Many people know this man for his famous role in X-Men. After reading about him, there is so much more about him than Wolverine. After he graduated from Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, this man was a triple threat. He was described as a singer, dancer, and actor. He is also described as a action figure and a gentleman. Hugh Jackman is a very talented and successful actor because all the work he puts into his acting pays off.
Ever since Jackman was little, he loved musicals and acting. He enjoyed musicals starting at age five. At his school for boys in Sydney, he loved to get involved in theater. He enjoyed theater, but he later confessed that in his teen years, he was slightly motivated to do theater to meet girls; that was not the main reason. Jackman really enjoyed doing theater, and would even bring it with him later on. At his school, theater was not for men. It also was not a thing you could make a living out of. He finally built up the courage to fully motivate himelf and say, “I want to do it.” (Abbey,2010)
When Jackman went to college, he did not plan to go into acting. Jackman loved theater, but did not know if he could make a career off of it. He went to the University of Technology in Sydney and studied journalism. After college he planned on being a television news reporter or a talk show host. It wasn’t acting, but he would still be on the screen. In college, he decided to also take a drama class at the Actor’s Center in Sydney. It brought him back to his true feelings towards theater.
He loved and enjoyed it so much, he abandoned journalism and started studying acting full time. When Jackman was fully dedicated towards acting, he applied to study acting at Wesrern Australian Academy of Performing Arts. After Jackman graduated, he was one of the most varied among other performers. X-Men movie series is what most people recognize him from, but he is more than that. He had success in other productions which were stage plays, musical theater, television shows, and other movies of almost all genres. Ever since Jackman graduated from Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, he has been non-stop successful. (Abbey,2010)
One of the best things to happen to Jackman was meeting his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, on the television show, Correlli. Correlli was also one of his first television shows and an Australian drama show. They had a relationship inside and outside their characters. Their relationship grew and grew even when the show ended. The show only lasted a year, but they were still strong after the show ended. Jackman said, “Meeting my wife was the greatest thing to happen thing to come out of it.” They only knew each other for a little over a year and they are still in love to this day. (Abbey,2010) Jackman and Furness wanted to have kids, but it was dificult for them. They had no luck, so they looked at adopting. They’ve wanted to adopt anyway, but they wanted to have a biological child too. Since that wasn’t working for them, they decided to start with adoption.
In May of 2000, their new baby was born, Oscar. Jackman and Furness were there when Oscar was born, and they felt very blessed. It was one of the happiest moments of their life. He would not do anything to change his life. He says he is the luckiest man ever. Jackman and Furness are still happily married with now two adopted kids, Oscar and Ava. (Dunlevy,2003)
Jackman’s big break came when he was offered a part in X-Men as Wolverine. Playing Wolverine is more challeging than you would think. Everybody knows Wolverine, but if you don’t, he is a mutant with claws and the power to heal quickly. When Jackman auditioned, he actually didn’t get the part at first. The first guy with the job had to withdraw, so Jackman got the part. Jackman was going to back out, mainly because he did not read any of the comic books and really didn’t know what it was about. When he learned a little more about Wolverine, he related on some parts and was now dedicated to do the part. Jackman made turning into Wolverine a challenge. To get inspired, Jackman watched movies like Dirty Harry and Road Warrior. Clint Eastwood and Mel Gibson both play character with little dialogue in these movies, like Wolverine. Jackman demanded to do most of his stunts. He studied martial arts and really studied the way Wolverine fought.
He also has to learn how to comfortably wear claws like Wolverine does. He went all out and wore the claws around his house almost everday. He had a couple injuries like scars on his legs and punctures straight through his cheek and on his forehead. All of this has paid off in the end. Jackman was very nervous to see what people would think of his part in the movie. He put in a lot of time and dedication in this movie and hoped to make Wolverine come to life. When the movie came out, Jackman did not have to wait long to see what the fans thought. X-Men was a huge success and they loved Wolverine. The movie became one of the biggest blockbusters of 2000; earning almost 300 million worldwide. Fans loved how he played
Wolverine. They said he was the best actor to bring Wolverine alive. In 2003, Jackman revived Wolverine in X2. In this movie, it’s going to take a lot more preping. He had to bulk up physically. He had a low-fat, high-protein diet and a strict weight lifting routine. For this movie, Jackman needed to gain 200 pounds. As anyone else would, he struggled to reach his goal. He would eat meals in the middle of the night and also wake up early in the mornig to eat again. He would then go back to sleep and later wake up to another meal and then head to the gym.All of his hard work pays off when Jackman sees the fans lovign Wolverine. (Abbey,2010)
He loved being in the X-Men movies, but he enjoyed doing muscials and dramas too. Between the movies, Jackman kept busy with serious dramas, romantic comedies, suspense thrillers, and musical theater. He also did voice acting for animated movies like Happy Feet and Flushed Away. After making X2, Jackman returned to muscial theater. He starred in The Boy From Oz. This production lead him to win a Tony Award for best actor in a musical for his performance in that play. In the future, Jackman hopes to continue playing Wolverine in more films. He loved playing Wolverine, but he also wants to continue stage productions and more musicals. “I love both. What I realize now is that I have the stage in my professional diet. It’s a lot more tiring, particularly doing musicals, but it informs my movie acting. In the end, it’s all about variety-mixing an action film with something lighter” X-Men series was fun and great for Jackman, but he has always loved musical production so he will never quit doing that. (Abbey,2010)
Ever since Jackman was 5, acting was his passion. Jackman loves acting and is proud of his awards, but his most proud possesions are his wife and his beautiful children. Jackman has been successful ever since he graduated. He loves what he does and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
