Hugh Jackman’s Biography
Hugh Jackman is a Hollywood actor of Australian origin, the Golden Globe Awards winner, and the Academy Awards 2013 nominee for his performance in a musical drama film “Les Misérables”.The majority of film critics, however, believe the role of Keller Dover, a missing girl’s father in Denis Villeneuve’s thriller “Prisoners”, to be the greatest performance of Jackman’s career.
A list of other noteworthy films, starring Hugh Jackman, includes a romantic comedy “Kate & Leopold”, action crime thriller “Swordfish”, mystery thriller “The Prestige” and musical drama film “Les Misérables”. And the list can go on and on. His net worth: $180 million.
Childhood
Hugh Jackman’s parents – Christopher Jackman, an accountant, and Grace McNeil, a housewife, moved to Australia from Great Britain in 1967 as part of “Ten Pound Poms”, associated with the government continent colonization program.His father was loving, but quite strict and believed that it was important to teach kids how to never back down and always overcome difficulties. Later, when Hugh Jackman was already an established actor, he often cherished the memories of fun family camping trips, full of adventures and valuable life lessons.
After graduating from high school, Hugh Jackman took a so-called “gap year” (a year, when a student travels and discovers what their true passion in life is) in England and after coming back to Australia, enrolled at the faculty of communication at the local University of Technology, Sydney.
Beginning of the Acting Career
In 1994 at the WAAPA graduation, Hugh received a phone call from the manager of the Australian TV series “Correlli” who offered him a starring role. The drama series focused on a prison psychologist, Louisa Correlli, working at the male prison. Hugh got the role of her most complicated patient – inmate Kevin Jones, convicted of armed robbery.Hugh Jackman as Wolverine
In 1999 Hugh Jackman drew his golden ticket and was cast to play Wolverine in a superhero film “X-Men”. His character is a mutant, who possesses a powerful regenerative ability: he barely ages, any wounds on his body heal within seconds, moreover, Wolverine’s skeleton is reinforced with the virtually indestructible metal adamantium, which makes it impossible to shoot or crush him dead. His main weapon is his retractable adamantium claws, which are able to cut through any material, be it human flesh or armored door.Three years later a third installment – “X-Men: The Last Stand” was released, and in 2009 the first part of the trilogy, centered solely on Wolverine came out. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” lifted the veil of mystery surrounding the mutant’s past and was received warmly by the audience. It is no surprise that Hugh Jackman received a $20 million paycheck for this film alone. In 2013 a second part (“The Wolverine”), which was shot in Japan, came out. In the land of the rising sun, Wolverine had to find out whether his claws were sharp enough against the sharpest sword of one of his opponents. It’s notable that the main antagonist was portrayed by a Russian actress Svetlana Khodchenkova. This film, however, out of all from the trilogy, was received poorly by the audience.
Jackman explained that he felt like he needed to move on and was tired of playing a shallow character. However, he managed to make the most of his final appearance and revealed Wolverine in a never-before-seen light.
The final part of Wolverine trilogy – “Logan” premiered in March 2017. The viewers saw an old Wolverine (Jackman looks quite young in real life, so he had to be aged with the help of make-up), who almost lost his ability to regenerate. The mutants are mostly destroyed and the children, artificially created at the laboratories, had taken over. One of such creatures is young Laura (Dafne Keen) – Wolverine’s daughter.
Other Roles
One of the most notable performances of young Hugh Jackman happened just after he became internationally famous, following the release of the first “X-Men” movie. Alongside Meg Ryan, he portrayed a charming Victorian English aristocrat Leopold who had accidentally time-traveled to modern New York. This role brought in a nomination for the Golden Globe Award in Best Actor in Musical or Comedy.That same year he was a part of a mystery thriller film “The Prestige”, directed by Christopher Nolan. The feature, full of puzzles and sometimes even mysticism, tells a story of a rivalry between two magicians – an aristocratic Robert Caldlow (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale).
In 2012 the actor starred in a musical drama film “Les Misérables”, Tom Hooper’s screen adaptation, based on a Broadway musical of the same name, which is in turn based on a renowned novel by Victor Hugo. Jackman’s portrayal of a fugitive Jean Valjean got him a nomination for the Academy Award, but he sadly lost to Daniel Day-Lewis who portrayed the U.S President Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s biopic. Jackman, however, was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in Musical or Comedy.
Other Projects
In 2005 together with his business partner John Palermo, Jackman formed a production company “Seed Productions”. The company’s first project was a comedy-drama series “Viva Laughlin” (2007), where Hugh made a cameo appearance.In 2006 Hugh Jackman voiced two animated films: musical family comedy “Happy Feet”, which in 2006 received an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and an action-adventure gangster-parody film “Flushed Away”. In 2009 Jackman was invited to host the 81st Academy Awards. In the three hours that the show lasted, Hugh Jackman gave his all, and the majority of the audience later concluded that he was the best host of all time, especially considering that his trademark performances were war from comedy. In 2009 Jackman did a Lipton commercial, where he had to do a crazy dance with chairs.
Hugh is the only artist in the history of Broadway, who had received all the main awards in one season. For his “The Boy From Oz” performance he got Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle (a so-called Broadway “Triple Crown”).
Hugh Jackman’s Personal Life
In April 1996, Hugh Jackman met Deborra-Lee Furness while filming a TV series “Correlli”. Their characters’ intricate relationship slowly moved from screen to real life and even though Deborra-Lee was 13 years older than Hugh, who was 27 at that time, their relationship turned out to be quite lasting. They soon got married and eventually became Australia’s most famous couple.Hugh Jackman Now
Jackman said his final “goodbye” to Wolverine not without sadness, although now when he doesn’t tie with the contract’s duty, he has many interesting projects ahead. For instance, he had a leading role in the musical “The Greatest Showman”, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe and he is set to star in another musical – “Broadway 4D”.In September 2019, his new movie ’Bad Education’ was premiered at the Toronto film festival. The actor’s character is the head of an elite private school with a perfect reputation. But the man has his skeletons in a wardrobe. In 2020 there should be a premiere of the ’Reminiscence’ fantastic thriller where Jackman plays an inquiry agent who lives in the world mostly went under the water. He can use a technology that helps to recall everything to anyone.
Hugh Jackman: latest news and articles
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