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:

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.

 

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.