Hugh Jackman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

Hugh Jackman
Jackman in 2006.
Born	Hugh Michael Jackman 12 October 1968 (1968-10-12) (age 40) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Spouse(s)	Deborra-Lee Furness (1996-present)
Awards won Emmy Awards Individual Performance - Variety/Music Program 2005 58th Annual Tony Awards Tony Awards Best Leading Actor in a Musical 2004 The Boy from Oz

Hugh Michael Jackman^[1] (born 12 October 1968)^[2] is an Emmy Award- and Tony Award-winning Australian actor of film, musical theatre, and television. He is known internationally mostly for his starring roles in several major films, including action/superhero roles and films, period roles, and romance roles. Some of his well-known films include the X-Men series, Kate & Leopold, Van Helsing, The Prestige, and Australia. Jackman will also be hosting the Academy Awards on February 22, 2009.^[3]

[edit] Early life

Jackman was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the youngest of five children of English parents Chris Jackman and Grace Watson, and the second of his siblings to be born in Australia.^[4][5] 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.^[6]

Jackman attended Pymble Public School and Knox Grammar School, an all-boys school, where he starred in the school's production of the musical My Fair Lady in 1985. Jackman was School Captain in 1986 and his favourite subject was Ancient History.^{[citation needed]} The following year he spent a gap year working at Uppingham School in England. Upon his return to Australia he worked at a Shell service station in Wahroonga,^{[citation needed]} and worked as a part-time clown for children's parties while studying at the University of Technology, Sydney.^[7] In 1989, Jackman participated in a Christian workcamp on Haast's Bluff and Areyonga Aboriginal land in the Western Desert in Central Australia.^{[citation needed]} He then graduated with a BA in Communications, having majored in journalism.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Career

[edit] Early stage, film, and television work

On stage in Melbourne, Jackman played Gaston in the city's production of Beauty and the Beast, and Joe Gillis in the city's production of Sunset Boulevard. During his stage musical career in Melbourne, also 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.

Jackman's early film work includes Erskineville Kings and Paperback Hero (1999), while his television work includes Correlli (where he met his wife Deborra-Lee Furness), Law of the Land, Halifax f.p., Blue Heelers, and Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River.

[edit] International stardom

Jackman first became known outside of Australia in 1998, when he played the leading role of Curly in the Royal National Theatre's acclaimed stage production of Oklahoma!, in London's West End. He also starred in the 1999 film version of the same stage musical, which has been broadcast on television internationally.

[edit] X-Men

In 2000, Jackman 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",^[8] 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, 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, due to be released in 2009.

[edit] Kate & Leopold

Jackman starred as Leopold, opposite Meg Ryan, in the 2001 romantic comedy film Kate & Leopold, a role for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Jackman plays a Victorian English aristocrat who is accidentally time-traveled to 21st-century Manhattan, where he meets Kate, a cynical advertising executive.

In 2001 Jackman also starred in the action/drama Swordfish, with John Travolta, and Halle Berry. This was the second time Jackman worked with Berry, and the two have worked together twice more in the X-Men movies, making a total of four movies starring Jackman and Berry from 2000 to 2006.

[edit] Stage musicals 2002–2006

In 2002, Jackman sang the role of Billy Bigelow in the musical Carousel in a special concert performance at Carnegie Hall.

In 2004, Jackman won the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, for his 2002–2004 Broadway portrayal of Australian songwriter and performer Peter Allen, in the hit musical, The Boy from Oz, which he also performed in Australia in 2006.

In addition, Jackman hosted the Tony Awards in 2003, 2004, and 2005, garnering very positive reviews. His hosting of the 2004 Tony Awards earned him an Emmy Award win for Outstanding Individual Performer in a Variety, Musical or Comedy program in 2005.

[edit] Return to film

After 2003's X2: X-Men United, in 2004 Jackman played the title role of vampire hunter Gabriel Van Helsing in the film Van Helsing.

In 2005, Jackman began filming the parts of three different characters in Darren Aronofsky's 2006 science-fiction film The Fountain. As Tommy Creo, a neuroscientist, Jackman plays a man who was torn between his wife, Izzi (Rachel Weisz) who is dying of a brain tumor, and his work at trying to cure her. As Captain Tomas Creo, Jackman plays a Spanish Conquistador in the year 1532, Savile, Spain who is seeking the mythical Tree of Life for his Queen, Isabel (also played by Weisz) in order to retain her throne. Captain Tomas is actually a character in the book Izzi is writing called The Fountain. Jackman's third character in the same film is the future astronaut, Tom, travelling to a golden nebula in an eco-spacecraft and seeking to be reunited with Izzi. Jackman stated The Fountain was his most difficult film thud far, due to the physical and emotional demands of the part.

Also in 2005, Jackman was one of the choices to play James Bond, but eventually lost out to Daniel Craig.^[9]

[edit] The Prestige

Jackman starred in the 2006 film The Prestige, directed by Christopher Nolan and also starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Andy Serkis, and musician David Bowie. As Robert Angier, Jackman was a magician who built up a rivalry with contemporary Alfred Borden in attempt to 'one up' each other in the art of deception. Jackman stated that his main reason for doing The Prestige was to work with David Bowie, who played scientist Nikola Tesla.

Jackman also starred in Woody Allen's 2006 film Scoop, opposite Scarlett Johansson. He rounded out 2006 with two animated films: Happy Feet in which he voiced the part of Memphis, an Emperor Penguin and directed by George Miller, and Flushed Away where Jackman also supplied the voice of a rat named Roddy who ends up being flushed down his Kensington family's toilet into the London sewer system. Flushed Away also starred Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen (the fourth time Jackman has worked with him), Jean Reno, Andy Serkis and Bill Nighy.

In 2007, Jackman produced and guest-starred in the television musical-dramedy series Viva Laughlin, which was cancelled by CBS after only two episodes. A decision about the remaining episodes already filmed at the time of cancellation has yet to be made.

Jackman's 2008 movies included Deception (which he starred in and produced), Uncle Jonny, and Australia.

[edit] Australia

In 2006, director Baz Luhrmann cast Jackman to replace Russell Crowe in his much-publicized epic film, Australia, which co-stars Nicole Kidman. In the movie, which was released in late November/December 2008, Jackman plays a tough independent cattle drover, who reluctantly helps an English noblewoman in her quest to save both her philandering husband's Australian ranch and the half-caste child she finds there.

Of the movie, Jackman says, "This is pretty much one of those roles that had me pinching myself all the way through the shoot. I got to shoot a big-budget, shamelessly old-fashioned romantic epic set against one of the most turbulent times in my native country's history, while, at the same time, celebrating that country's natural beauty, its people, its cultures.... I'll die a happy man knowing I've got this film on my CV."^[10]

On the strength of his Australia performance, in November 2008 People magazine named Jackman "Sexiest Man Alive."^[11]

[edit] Future projects

• Jackman will host the Academy Awards on February 22, 2009.^[12] Jackman was selected "because we want the ceremony to be fun," said Laurence Mark, producer of the telecast.^[13]

• Jackman produced and stars in the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine, due to be released in 2009.^[14]

• An action drama, Drive, starring Jackman, is currently in production, and is scheduled to be released in 2009.^[15]

• Jackman is also planned to star in a remake of Carousel, scheduled to be released in 2010, in which he will play Billy Bigelow.^[16][17]

• Jackman is currently in talks to play Mark Anthony in Steven Soderbergh's 3-D live-action rock 'n' roll musical about Cleopatra.^[18]

• An adaptation of Cecelia Ahern's novel If You Could See Me Now is in the works, starring Jackman as the invisible friend of a 6-year-old boy.^[19][20]

• Jackman is also currently working on creating a new comic book series, Nowhere Man, with U.S. publisher Virgin Comics and writer Marc Guggenheim, with hopes of adapting it to a film as well.^[21]

[edit] Production company

In 2005, Jackman joined with longtime assistant John Palermo to form a production company, Seed Productions, whose first project was Viva Laughlin in 2007. Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness is also involved in the company, and Palermo had three rings made with an inscription meaning "unity" for himself, Furness, and Jackman.^[22] About the trio's collaboration Jackman reports "I'm very lucky in the partners I work with in my life, Deb and John Palermo. It really works. We all have different strengths. I love it. It's very exciting."^[23]

[edit] Personal life

Jackman married Deborra-Lee Furness in April 1996. They met on the set of his first TV acting job in Correlli, an Australian television series. Furness had two miscarriages, after which she and Jackman adopted two children, Oscar Maximillian (b. May 15, 2000) and Ava Eliot (b. July 10, 2005). They currently live in Sydney. Jackman personally designed an engagement ring for Furness, and their wedding rings bore the Sanskrit inscription "Om paramar mainamar," translated by Furness as "we dedicate our union to a greater source."^[24]

[edit] Other pursuits and interests

Jackman is a longtime supporter of Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, a NRL Rugby League club based in Sydney.^[25] He sang the national anthem at the 1999 NRL Grand Final. ^[26]

In an interview with Playboy Jackman mentioned that as a result of his hard training for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he broke his personal best for bench-pressing which was 300 pounds.^[27]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Awards and nominations

Awards

• 1998 Mo Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Sunset Boulevard
• 1999 Australian Movie Convention, Australian Star of the Year
• 2000 Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor in a Drama - Erskineville Kings
• 2001 Saturn Award for Best Actor - X-Men
• 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - The Boy from Oz
• 2004 Theatre World Award - The Boy from Oz
• 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical - The Boy from Oz
• 2005 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program - 58th Annual Tony Awards Ceremonies
• 2008 People Magazines Sexiest Man Alive Award

Nominations

• 1997 Mo Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Beauty and the Beast
• 1998 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Oklahoma!
• 1999 Australian Film Industry Award for Best Actor - Erskineville Kings
• 2002 Golden Globe Award - Kate & Leopold
• 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program - 59th Annual Tony Awards Ceremonies

[edit] Mentions in popular culture

• Jackman was chosen as People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive of 2008.^[29]

• In the ABC comedy-drama Scrubs, Dr. Cox mentions his seemingly irrational hatred of Jackman in his infamous rants throughout the series.

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hugh Jackman

[edit] External links

• Hugh Jackman at the Internet Broadway Database
• Hugh Jackman at the Internet Movie Database
• Hugh Jackman at People.com
• Hugh Jackman at Yahoo! Movies
• Hugh Jackman interview at www.sci-fi-online.com
• Video interview with Hugh Jackman on movies.com
• Hugh-Jackman fansite
• Jackmans's Landing fansite