Hugh Jackman By Ines
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weeks of discussion, then begging, followed by good old fashioned graft
and bribery, finally I get the chance to investigate one of the
spunkiest men on this blue planet! Better yet, he's an Aussie spunk,
which just makes his spunk factor increase tenfold, meaning he has a
spunk rating of just under 8000. That's right, it's the guy
men want to be like; the man girls want to be with. Meet the man
of the moment, and God of designer stubble, Hugh Jackman. Born on
the 12th of October in 1968 in Sydney, NSW, Australia, Hugh was
raised the youngest of five children of English-born Anglican parents.
At the age of eight, his mother left the family unit and returned to
England, while Hugh, a Libran, remained behind with his father (an accountant with a degree from Cambridge, no less). Jackman
attended Knox Grammar School, an all-boys school in Wahroonga (NSW) and
showed early signs of his charm taking on the role of School Captain
during his final year of high school (a school also attended by
Australian actors Adam Garcia, Andrew Johnston, Reg Livermore, Hugo
Weaving and radio host John Laws). He quickly followed this
impressive high schooling, graduating with a BA in Communications from
the University of Technology, Sydney. However Jackman's introduction to
acting was seemingly by accident, only taking drama class in order to
meet the requirements for his university diploma. The fickle hand of
fate nudging him in the desired direction, perhaps? It wasn't
long before his interest in the craft grew, and he used some money
inherited from a relative to attend the WAAPA of Edith Cowan University
in Perth, from which he graduated in 1994. After turning down a
role in the enormously popular Australian soap "Neighbours" (a breeding
ground for terrible actors and pop stars), Jackman landed the role of
the violent and manipulative inmate Kevin Jones in the ABC prison drama
"Corelli". It was here Jackman would work along side his future wife
Deborra-Lee Furness (they married in 1996), who starred as the titular
criminal psychologist. Several other Australian television
jobs followed: he appeared as Detective Eric Ringer on the
detective series "Halifax f.p." and "Blue Heelers". His relaxed and
natural presence (not to mention gorgeous eyes and body!) led to a
successful series of hosting jobs on the newly formed cable carrier
Foxtel. Moving across from WA, Jackman learned the ropes as a presenter
along with a young Rove McManus (now Australia's most popular Tonight
Show host on "Rove [live]") on the series "In Fashion" in 1997. Not to be held back, Hugh added another string to his bow - singer! Excuse me while I swoon... Cast
as the muscular villain Gaston in the Melbourne production of the
musical "Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast", alongside Australian TV
veteran Bert Newton, Hugh Jackman delighted in the role, and proved
that his larynx was quite flexible too. However, it was his portrayal
of hack screenwriter Joe Gillis in the Melbourne production of "Sunset
Boulevard" that really cast Jackman into the limelight of
Australia (it was the first time I ever heard my mum use the word
"Spunk" while at a musical, and I've been using it ever
since). The director was so impressed with Hugh's work that he
invited him to audition at London's National Theatre, where he was cast
as Curly in the acclaimed West End production of "Oklahoma!". Jackman's
strong and energetic performances earned him the MO Award
(Australia’s Tony Award) for Best Actor in a Musical for his
performance in "Sunset Boulevard" and another MO Award nomination
for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Gaston in "Beauty
and the Beast" putting him on the fast track to Broadway. But
film is where Jackman would truly hit the big time. With one of the
most moving performances yet put on Australian film Erskinville Kings in 1999 is definitely worth a viewing if you can find it on DVD, and then he starred in the fluffy romantic comedy Paperback Hero
alongside "Love My Way's" Claudia Karvan, in which Jackman portrays an
Australian outback trucker who writes sappy romance novels under the
pseudonym of Ruby Vale. But it wasn't until the year 2000, the
second millennium (and the same year he and wife Deborra adopted a son
- Oscar Maximillian), that the 6' 2½" jaw-droppingly handsome
Jackman took the world by storm as the comic book hero Wolverine in the
blockbuster film X-Men (which grossed over $150 million in the US alone). Luckily for Hugh, he was a last-minute addition to the X-Men cast. Dougray Scott was originally cast as Wolverine, but Mission: Impossible II
required two extra months of shooting. I'm sure Dougray would be
kicking himself repeatedly in the groin for giving that role up (since M:I:2, his most significant role was that of Moses in a biblical mini series). Following the X-Men
juggernaut, Hugh's celebrity status skyrocketed and Hollywood couldn't
get enough of the dashingly tall and handsome Aussie, and
he starred in a series of relatively average films -
including Someone Like You, Swordfish, Kate & Leopold and Van Helsing - all of which have made rather significant losses (the combined losses of Swordfish and Van Helsing are in the vicinity of almost $80 million). But all was forgiven in 2003, as Hugh took a larger role as Wolverine in the X-Men sequel which pulled in almost $500 million worldwide. And it's only getting better, with X3 likely to yet again break box office records, and the spin off Wolverine (expected to be produced by Jackman's company Seed Productions) likely to do similar business. But
it ain't over yet! Jackman's return to musical theatre was also an
amazing success, with his role as Peter Allen in "The Boy From Oz"
earning him Broadway's 2004 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) which he
also hosted in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Not denying his roots, Jackman is
bringing the show back Down Under with a series of arena shows (most of
which sold out straight away). There
has been hushed speculation that Hugh Jackman is homosexual, despite
being married for more than a decade and with two adopted children.
Website Queerday.com alleges to have quoted Boy George as saying "Hugh Jackman
is so gay. I just saw him at a benefit the night before the Tony's and
I saw him holding hands and kissing his lover! The nerve to go onstage
during the awards to say he is not." The man with
the million dollar smile also recently signed a deal with 20th
Century Fox which enables Seed Productions to finance and distribute
locally made films internationally - a deal which worked with
great success in England with Working Title Productions (the film Calender Girls grossed over $110 million worldwide which would have otherwise not been shown outside of the UK). This new film production venture puts Jackman in the shoes of producer on the upcoming Marvel Comics action film Wolverine, slated for a 2009 release. Jackman will also play Logan/Wolverine, in what is set to be the mother of all action movies. And
let's not forget that he's a bona fide Hollywood star who can play a
homosexual musician on Broadway and still be respected as the epitome
of the "angry cave man" as Wolverine. All this and yet still find
time
to live in Melbourne with his wife of almost 10 years. Are we all
jealous yet? The couple also adopted their second child Ava Eliot
Jackman in 2005. More recently the man with the spunk rating of
almost 8000 has been working with an all-star Aussie cast on new flick
called Australia. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, the new flick will be in
cinemas in 2008 and follows the main characters through outback
Australia on a huge cattle drive, just before the Japanese bomb Darwin.
It also stars Nicole Kidman, David Wenham, and Bryan Brown, and is expected to be quite the epic pre-war film.
To add yet another bow to his cap, Jackman delivered a stunning musical display as host of the 2009 Oscars - the first Australian in history to be given the job. Oh yeah, and blasting the box office in X-Men Origins : Wolverine. The
amazing thing is that this is simply scraping the surface of Jackman's
short, yet astounding career to date. Let's face it, he's a marvel, a
gentleman and an incredible ambassador for Australian culture. He's not the most talented actor on the planet, but neither am I. A fantastic Aussie success story, which - just quietly - is making my partner just a little bit jealous. Hugh Jackman: talented beyond belief. And a world-class spunk.
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