Well-known for his role as superhero Wolverine, Hugh Jackman became a real-life action hero this week when he pulled his son from a rip-tide on Bondi beach. It is the same week in which he branches out into the world of feelgood British comedy, with a mentor role in Eddie the Eagle.
He plays a former American ski jumper who agrees to coach Eddie Edwards – a plucky Brit who has decided, in a spirit strongly reminiscent of Cool Runnings – to compete in the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Here’s a look at the best performances of this multi-shaded Australian:
X-Men
Though he picked up an Olivier award nomination for his appearance in the National Theatre’s 1998 production of Oklahoma!, it was Bryan Singer’s first superhero instalment that propelled Jackman to international fame in 2000. Working with very little dialogue, he insisted on performing his own stunts and brought an animal physicality to the mutant Wolverine that matched his avant garde haircut.
The Prestige
In 2006, Jackman proved he could do more than just action. Exploring the dramatic world of illusion and ambition of two magicians locked in a deadly rivalry, Christopher Nolan’s film was an opportunity for Jackman to show that he could do showmanship without enormous extendable metal claws. Starring alongside Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and Christian Bale, he became a brooding master of suspense.
The Fountain
- Moving into even deeper subject matter in Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain, Jackman starred as a scientist desperately searching for a cure for brain cancer while his wife, played by Rachel Weisz, is slowly consumed by a tumour. Though the role was originally intended for Brad Pitt, who quit just weeks before shooting began, Jackman rose to the ambitious challenge of three interweaving plot lines, playing a modern-day neurologist, 16th-century Spanish conquistador and futurist space traveller with chameleon flare.
Les Misérables
In 2012, Jackman returned to his musical roots, starring as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables in the Hollywood adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 19th century novel. All songs were recorded live and Jackman belted his heart out to wide acclaim in a performance that won him a Golden Globe.
Prisoners
It seems Jackman couldn’t play the clear-cut hero for too long. In Prisoners, Denis Villeneuve’s forensic crime drama, Jackman played a distraught father taking justice into his own hands in a desperate search for his missing daughter, in a role that was violent, convincing and emotionally exposing.
