Hugh Jackman Career Retrospective | SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations

Hugh shares stories from his performances in X-Men, The Greatest Showman, The Front Runner, The Boy From Oz, A Steady Rain, and Law of the Land in this interview on his acting career. He recounts hosting the Tonys and Oscars, his training and theater experience, singing at Carnegie Hall, and working with Christopher Nolan and Trevor Nunn. This Q&A moderated by Jenelle Riley, Variety, is part of the SAG-AFTRA Conversations series, an essential resource for actors, filmmakers and students of discussions with performers, exploring the process and profession of acting.

Hugh Jackman currently stars as Gary Hart in THE FRONT RUNNER. Jackman is an Academy Award®-nominated, Golden Globe- and Tony Award-winning performer who has made an impression on audiences of all ages with his multi-hyphenate career persona, as successful on stage in front of live crowds as he is on film. From his award-winning turn on Broadway as the 1970s singer/songwriter Peter Allen, to his metal claw-wielding Wolverine in the blockbuster X-Men franchise, Jackman has proven to be one of the most versatile actors of our time.

The Australian native made his first major U.S. film appearance as Wolverine in the first installment of the “X-Men” series, a role he reprised in the enormously successful X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand. He then starred as the title character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a prequel to the popular series which grossed an outstanding $85 million domestically in its first weekend of release. Audiences once again went to see Jackman in the popular role in the next chapter titled The Wolverine, which grossed over $400 million worldwide. In 2014, Jackman and the X-Men team reunited for X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Jackman garnered his first Academy Award® nomination, for Best Actor, for his performance in Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables, based on popular stage show created from Victor’s Hugo famous novel of the same name. Jackman’s standout performance as protagonist Jean Valjean also earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical, as well as Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® nominations, for both Best Ensemble and Best Male Actor in a Leading Role, and a BAFTA Award nomination. Most recently, he was nominated for Golden Globe for his role as P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman. In addition to the extraordinary success of the movie musical, sales for the soundtrack to the film have broken records the world over … reaching multi-platinum status in many countries including the UK and America.

In 2009, Jackman took on host duties at the 81st Annual Academy Awards, earning an Emmy Award nomination for his work. This wasn’t, however, Jackman’s first foray into awards show hosting. Previously, he served as host of the Tony Awards three years in a row, from 2003 to 2005, earning an Emmy Award for the 2004 ceremony, and an Emmy nomination for his appearance at the 2005 ceremony.

Jackman starred in Logan, the final iteration of his Wolverine character, alongside Patrick Stewart. Additional film credits include Prisoners, Shawn Levy’s Real Steel, Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain, Woody Allen’s Scoop, Deception, Someone Like You, Swordfish, Van Helsing, and Kate & Leopold, for which he received a 2002 Golden Globe nomination. In addition, he lent his voice to the animated features Happy Feet, Flushed Away and Rise of the Guardians.

On Broadway, Jackman most recently received rave reviews for his performance as The Man in the “The River.” In 2011, he made a splash on the Great White Way in his one-man show, “Hugh Jackman – Back on Broadway.” Backed by an 18-piece orchestra, the revue, which previously opened to rave reviews during its limited engagements in San Francisco and Toronto earlier that year, was comprised of both Broadway hits and a selection of some of his personal favorite standards. Jackman’s continued dedication to the Broadway community was fêted at the 2012 Tony Awards, where he received a Special Award from the Tony Awards Administration Committee, recognizing his accomplishments both as a performer as well as a humanitarian.

0:00 - Intro
1:07 - Hugh Jackman’s Name
2:32 - SAG Card
5:36 - Early Interest in Acting
8:29 - Acting Education
14:53 - First Professional Job / Law of the Land (1994)
18:49 - Auditioning
22:58 - Stage Work / Trevor Nunn
28:38 - Playing Wolverine
38:39 - Life After Wolverine
41:42 - The Boy From Oz (1996)
45:43 - Hosting Tonys and Oscars
50:15 - Singing at Carnegie Hall / Hugh’s Father
54:27 - The Prestige (2006) / Christopher Nolan
57:32 - Ideal Director
1:00:56 - The Greatest Showman (2017)
1:02:19 - The Front Runner (2018)
1:05:27 - Playing Real People
1:08:19 - Giving Lottery Tickets on Set
1:14:05 - Future Acting Goals
1:14:59 - A Steady Rain