Welcome to our new segment where each week (hopefully!) we will put the spotlight on an actor, director, producer or personality, whether they be young hopefuls, quiet achievers or superstars. We’ll provide you with a bit of a biography for this person, some fast facts, a list of their works and a personal opinion too! Enjoy learning more about your favourite Hollywood stars or learning about that guy or girl you’ve seen in lots of films, but whose name constantly evades you!
The first star to have the spotlight put upon them is none other than one of our favourite Aussie sons, Hugh Jackman. As we are less than a week away from the Oscars, all eyes are beginning to turn towards those involved in Hollywood’s night of nights, including Hugh, this year’s host. I certainly wish him luck as he steps out into that spotlight next week, but for now, we’ll keep him in ours!
A bit of Bio:
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Hugh Michael Jackman was born on October 15, 1968 in Sydney, Australia. From a young age he became interested in acting, performing in school productions and later studying at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, graduating in 1994. Over the next five years Jackman performed within Australia in stage productions such as Beauty and the Beast, TV shows such as Correlli, and movies such as Paperback Hero. Hugh was married to wife Deborra-Lee Furness in 1996, whom he met on the set of Correlli, and now have two adopted children; Oscar, 8, and Ava, 3. In 1998 his international status began to build with a critically acclaimed role in a stage production of Oklahoma! in London’s West End, and his popularity grew enormously after his performance as Wolverine in X-Men (2000). From then on, Hugh has starred in many movies, including the X-Men sequels and Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, a number of stage shows including The Boy From Oz, and has hosted the Tony Awards three times (2003-2005). Jackman is the host of this year’s Academy Awards, being held on February 22 at the Kodak Theatre, and will be seen on screen again soon for another turn as Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Five fast facts about Hugh:
1. He will receive his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009.
2. He runs a production company, Seed Productions, with wife Deborra-Lee Furness and John Palermo.
3. He was school captain and attended the same school as Hugo Weaving.
4. He is incredibly near-sighted and wears contact lenses most of the time.
5. He stands at 6′ 2”, almost a foot taller than the character of Wolverine (5′ 3”) in the X-Men comics.
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Filmography:
o Paperback Hero (1999)
o Erskineville Kings (1999)
o X-Men (2000)
o Someone Like You (2001)
o Swordfish (2001)
o Kate and Leopold (2001)
o X2 (2003)
o Standing Room Only (2004)
o Van Helsing (2004)
o Stories of Lost Souls (2006)
o X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
o Scoop (2006)
o The Fountain (2006)
o The Prestige (2006)
o Flushed Away (voice) (2006)
o Happy Feet (voice) (2006)
o Uncle Jonny (2008)
o Deception (2008)
o Australia (2008)
o X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) – coming soon
Final Word:
How can you not love Hugh Jackman? He’s a good looking, down to earth Aussie bloke with a heart of gold and a gorgeous smile to go with it! He has the ability to make females of every age swoon (including myself): think the scene from Australia when he turns up clean shaven and in a crisp suit. Hugh has done a fantastic job flying the flag for Australia and is one of the biggest names in the business at the moment. His career is going from strength to strength and hopefully this will continue for many years to come.
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Do I sense a bit of Aussie bias, Elise? Haha, at least you do admit it when you say "has the ability to make females of every age swoon (including myself)".
Although, I'm not certain Hugh's career is set in stone, or at it's peak. I have a uneasy feeling his Oscar presentation will flop, just as bad as Australia did at the box office. It's ulikely to be his fault either, as he was chosen as a wildcard presenter because the ceremony had been low in ratings for years. Deception was also a below average film, making his last real success back in 2006 in The Prestige. So how is he coming out of this dry spell? Returning to the one franchise that gave him a name in the biz, X-men. Seems a bit of a desperate bid too me.
Don't get me wrong, I like Hugh Jackman. But I certainly would not say his career is going from strength to strength at the moment.
But as this post makes exemplifies, I am a complete pessimist!
In any case, nice feature article and I look forward to reading more in the future!
Posted on February 18th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Ok, I agree with you that from a critic's point of view, Hugh's career is not as strong as others in the industry. He hasn't had that many critically acclaimed roles, and Australia probably has done some damage rather than good to Hugh's persona.
But I'm looking at this from the point of view of the Australian public, where Hugh's movies have been popular and he is certainly a star in the eyes of the nation. And isn't that sometimes more important?
Of course I'm biased because he is Australian, and also because I am an optimist – I like Hugh and think that he's doing quite well for himself in that fickle place we call Hollywood. This is my opinion, and a lot of people, including yourself Anders, are going to disagree. But I am generally a person who will look at the good and hope for the best for that person rather than cutting them to shreds (unless we're dealing with red carpet stuff, that's when the claws come out!)
Posted on February 19th, 2009 at 12:06 am
…and that is exactly why I have you on board! More often than not I let the scathing critic inside of me speak out instead of the suppressed humanitarian. Your opinion helps balance mine out. Although, I think criticism is always important as long as it's valid and supported with reasons. It's a cut-throat industry, and if people are not capable of taking criticism on the chin, ignoring it or growing from it, I think they might want to rethink their career!
Posted on February 19th, 2009 at 12:37 am
…and that is exactly why I have you on board! More often than not I let the scathing critic inside of me speak out instead of the suppressed optimist . Your opinion helps balance mine out. Although, I think criticism is always important as long as it's valid and supported with reasons. It's a cut-throat industry, and if people are not capable of taking criticism on the chin, ignoring it or growing from it, I think they might want to rethink their career!
Posted on February 19th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Exactly!! Our opinions differ, but that's the beauty of this medium: to be able to express your own personal opinion, regardless of what others think or say. I am generally going to give a hopeful, 'glass is half full' view on things, but if I do, I'll be ready to back it up. We're always going to be criticised on our opinions – that's life and we have to deal with it, especially, as you say, in this type of industry! So in those times when we are polar opposites, we'll keep each other honest, and I think that will make the overall work better!!
Posted on February 19th, 2009 at 12:54 am
Hugh Jackman is a fun actor, and perfect for Wolverine. I was surprised he is doing the oscars, since he's not a comedian of any sort, but I'm sure he'll be hand fed enough corny material. Another fun fact about Hugh for you. He is hated by Dr. Cox the character on the TV show Scrubs, although I think John C McGinley hates him in person too.
Posted on February 19th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
It always makes me chuckle when Dr Cox's dislike for Hugh gets a mention on Scrubs, given he is an actor who is hard to really hate.
I'm really hoping Hugh can pull off the Oscars, and that if it gets bad ratings (as it always does), he's not held accountable.
Posted on February 20th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Is that some optimism I sense from you Anders?! But I agree, all the best to Hugh for the Academy Awards!
Posted on February 20th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Of course wish him best of luck, I'm sure the critics will be nitpicky for whatever reasons they find.
Posted on February 20th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
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