Hugh Jackman

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You know someone has star quality when they can take all the attention away from an almost-naked, totally-blue Rebecca Romijn. Well, that’s what Aussie actor Hugh Jackman managed to do with his role of the Wolverine in X-Men.

Hugh Jackman was born in Sydney, Australia on October 12th, 1968. Acting wasn’t really in his blood until he reached university. He was actually interested in radio journalism and majored in that subject at Sydney’s University of Technology. He did do some amateur productions at the school and that’s when the bug bit him.

He graduated with his communications degree and took a one-year course at the Actors’ Centre. He then applied for a space at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He managed to get in and found himself being offered a role in the Aussie soap Neighbours, which he turned down as he really wanted to focus on learning his craft. He finished his schooling in 1994 and won a role in the TV drama Correlli. His romantic involvement in that show, Deborra-Lee Furness, actually became his romantac lead offscreen as well and the two later married.

The stage called again and Jackman took on the role of Gaston in the Australian production of Beauty and the Beast. Other stage roles at that time included Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard and Curly in Oklahoma!, a role that landed him a nomination for the Best Actor Olivier when he performed it in London’s West End. After hosting and performing on Australian TV for a while he mad his film debut in Paperback Hero. He followed that with Erskineville Kings and earned a Australian Film Institute Best Actor nomination.

When Dougray Scott was unable to film X-Men because of delays on MI:2, Jackman was auditioned by director Bryan Singer who had seen an audition tape the actor had sent in. A film test with Anna Paquin in Toronto sealed the deal and the X-Men’s last-minute replacement became the most talked about actor when the film was released.

In 2001, Jackman appeared opposite Ashley Judd in Someone Like You, John Travolta in Swordfish and Meg Ryan in Kate & Leopold.

In 2003, Jackman reprised the role of Wolverine in X2 and played another action hero in 2004’s Van Helsing opposite Kate Beckinsale.

2006 should have been renamed the “year of Hugh”, as he appeared in Stories of Lost Souls, X-Men: The Last Stand, Woody Allen’s Scoop with Scarlett Johansson, The Fountain with Rachel Weisz, and The Prestige with Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson. He also lent his voice to two animated films, Flushed Away and Happy Feet.

In 2008, Hugh appeared in Uncle Jonny , Deception with Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams, and the Baz Luhrmann epic Australia, which he starred in with Nicole Kidman.

In 2009, Jackman, a triple-threat who has hosted the Tony Awards three times, hosted the 81st Annual Academy Awards.

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