Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian film, television and stage actor, known mostly for his roles in several major Hollywood films, including Van Helsing and X-Men.
Early LifeJackman was born in Pymble, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, the youngest of five children of English-born parents Chris Jackman and Grace Watson. His mother left the family when he was eight years old, and he remained behind with his father (an accountant with a degree from Cambridge) and siblings.
Jackman attended Pymble Public School and Knox Grammar School, an all-boys school, where he starred in the musical My Fair Lady in 1985, directed by the headmaster, Dr. Ian Paterson. Jackman was School Captain in 1986. The following year he spent a gap year working at Uppingham School in England. Upon his return to Australia he worked at a Shell station in Wahroonga and worked as a part-time clown for children's parties while studying at the University of Technology, Sydney. In 1989 Jackman participated in a Christian workcamp on Hasst's Bluff and Areyonga Aboriginal land in the Western Desert in Central Australia. He then graduated with a BA in Communications, having majored in journalism. He later used his inheritance from his grandmother to attend the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts of Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia, from which he graduated in 1994.
CareerIn Australia
Jackman's early film work includes Erskineville Kings and Paperback Hero (1999), while his television work includes Correlli(where he met his wife Debra Lee Furness), Law of the Land, Halifax f.p., Blue Heelers, and Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River (American title: Snowy River: The McGregor Saga).
He sang the Australian National Anthem in front of 100,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before the 1998 Bledisloe Cup. He also sang the National Anthem at the 1999 NRL Grand Final in front of 108,000 people at Stadium Australia.[citation needed]
On stage, Jackman played Gaston in the Melbourne production of Beauty and the Beast, and Joe Gillis in the same city's production of Sunset Boulevard. During his stage musical career in Melbourne, he starred in the 1998 Midsumma festival cabaret production Summa Cabaret. He also hosted both Melbourne's Carols by Candlelight and Sydney's Carols in the Domain.
In 2006, he was cast to replace Russell Crowe in Baz Luhrmann's Australia, starring opposite Nicole Kidman. The production was filmed in the north-east coastal town of Bowen, Queensland.
In the United States
In 2000, he was cast as Wolverine in Bryan Singer's X-Men, replacing Dougray Scott. According to a CBS interview in November 2006, Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness told him not to take the role, a comment she later told him she was glad he ignored.
Jackman, at 6' 2 1/2",[3] stands nearly a foot taller than Wolverine, who is said in the original comic book to be 5' 3". Hence, the filmmakers were frequently forced to shoot Jackman at unusual angles or only from the waist up to make him appear shorter than he actually was. In an interview with Men's Health magazine, he stated that he was also required to add a great deal of muscle for the role. An instant star upon the film's release, Jackman later reprised his role in 2003's X2: X-Men United, and 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. The trilogy ultimately garnered over US$1 billion worldwide.
Jackman starred as Leopold in the 2001 romantic comedy film Kate & Leopold, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Jackman also starred in 2001 action/drama Swordfish, along with John Travolta, and Halle Berry. This would be the second time Jackman would work alongside with Berry, The two would work together again two more times in the X-Men movies, making a total of four movies starring Jackman and Berry from 2000 to 2006.
