Born: 12 October 1968Birthplace: Sydney, Australia
Best Known As: Wolverine in the X-Men movies
Handsome, warm, and versatile, Hugh Jackman became a favorite go-to guy for Hollywood and Broadway in the 2000s. He first starred in the 1995 Australian television drama Corelli and then got critical raves for his turn as the bitter brother Wace in Erskineville Kings (1999). Then he was cast as the grouchy, blade-fingered hero Wolverine in the big-budget movie X-Men (2000, also starring Ian McKellen). A stand-out in an ensemble cast, he got the hot-new-star treatment from the celebrity press and earned an international fan following. In 2003 he moved to Broadway in a big way, playing singer/songwriter Peter Allen in the play The Boy From Oz and winning the 2004 Tony Award as best actor in a musical. He has since appeared in Kate and Leopold (2001, with Meg Ryan), the X-Men sequels X2 (2003), The Last Stand (2006), and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Van Helsing (2004, with Kate Beckinsale). In 2006 he appeared in the Woody Allen film Scoop (2006, with Scarlett Johansson) and The Fountain (with Rachel Weisz, and did voice work for the animated comedy Flushed Away. His starring role in the big-budget flop Australia (2008, with Nicole Kidman) didn't seem to hurt his appeal; in 2009 he hosted the Academy Awards broadcast.
Born: Oct 12, 1968 in Sydney, Australia
Occupation: Actor
Career Highlights: X-Men, Happy Feet, The Fountain
Mini Biography
A star in his native Australia thanks to his work on television and in musical theatre, actor Hugh Jackman became known to American audiences through his role as Logan/Wolverine in Bryan Singer's lavish adaptation of the popular Marvel comic X-Men (2000).
Born of English parentage in Sydney on October 12, 1968, Jackman was raised as the youngest of five children. Jackman starred in a number of other TV series - and also began to earn recognition for his work on the stage in such productions as Beauty and the Beast, Sunset Boulevard, and Trevor Nunn's acclaimed Royal National Theatre production of Oklahoma!, the latter of which featured the actor in an Olivier-nominated performance as Curly McLain. In 1999, a year after being nominated for the Olivier, Jackman was again honored, this time with a Best Actor nomination from the Australian Film Institute for his portrayal of a man estranged from his brother in the urban drama Erskineville Kings. The actor's winning streak continued when he was hired to replace Dougray Scott as Wolverine in Bryan Singer's high-profile adaptation of X-Men. The film, whose cast also included Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, and Halle Berry, opened to strong reviews and box-office to become one of the biggest hits of the summer.
Jackman's rising international popularity was reflected by his casting in Tony Goldwyn's Someone Like You, a romantic comedy also starring Ashley Judd and Greg Kinnear. Sticking with the action genre, Jackman could next be seen in the title role of the 2004 ultra-big-budget film Van Helsing. Fans had numerous opportunities to see Jackman on the big screen in 2006. 2006 also proved to be the year Jackman announced he would produce and star in a big-screen adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.
