Hugh Jackman
Birthdate: Oct 12, 1968
Birthplace: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Hugh Jackman (birthname: Hugh Michael Jackman) holds the rare distinction of being a world-class musical performer, a Marvel Cinematic Universe mega-star as Wolverine, and a fine dramatic and comedy actor. His combination of performing diversity and screen and stage stardom is rare in his generation and points to his durability.
Before he broke through as Wolverine in X-Men (2000), directed by Bryan Singer, Jackman had made a huge impact on the musical stage in Australia and the U.K., particularly as star of Trevor Nunn’s acclaimed revival of Oklahoma! (1998), which brought him an Olivier Award Best Actor nomination. His film debut was in the micro-budget Australian indie, Erskineville Kings (1999), winning Jackman Best Male Actor from the Film Critics Circle of Australia.
Soon after, Jackman showed off his comic chops in Antony Bowman’s Paperback Hero (1999). He was cast at the last minute as Logan/Wolverine in X-Men, and Jackman’s career was never the same again, becoming one of the iconic faces of the early wave of Marvel’s universe of superheroes.
Hugh Jackman jumped fully into Hollywood moviemaking, co-starring in such projects as Dominic Sena’s crime thriller, Swordfish (2001), with John Travolta, Halle Berry, and Don Cheadle, followed by James Mangold’s Kate & Leopold (2001), with Meg Ryan, earning Jackman a Golden Globe best actor nomination, and solidifying Jackman’s broad diversity of performing styles. Jackman returned to the Wolverine character for the first of a string of seven sequels to the original X-Men, with Singer’s X2 (2003), with Berry, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellan, and earning a worldwide gross of $407 million.
Jackman’s massive run of X-Men/MCU movies is one of the longest by any single actor in MCU and one of the few cases of a character getting his spinoff movie, James Mangold’s far more dramatic and less CGI-driven Logan (2017), with Stewart, Richard E. Grant, and Dafne Keen, grossing $619 million globally. Before this, Jackman’s Wolverine appeared in Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Gavin Hood’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Mangold’s The Wolverine (2013), Singer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), as well as uncredited cameos in X-Men: First Class (2011) and X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).
Another potentially major franchise for Hugh Jackman, Universal Pictures’ Van Helsing (2004), written and directed by Stephen Sommers and co-starring Kate Beckinsale, proved to be a relative disappointment. Jackman’s comic talents surfaced in Woody Allen’s crime comedy, Scoop (2006), with Allen, Scarlett Johansson, and Ian McShane, followed by a very different co-starring role in Darren Aranofsky’s ambitious sci-fi drama, The Fountain (2006), with Rachel Weisz and Ellen Burstyn.
Jackman continued the sci-fi string with an often-overlooked Christopher Nolan film, The Prestige (2006), with Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Johansson. Jackman’s first major voice performance followed in fellow Aussie George Miller’s wonderful, Oscar-winning animated film, Happy Feet (2006), with Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Nicole Kidman, and Hugo Weaving, earning $384 million globally.
Jackman’s first project as producer-star was the thriller, Deception (2008), with Michelle Williams and Ewan McGregor. In a return to his homeland, Jackman co-starred with Nicole Kidman in Baz Luhrmann’s sprawling Australia (2008), with David Gulpilil and Bryan Brown. Back in an all-American vein, Jackman was the star of the brawny Shawn Levy/DreamWorks Pictures production blending sci-fi and sports, Real Steel (2011), with Anthony Mackie.
A major role for Hugh Jackman, putting him into the Oscar race and letting him show off his musical chops, was as Jean Valjean in Tom Hooper’s musical epic, Les Misérables (2012), with Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Eddie Redmayne, scoring eight Oscar nominations (including Jackman as best actor) and three Oscar wins. For something completely different, Jackman starred in the Peter Farrelly-directed segment, titled “The Catch,” with Kate Winslet, in the comedy anthology, Movie 43 (2013); then Jackman joined the ensemble of Neill Blomkamp’s dystopian Chappie (2015), with Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, and Sigourney Weaver.
Jackman took on a fanciful version of Blackbeard in Joe Wright’s Peter Pan fantasy for Warner Bros., Pan (2015), one of Jackman’s few box office bombs, co-starring Garrett Hedlund, Rooney Mara, and Amanda Seyfried. Jackman co-starred with Taron Edgerton in the sports biopic, Eddie the Eagle (2015), with Christopher Walken and Jim Broadbent, premiering at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
Hugh Jackman tackled one of his purest musical roles—and biggest hits—with the smash musical about P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman (2017), with Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, and Zendaya, grossing $435 million worldwide, and scoring Jackman a best actor Golden Globe nomination. Jackman portrayed another actual figure, Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, in Jason Reitman’s drama, The Front Runner (2018), based on reporter Matt Bai’s book, co-starring Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons, and Alfred Molina. Although it was a critical hit and commercial failure, Jackman’s next animation project was the very interesting Chris Butler-created stop-motion Missing Link (2019), with Zoe Saldana, Emma Thompson, and Timothy Olyphant.
Released during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jackman’s next starring role in a sci-fi drama was Lisa Joy’s mind-bending, commercially disappointing Reminiscence (2021), with Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, and Cliff Curtis. One of Jackman’s most serious dramatic outings arrived in 2022, with Florian Zeller’s The Son, with Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, and Anthony Hopkins, premiering at the Venice Film Festival. Jackman has been reported to be attached as the title star of a biopic of St. Paul in Apostle Paul (date to be announced).
Jackman reunited director/co-writer Shawn Levy and co-star Ryan Reynolds in the joint title roles of Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), the third entry in the R-rated superhero franchise and part of “Phase Five” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Marvel/Disney. Jackman co-starred with Emma Thompson, Nicholas Braun, and Hong Chau in the U.S./U.K.-produced comedy mystery for Amazon MGM Studios, Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie (2026), directed by Kyle Balda and adapted by screenwriter Craig Mazin from Leonie Swann’s 2005 novel.
Personal Details
Hugh Jackman was born in Sydney, Australia, and raised by parents Christopher and Grace Jackman, the youngest of five siblings—two sisters, Sonya and Zoe, and two brothers, Ralph and Ian– plus a younger half-sister from his mother’s previous marriage. Jackman attended Pymble Public School and Knox Grammar School, where he first performed on stage in musicals. After high school, he taught physical education at Uppingham School in the U.K. in 1987, and then attended the University of Technology Sydney, graduating in 1991 with a Communications degree.
He took a one-year acting course at Sydney’s Actors’ Centre and continued his acting training at the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts of Edith Cowan University in Perth, from which he graduated in 1994. Jackman has been married to actor-producer Deborra-Lee Furness since 1996; the couple has two children, including adopted son Oscar Jackman and adopted daughter Ava. Jackman’s height is 6’ 2”. His net worth is estimated at $180 million.
Filmography
actor
Previous (16)
- 2024 | Deadpool & WolverineasLogan
Deadpool & Wolverine
Wolverine is recovering from his injuries when he crosses paths with the loudmouth Deadpool. They team up to defeat a common enemy.
- 2023 |
- 2021 | ReminiscenceasNick Bannister
Reminiscence
Nick Bannister, a private investigator of the mind, navigates the alluring world of the past when his life is changed by new client Mae. A simple case becomes an obsession after she disappears and he fights to learn the truth abou...
- 2019 | Missing LinkasSir Lionel Frost
Missing Link
Mr. Link recruits explorer Sir Lionel Frost to help find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, this trio of explorers travel the world to help their new friend.
- 2018 | The Front RunnerasGary Hart
The Front Runner
In 1987, U.S. Senator Gary Hart's presidential campaign is derailed when he's caught in a scandalous love affair.
- 2017 | The Greatest ShowmanasP.T. Barnum
The Greatest Showman
Celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
- 2017 |
- 2016 | Eddie the EagleasBronson Peary
Eddie the Eagle
The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
- 2015 |
- 2015 |
- 2014 | X-Men: Days of Future PastasLogan/Wolverine
X-Men: Days of Future Past
The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.
- 2013 |
- 2013 | The WolverineasLogan
The Wolverine
Wolverine comes to Japan to meet an old friend whose life he saved years ago, and gets embroiled in a conspiracy involving yakuza and mutants.
- 2012 | Les MisérablesasJean Valjean
Les Misérables
In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who, for decades, has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
- 2012 | Rise of the GuardiansasBunny
Rise of the Guardians
When the evil spirit Pitch launches an assault on Earth, the Immortal Guardians team up to protect the innocence of children all around the world.
- 2011 | Real SteelasCharlie Kenton
Real Steel
In the near future, robot boxing is a top sport. A struggling ex-boxer feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot.
Some Facts About Hugh Jackman
Dual Citizen: Because of his father’s British birth, Hugh Jackman is a dual citizen of Australia and the United Kingdom.
Great Showman: Jackman is one of the few movie stars who has performed as himself in touring arena and stage productions, including Hugh Jackman: In Performance, Hugh Jackman: In Concert, and Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway, all in 2011, followed by Broadway to Oz (2015), the world-touring The Man. The Music. The Show. (2019). Jackman returned to traditional Broadway performing as an acclaimed Harold Hill in a revival of The Music Man in 2021.
Recording Artist: Hugh Jackman has recorded nine musical albums since 1995 (Beauty and the Beast), including a stellar version of Oklahoma! (1999), and a rich survey of the great Broadway songbook in six albums released from 2003 to 2007. Two of Jackman’s soundtrack albums, for Les Misérables and The Greatest Showman, landed #1 on the Billboard charts.
Mr. MCU: Jackman holds the official record, as documented by the Guinness World Records, for “longest career as a live action Marvel character.”
Hugh Jackman and David Lynch?: Although they’ve never collaborated on a movie, Hugh Jackman works with the David Lynch Foundation to promote the benefits of Transcendental Meditation.
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