For many, our first introduction to Hugh Jackman was as Wolverine in Brian Singer’s first X-Men film. Gruff, grizzled, and short on words, Jackman’s Wolverine brought the clawed mutant to life. So much so, in fact, that no one else has played the character in a live-action film.
But Jackman didn’t always picture himself as an action star. From the beginning of his acting life, the young Australian was married to the theater. In a 2014 interview with Vogue, the actor said of the stage "It’s a love that’s never waned since I was five, doing Camelot at my primary school." Another childhood role? Salesman #2 from the opening to The Music Man. Jackman isn’t shy about sharing the story of how he auditioned for the lead role by learning all eight parts of the opening number Rock Island.
Hugh Jackman’s Pre-Broadway Career
Right out of college, Jackman found work on Australian television and film such as the miniseries Corelli and the romantic comedy Paperback Hero. Among the Australian theater crowd, the actor was making a name for himself as Gaston in Walt Disney’s Australian production of Beauty and the Beast and as Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard. This popularity exploded following Jackman’s next big theater role as Curly in the Olivier award-winning West End revival of Oklahoma! in 1998.
The production was filmed and released to the public in 1999, meaning everyone could get a taste of this new acing talent. It didn’t take long before Jackman would make another huge leap in his career on the stage and on the screen.
From Stage to Screen and Back Again
Hugh Jackman wasn’t Brian Singer’s first choice to play the claw-wielding Canuck Wolverine in the character’s big-screen debut; the director wanted to hire Russell Crowe first. Crowe, a friend of Jackman’s, ceded the role and suggested his friend for the part. Jackman has since been the only actor to play the character in live action and has a Guinness World Record to prove it.
While Jackman was blowing up as an action star, he would play quite a different role in his big Broadway break in The Boy from Oz. Jackman starred as Peter Allen, a famed Australian singer-songwriter, in a jukebox musical depicting the artist’s life story. Reviews for the show weren’t exactly positive. Critics point to the show’s thread-bare writing, scanty set design, and misplaced musical numbers. Jackman stood out nevertheless, winning his first Tony Award for the role in 2004.
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