Oscar Profile #520: Hugh Jackman

Born October 12,1968 in Sydney, Australia, Hugh (Michael) Jackman was the son of English parents who had emigrated to Australia in 1967. His father was a Cambridge educated accountant. His parents divorced when he was eight years old, with his mother taking his two sisters back to England with her, while Hugh and his two older brothers remained with their father in Australia.

Jackman gravitated toward musical theatre while still in school where he starred in a 1985 production of My Fair Lady. He later spent a year working in England as an education teacher, returning to Australia to obtain a BA in Communications in 1991.

The actor’s post-school rise was meteoric. Frequently on TV from 1994, he appeared on stage as Gaston in the 1995 Australian production of Beauty and the Beast and then starred as Joe Gillis the 1996 Australian production of Sunset Boulevard, the year he married his wife and business partner, Deborra-Lee Furness. He headed the acclaimed 1998 London West End production of Oklahoma! which was filmed for Australian TV in 1999.

Jackman became an international star with Bryan Singer’s 2000 film, X-Men, replacing injured actor Dougray Scott. He would reprise his character of Logan/Wolverine in eight more hit films and several video games. 2001’s Kate & Leopold began his professional relationship with director James Mangold who would direct him as Logan in two X-Men films. This role earned him the first of three Golden Globe nominations.

In 2003, Jackman captivated Broadway with his portrayal of Peter Allen in the musical, The Boy from Oz for which he won a Tony. He hosted the Tonys three years in succession from 2003 through 2005, returning in 2014.

Back on screen, Jackman starred in such films as 2003’s X2, 2004’s Van Helsing, 2006’s The Prestige, The Fountain, Scoop, and X-Men: The Last Stand, 2008’s Australia and 2009’s X-Men: Wolverine the year he hosted the Oscars.

The current decade has seen Jackman in such films as 2011’s X-Men: First Class, 2012’s Les Misérables for which he received his second Golden Globe nomination and first and only Oscar nomination to date, 2013’s Prisoners and The Wolverine, 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, 2015’s Me and the Dying Girl as both himself and Logan/Wolverine), 2016’s Eddie The Eagle and X-Men: Apocalypse, 2017’s Logan and The Greatest Showman (for which he earned his third Golden Globe nomination) and 2018’s The Front Runner. More recently, he earned an Emmy nomination for 2019’s Bad Education.

Hugh Jackman remains one of the world’s most popular actors at 52. He is scheduled to star in a highly anticipated Broadway revival of The Music Man once theatres reopen after the pandemic.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

KATE & LEOPOLD (2001), directed by James Mangold

In one of the most romantic of all time-travel movies, Jackman plays an English Duke from 1876 transported to modern Manhattan where he falls in love with a plucky advertising executive played by Meg Ryan. The two stars acquit themselves well in both modern and historical settings with Jackman earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy for his performance. The film earned both a Golden Globe nomination and an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song – “Until” by Sting, representing his third of four Golden Globe nominations and his first of four Oscar nods.

THE PRESTIGE (2006), directed by Christopher Nolan

One of two high profile 2006 films about magicians at the end of the 19th century-beginning of the 20th century that captivated audiences and Oscar voters alike. Both were Oscar nominated for Best Cinematography while this one also received a nominated for its art direction. This one starred Jackman and Christian Bale as rival London stage magicians with Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie, and Andy Serkis in support. The Illusionist starred Edward Norton as a magician in Vienna whoso goal is to win back former love Jessica Biel, with Paul Giamatti, Rufus Sewell and Eddie Marsan in support.

LES MISERABLES (2012), directed by Tom Hooper

Twenty-five years after this musical version of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece made its Broadway debut in 1987, the international success was filmed while stage productions were still going strong all around the world. Jackman is sensational as Jean Valjean, the 19th century escaped prisoner pursued for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert, played by Russell Crowe. Nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture and Actor (Jackman), it won three including one for Anne Hathaway as Fantine. The cast includes Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Aaron Tveit as Enjolras, and Samantha Barks as Eponine,

LOGAN (2017), directed by James Mangold

17 years Jackman first played Logan/Wolverine in the 2000 film, X-Men, his character comes to his end in a bleak future. It was Jackman’s idea to kill the character off before people became sick of him, citing his age and skin cancer as the reason. He and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X command the screen as they help a mutant child who is being pursued by scientists. Oscar nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, the film won an Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design and the film’s huge stunt ensemble was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (2017), directed by Michael Gracey

Jackman earned his third Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of P.T. Barnum in this smash hit musical that was also nominated for Best Musical or Comedy and Best Song – “This Is Me”, with the latter also earning an Oscar nomination. Michelle Williams plays Barnum’s wife, Charity, Zac Efron and Zendaya play fictional characters, Efron’s based on Barnum’s real-life business partner, and Rebecca Ferguson plays legendary singer Jenny Lind. This was the first film directed by Michael Gracey who spent twenty years as a TV commercial director. He has more recently co-produced the Elton John biopic, Rocketman.