Hugh Jackman has engaged in his fair share of on-screen heroics playing the X-men character Wolverine. But the Australian actor is being hailed as a real-life hero after saving his son from strong currents at Sydney’s Bondi beach.
The Nine Network showed video of the Australian actor bringing another swimmer to shore on Saturday before he had to help 15-year-old Oscar from the waves.
#HughJackman rescues son #OscarJackman and other swimmers from rip at Bondi Beach pic.twitter.com/ycx2bxXnBD
— HughJackMania Club (@HughJackMania) March 26, 2016
In the footage, the actor is also shown beckoning other swimmers to shore, away from a rip current flowing out to sea.
Former National Rugby League star Daniel Conn told the Daily Mail Australia that he was on the beach chatting to the actor when the tide suddenly changed. “Oscar got caught up with it so I swam out to go and get him and bring him back but he got caught up in it again and he [Hugh] just went into full on Hugh Jackman mode.
“He got Oscar and he also helped some other people too, it was amazing.”
A witness, Lynzey Murphy, told Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph that surf conditions had changed quickly but Jackman stayed calm.
“When we got in the water 20 minutes earlier it was fine. Then the water just came up suddenly,” she said.
“Hugh just pulled them calmly on to the sandbar. He then said, ‘All right, we are going to walk towards the flags.’”
Nine said Jackman was too shaken to speak to TV crews after the incident.
In an Instagram post, North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club wrote: “The beach had to be closed due to dangerous conditions, multiple rescues happening all at once and limited resources.
@thehughjackman was also spotted assisting with rescues! Thanks Hugh”
Peter Adam, who told Nine he was a man Jackman helped, said he wasn’t rescued by the film star.
“He wasn’t rescuing me, I was assisting him to get his daughter up to the sandbar. He then grabbed my hand to get us up,” Adam said.
Jackman has only recently arrived home after a world tour promoting his new film, Eddie the Eagle.
In February the Wolverine star posted a sun-safe message to Instagram accompanied by a picture of himself with his nose covered in a dressing after the removal of a basal cell carcinoma.
Jackman appealed to people to wear sunscreen and get regular skin checks.
“An example of what happens when you don’t wear sunscreen. Basal Cell. The mildest form of cancer but serious, nonetheless,” Jackman wrote.
Reuters and AAP contributed to this report
