Best known for playing Wolverine, did you know he was nearly James Bond? Or that Venus Williams was responsible for a parenting milestone in his life? Here are ten weird and wonderful facts about one of Australia’s greatest actors that you probably never knew. Here’s to Hugh Jackman!
Hugh Jackman at ‘The Greatest Showman’ photocall
1. He learnt yoga for a movie role – In order to perfect his role as Tom in the Darren Aronofsky-directed film ‘The Fountain’, he practised yoga daily for twelve months and learned to perfect a lotus position underwater.
2. He keeps getting basal-cell carcinomas – Hugh has had at least six carcinomas removed from his nose, and now has to have regular check-ups with his doctor for recurrences. He blames the skin cancer on not wearing sunscreen when he was younger and out in the Australian sun, having had his first carcinoma removed in 2013.
3. He had a crush on Olivia Newton-John – He once revealed that he had a poster of Olivia Newton-John on his bedroom wall when he was a kid, and even practised kissing on the ‘Grease’ star. We’ve all been there!
4. Venus Williams began the Birds and the Bees conversation with his son – His son Oscar came out with a rather unusual comment while they were watching tennis one day. ‘He goes, ‘Dad what does Venus’ vagina look like?’ He was two or three at the time’, said Hugh. He tried to talk to him about sex, but it turns out that Oscar just thought ‘Venus’ vagina’ was ‘Italian pasta from outerspace’.
5. He took a trip to outback Australia as a teen – He lived among real aborigines when he was 18-years-old, during a trip to the Australian outback. After seeing real life hunters with bows, arrows and boomerangs, it took some convincing from his father to return home.
6. He used to want to be a model – He actually wanted to become a male model rather than an actor when he was younger; in fact, it was only after a modelling scout rejected him that he decided to pursue acting. And he even met with the same scout years later.
7. He has has two adopted children – After his wife Deborra-Lee Furness had two miscarriages, the couple decided to adopt. They now have two mixed race children including 11-year-old Oscar and 6-year-old Ava.
8. He keeps losing his wedding rings – Most people would be heartbroken at realising they have lost their treasured wedding ring, but for Hugh it happens so often that he just replaces it immediately. After losing his third, he explained that they all disappear in the ocean while swimming.
9. His parents were English – He might seem every bit the typical Aussie male, but both his parents were actually English. They were part of the ‘Ten Pound Poms’; English immigrants who moved to the country following the Second World War, despite arriving in Sydney in 1967.
More: Hugh Jackman turned down James Bond offer
10. He could’ve played James Bond – He was asked to consider taking over from Pierce Brosnan as the next James Bond before Daniel Craig landed the part. However, as he was currently involved in the ‘X-Men’ franchise, he didn’t like the idea of taking on two iconic characters at once and soon declined.
