Born in Australia in 1968, actor Hugh Jackman first earned widespread attention by portraying the mutant Wolverine in the superhero blockbuster X-Men (2000). In addition to reprising the role though numerous prequels, sequels and spinoffs, Jackman has starred in such films as The Prestige (2006) and The Greatest Showman (2017), and garnered an Oscar nomination for his contributions to the big screen adaptation of Les Misérables (2012). The Australian actor has also earned acclaim for his stage work, winning a Tony Award in 2004 for his performance in The Boy from Oz.

Wolverine and 'X-Men'

To mainstream audiences, Hugh Jackman is perhaps best known as the claw-wielding mutant Wolverine, a role first portrayed in the comic book turned big screen hit X-Men (2000). The film ushered in a new wave of superhero blockbusters, with Jackman and co-stars Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and the rest returning for X2 (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

Jackman earned a spinoff with X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and gamely continued with the role through other spinoffs and prequels like X-Men: First Class (2011) and The Wolverine (2013), with younger stars Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy becoming regulars in the series.

Jackman made his last appearance as Wolverine in the 2017 hit Logan, his ninth movie in the franchise. “I know this doesn’t sound right coming from an Australian, but at some point, you’ve got to leave the party,” he joked in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It’s time to go home.”

'Les Misérables'

In 2012, Jackman helped bring one of the most famous musicals of all time to the big screen: He starred in Les Misérables with Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and Russell Crowe. In the film, Jackman plays Jean Valjean, a former prisoner who tries to hold on to the new life he has built for himself. Crowe portrays the relentless police officer on his trail.

In January 2013, Jackman received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his Les Misérables performance. He also earned his first Academy Award nomination, but lost the Best Actor Oscar to Daniel Day-Lewis, for his role in Lincoln.

Stage and Hosting Work

Despite his growing career in Hollywood, Jackman remained true to his stage roots. In 2004, he won a Tony Award for his lead role in Broadway's The Boy from Oz, about flamboyant Australian musician Peter Allen. Jackman also claimed an Emmy for his work as host of the 2004 Tonys, and he later hosted the Academy Awards in 2009.

Despite his contributions as executive producer and supporting actor, Jackman's attempt to deliver a small-screen musical with Viva Laughlin lasted just two episodes on CBS before being canceled in 2007. He fared far better in a successful return to Broadway in 2009, playing a Chicago cop alongside Daniel Craig in A Steady Rain.

The actor slipped into his song-and-dance alter ego for 2011's Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway, in which he performed several famed musical numbers and regaled audiences with personal anecdotes. He utilized a similar format for The Man. The Music. The Show. in 2019, revisiting his hit songs from Les Misérables, The Greatest Showman and The Boy from Oz for a series of shows through North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Early Years and Career

Hugh Michael Jackman was born on October 12, 1968, in Sydney, Australia. The youngest of five children, Jackman was 8 when his mother left the family, and he and his siblings were largely raised by their father. He attended the exclusive Knox Grammar School and later graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Jackman launched his professional acting career through stage productions, appearing in several Melbourne musicals. He soon entered the international scene, earning critical praise for his portrayals of Curly in Oklahoma! in London and Billy Bigelow in Carousel in New York City.

Other Film Roles

'Swordfish,' 'The Prestige,' 'Happy Feet'

After the success of X-Men, Jackman went on to starring roles in Swordfish (2001), Kate and Leopold (2001) and Van Helsing (2004). Working with director Woody Allen, Jackman starred in the mystery Scoop (2006), with Scarlett Johansson. He then matched up against Christian Bale in the historical drama The Prestige (2006), about two rival magicians in Victorian-era England. Also in 2006, Jackman portrayed three different characters in The Fountain, and lent his voice to two animated feature films: Flushed Away and Happy Feet.

'Australia'

In 2008, Jackman's highly anticipated work with fellow Australians Nicole Kidman and Baz Luhrmann was released. Australia tells the story of an English woman (Kidman) who travels to the Outback to find her husband, and ends up fighting for the land she inherited after his death. She is helped by a local man, played by Jackman, and the two become an unlikely romantic couple. Despite its epic scope, the film received mixed reviews and was a box office disappointment. Similarly, that year's Deception failed to make much of an impression on the movie-going public, earning only $4.6 million at the box office.

'Real Steel,' 'Butter'

In 2011, Jackman played a father who forges a better relationship with his son by training a fighting robot in Real Steel, and also appeared in the comedy Butter. After the immense success of Les Mis, Jackman took on a lighter role in the comedy Movie 43 (2013). The film boasted numerous big-name actors, including Halle Berry, Kate Winslet, Richard Gere and Gerard Butler, but was highly criticized and tanked at the box office.

'Pan,' 'Eddie the Eagle'

In 2015, Jackman stepped into the role of the villain, playing the pirate Blackbeard in the Peter Pan-inspired fantasy Pan. The following year, he starred as ski coach Bronson Peary in the biopic Eddie the Eagle, about Olympic ski jumper Michael “Eddie” Edwards.

'The Greatest Showman'

Jackman next took on the role of famed promoter and Barnum & Bailey Circus founder P.T. Barnum for the 2017 film The Greatest Showman. Along with earning a Golden Globe nomination for his performance, Jackman's contributions to one of the flick's featured songs, "The Greatest Show," landed him on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.

'Missing Link,' 'Bad Education'

Jackman's next film, The Front Runner (2018), in which he played disgraced 1988 U.S. presidential candidate Gary Hart, garnered mixed reviews. He fared better with the warmly received animated feature Missing Link (2019), voicing the lead character alongside Zach Galifianakis and Zoe Saldana. Later that year he teamed with Allison Janney in the true-story-based Bad Education, as the school superintendent behind a massive scandal that shook the community of Rosyln, Long Island.

Additional Accolades and Personal

In December 2008, Jackman was named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine, an honor previously claimed by fellow A-list actors like George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

On December 13, 2012, Jackman was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Showing his self-deprecating wit, the actor stated, "I believe this is the 2,487th star on the Walk of Fame. However, apart from Lassie, I'm the only one who's gotten it for playing the same character in 15 movies."

Married since 1996, Jackman and his wife, actress Deborra-Lee Furness, live in Melbourne, Australia, with their two adopted children, Oscar Maximillian and Ava Eliot. They met while making the Australian television series Correlli (1995).

Jackman has been treated for basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer, and has advocated for prevention and screenings on his social media networks.

Philanthropy

As a philanthropist, Jackman is a longtime proponent of microcredit – the extension of very small loans to prospective entrepreneurs in impoverished countries. He is a vocal supporter of Muhammad Yunus, microcredit pioneer and the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Jackman also uses his Twitter account for charity. On 14 April 2009, Jackman posted on his Twitter page that he would donate $100,000 to one individual's favourite non-profit organisation. On 21 April 2009, he revealed his decision to donate $50,000 to Charity:Water and $50,000 to Operation of Hope.

Jackman is a global advisor of the Global Poverty Project, for which he narrated a documentary; and he and the project's founder Hugh Evans visited the UN for the cause in 2009. Jackman hosted a preview of the Global Poverty Project Presentation in New York together with Donna Karan, Lisa Fox, and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness. Jackman supports The Art of Elysium and the MPTV Fund Foundation, and he and Furness are patrons of the Bone Marrow Institute in Australia.

Jackman and fellow actor Daniel Craig made a unique place for themselves in the history of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising 8 December 2009, when it was announced that they had raised $1,549,953 in the 21st annual Gypsy of the Year competition, from six weeks of curtain appeals at their hit Broadway drama, A Steady Rain. Jackman continued his support of Broadway Cares in 2011, raising nearly $1 million during his run of Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway.

Other interests

In high school, Jackman played rugby union and cricket, took part in high jumping and was on the swimming team. He enjoys basketball and kayaking. He has expressed an interest in football, committing his support to Norwich City F.C. In the United States, Jackman supports the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, attending a match at PPL Park in June 2010.

Jackman supports the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League and once gave the team a pep talk prior to a Showdown clash. He is also a long-time fan and supporter of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, a National Rugby League (NRL) club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. He sang the Australian national anthem at the 1999 NRL Grand Final.

Jackman also guest starred on 19 September 2011 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, assisting Zack Ryder in a win over WWE United States Champion Dolph Ziggler by punching the champion in the jaw whilst the referee was not looking.

Jackman plays the guitar, piano and violin. He also does yoga and has been a member of the School of Practical Philosophy since 1992.

Jackman has been a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation since the age of twenty. He said "Nothing has ever opened my eyes like Transcendental Meditation has. It makes me calm and happy, and, well, it gives me some peace and quiet in what's a pretty chaotic life!". He now helps the David Lynch Foundation to "bring meditation to everyone from PTSD sufferers to inner-city kids".

Jackman has been the face of several high-profile brands. He is a global ambassador for Montblanc. He is also the brand ambassador of R. M. Williams since March 2019.