Bryan Singer to find the right tone for the character. After that, however, it was relatively easy for him to play the angry character.

Has started his own movie-production company, Seed Productions, with his friend John Palermo. The first films they will be producing with this company are X-Men: The Last Stand and the Wolverine spin-off.

Adopted a girl, Ava Eliot Jackman (b. July 10, 2005), in July 2005.

Was school captain during his final year of high school, a school also attended by Australian actors Adam Garcia , Andrew Johnston , Reg Livermore , and Hugo Weaving ; writer Stuart Beattie ; and radio host John Laws.

His two children have playtime sessions with Rupert Murdochs younger children in New York.

Had to take stunt-driving classes to prepare for his role in Swordfish .

He had never seen an episode of "Saturday Night Live" until he agreed to host the show. The producers sent him tapes of episodes so he could understand the format of the show. He later said that his favorite was the one hosted by Conan OBrien.

Often his wife and, sometimes, members of his family stay with him while he is shooting on location.

Hughs parents were English immigrants to Australia. One of Hughs paternal great-grandfathers, Nicholas Isidor Bellas, was Greek, while Hughs maternal grandmother, Agnes Milroy, was of Scottish descent.

Doesnt smoke in real life. He says he finds it horrible to smoke in movies.

Was among the guests at the wedding of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban.

Wants to produce and star in a film based on the life of "The Incredible Hulk" actor Bill Bixby.

Frequently gets offered roles based on comic books. He was offered Daredevil , Hulk , Iron Man , Mr. Fantastic in Fantastic Four , and Jonathan Kent in Superman Returns .

He and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness , suffered through two miscarriages, which they point to as the most difficult point in their lives. Both of their children are adopted.

Upon meeting Olivia Newton-John (John Travolta introduced the two while he and Jackman were filming Swordfish ), he confessed to her that under his desk in elementary school, there was a poster with Newton-John on it, and he would kiss the poster every day.

Has two older brothers, Ian and Ralph, and two older sisters, Sonya and Zoe. Also has a half-sister from his mothers side of the family.

Had to shave off all of the hair on his head and chest for scenes in the last third of the movie The Fountain .

Was considered for the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight . The part went to Aaron Eckhart , instead.

People Magazines "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2008.

Hugh was cast straight out of drama school playing Kevin Jones in a 10-part drama series aired on Australias ABC called "Correlli" , which was the original creation of actress Denise Roberts , who is also the principal director and CEO of Screenwise, Australias leading film & TV school for actors in Sydney, Australia.

One of his lifelong goals is to play Pharaoh in either a Broadway production or a West End London theatre production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.".

(January 2010) Vacationed with his family in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, staying at the world-famous Copacabana Palace Hotel.

Lives in New York City, New York.

Close friend of Liev Schreiber.

His life goal as a young man was to be an international freelance journalist. He got a degree in journalism before turning to acting.

He undergoes intense physical training each time hes played Wolverine. When in peak physical condition, he can bench press well more than 300 pounds.

Was presented the 2,487th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame accompanied by his wife and two children, as well as his Les Misrables director Tom Hooper and co-stars Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried .

Hugh credits his good friend Russell Crowe with catapulting his career into super stardom. After Crowe turned down the lead in X-Men , he personally recommended Jackman to director Bryan Singer for the part.

In April 2013, a woman Jackman had noticed hanging around outside his Manhattan apartment building ended up finding him at his Greenwich Village gym and throwing her electric razor at him, screaming "I love you!" The 47-year-old woman was arrested shortly thereafter.

Godfather of Rupert Murdoch s daughters Grace and Chloe.

(August 2003) New York City, in rehearsal for the Broadway stage show "The Boy From Oz".

(May 2009) in So Paulo, Brazil, promoting X-Men Origins: Wolverine .

(August 2005) Filming X-Men: The Last Stand in Victoria, British Columbia

(October 2009) In New York City performing "A Steady Rain", a 2-man dramatic play, opposite Daniel Craig (James Bond), through December 2009

(February 2013) New York, NY, USA: Reported that he had done a table reading of the late Nora Ephron s final Broadway work Lucky Guy, though lead role eventually reverted to Tom Hanks , who years before, had turned down the role when it was proposed as a film.

(October 2003) The Boy from Oz opened on Broadway, October 16, 2003, at the Imperial Theatre.

Being treated for skin cancer [November 22, 2013].

When Hugh performed at the funeral of Joan Rivers , he sang "Quiet Please, Theres a Lady On Stage" (from Broadway musical "The Boy From Oz"). Held at Temple Emanu-El, New York City on 7 September 2014.

Watched Clint Eastwood s Dirty Harry films as inspiration for his performance as Wolverine.

His wife initially told him he should turn down the role of Wolverine.

Is the subject of a running joke in "Scrubs" where John C. McGinley s character, Dr Cox, has an unexplained but deep hatred of him and frequently expresses a wish to hurt him.

A big fan of professional wrestling.

Good friends with: Russell Crowe , Nicole Kidman , Kylie Minogue , Neil Patrick Harris , Eric Bana , Liev Schreiber , Daniel Craig and Kate Winslet.

Jackman appeared on Forbess annual Celebrity 100 list of the 100 most powerful celebrities and in 2013, he topped Forbess Most Powerful Actors list.

Jackman has been described as one of the worlds most attractive men by various media outlets, and his perceived sex appeal has been picked up by many sources, including Empire, who named him one of the sexiest stars in film history, and People, who named him one of the Worlds Most Beautiful People. In 2008, Jackman won People Magazines Sexiest Man Alive.

He was originally cast as George Reeves in Hollywoodland but had to drop out. The role was eventually played by Ben Affleck.

He has said that he thinks Tom Hardy would be a good choice to succeed him in the role of Wolverine.

Quotes

Finally something my family can be proud of.

Now I meet people with full-color Wolverine tattoos on their backs.

There is something very secretive about the way they cast that role.

[on his action figure] People can stick pins in it, put in the freezer.

[on his father] He never took ones day off in his life. He had five kids,he was bringing up on his own. If any one deserved a day off it was my,old man, but he never did. I learned that from him.

My gosh, I love food. If I wasn’t an actor, I could be a completely different body shape right now.

As you get older you have more respect and empathy for your parents. Now I have a great relationship with both of them.

To get down to the quick of it, respect motivates me - not success.

I do heavy weights in the morning for about an hour, and then I do 45 minutes of higher-volume lifting in the afternoon. My least favorite is the legs. . . I do quite a few chin-ups and rows. I do mostly old-school lifting with a lot of squats.

I would love to have a robot at home.

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