Multi-topic interviews

[njr]

Hugh Jackman On Turning 50 In Hollywood: “The First 10 Years Felt Stilted”
RICHARD CLUNE29 MAY 2018
As Hugh Jackman gears up for his 50th birthday, we reflect on the career of one of Australia’s greatest actors.

PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
At a time devoid of decency it feels right to be talking to Hugh Jackman. Saddled to a heightened ability to entertain and emote - morality, propriety, and civility have been the actor's stock-in-trade since first bearing his Hollywood claws some 20 years ago.

And it feels appropriate to be talking to Jackman, in New York, the morning after a screening of Shame, a powerful if sometimes forgotten '80s Australian film starring his wife, Deborra-lee Furness. Because it's a feature that today drips with poignancy after what's transpired the past eight months - 2017 to forever be the year Hollywood's most nefarious networks came to be exposed; a wealth of women and men finding collective strength and voice to expose and rally against the abuses and predatory behaviours that had been allowed to infest to a point of acceptance.


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
Shame, with Furness out front as a stern lawyer-cum-leather-clad biker, is a complex revenge tale set in a remote West Australian town enveloped by a casual and accepted rape culture. It's a tale of toxicity and the arduousness of working through blame, shame and bringing perpetrators of heinous sexual assault to rights.

"Oh my God, it was just incredibly powerful," says Jackman of the screening, which was shown as part of the inaugural Australian International Screen Forum at the Lincoln Center. "And you just think, 'How relevant is this movie right now? How far ahead of its time was it?' This is a film from 30 years ago - and there's just not that many like it handling these issues, these very complex issues. That's what I like in this film - there are some great scenes about how it's not simple issue at all.


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
Jackman is direct when discussing all that's come to frame his industry of late. The documented actions of too many are abhorrent, abuses of power "in any way, not just in terms of sexist and sexual conduct, but across the board, absolutely disgusting.

"Making it as an actor is bloody hard - I know that. I remember it seemed almost impossible at times, you think it's never going to happen. So to then add all this to it for someone is unthinkable and disgusting. And for my money, there should never, ever be an audition again without a third person present, there should never be a meeting in a hotel room. You can call it a hotel room, but essentially it's a bedroom, right? So why would you ever need to have a meeting there?"

Looking past this pit of shit dug by some of Hollywood's most powerful players, Jackman eyes a positivity away from the various proceedings - a wish to move forward and address, at the least, a need for greater numbers of women to be seen and heard.


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
"What's been great in all of this is that it's morphed into genuine discussion about equality in the workplace. I just read yesterday that only seven per cent of directors are female. There's literally no reason for that - that's genuinely wrong.

"And so maybe it's back to school, or how we frame this issue for a younger girl, like my daughter, and make it feel like anything's possible. So in many ways, it feels like there's a hopeful feeling that this could be a genuine change for the better."

While Jackman's sense of decency has him sailing well beyond the perpetrators and the accused, there remains some frayed, entangled threads. Some of those central to allegations of rape, misconduct and exploitation are also those he has held as contemporaries, employers, friends. He worked for Harvey Weinstein on 2001's Kate and Leopold and again in 2011 comedy Butter. He is close to X-Men's Bryan Singer and shot for Woody Allen in 2006's Scoop.


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
"Yeah, it's very awkward. But we all know that sometimes in our own lives we're shocked to hear things. And there's been some of that with people I've worked with.

"It's difficult, it's difficult to know how to handle it when you're friends and you spend a lot of time with them. And you don't want to do the cowardly thing and just dump them – I'd prefer to say something to them, even if it's pretty damn uncomfortable."

Alongside this push for change and the spotlight to continue its illumination of Hollywood's shadows sits the notion of forgiveness - specifically, the argument about whether a point is reached when those currently exiled may return and create.

It's a concept that sits on the sidelines as we continue to move through rejection and erasure - Kevin Spacey's speedy removal from last year's All The Money in the World and Allen's funding difficulties are two examples.


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
Still, as a man of confirmed Christian values, the far-reaching loops of forgiveness must surely touch and occasionally confound Jackman "Philosophically, fundamentally, I believe in redemption and forgiveness - yes.

"It's everything I was brought up to believe. And I feel that there has to be that option for everyone... much of what our legal system and our philosophy as a society is based on is this idea of second chances. I keep hearing these words I grew up with in the church, 'don't be so quick to judge others until you feel you're completely spotless yourself'."

Jackman is spotless - but exploring forgiveness opens the prospect of whether he would work with the likes of, say, Allen again? "It's hypothetical and I don't really know the answer. I'd have to give it a lot more thought... I made the decision to work with him quicker and easier than I would make it now, that's for sure; I would have to think about it more now, it was an easier decision to come to back


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
Clearly not something he would take lightly, he adds, "I would never, ever, base a decision on a newspaper report or hearsay or whatever. I would need to know the full facts, you know?"

As a parent to Ava, 12, and Oscar, 18, 2017 and the allegations levelled at some of those close has also meant a chain of honest conversations with his children. He says they've spoken a lot about what's been acknowledged and offered up in the media. "Because, again, this is a great teaching moment for boys, girls, men and women – for everyone. It's a chance to rewrite the book on how we handle gender and many, many things. This is a chance to change things.

"Every parent worries about their kids and how they handle themselves and their confidence in standing up for themselves in certain situations. Just as you also think about how they treat people."


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
Jackman goes on to detail a recent social media post Ava made on a private account. "She said that we talk so much about teaching girls how not to get raped -; but why don't we teach boys not to rape? And I tell you, I was just so proud of her."

Our interview was never slated to solely exhume and reexamine Hollywood's plight and the ongoing fallout surrounding Weinstein et al. Because it's 2018 and, as Jackman says, there's positivity peeking through. And because it's 2018 and there are milestones to celebrate - for Jackman and GQ Australia.

While this humble men's title clocks two decades, Jackman will tackle 50 years in the coming months. While he hasn't given much thought to the half-ton, he's sure he'll raise the bat at a party organised by Furness.


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
"Mate she's the one - Deb really doesn't need much of an excuse to celebrate, that's her kind of philosophy for every single day. So when her husband turns 50, she wants to go big, she doesn't listen when I say, 'I just want some small thing', she's like, 'Yeah right - whatever'. So there'll be a party here and I won't be able to stop Deb from making it pretty amazing and big with twice as many people as I'll want."

Jackman's ultimate birthday desire is to throw on some Lycra. "I'm keen to get on the bike with some mates later this year and do a bicycle tour of France or Italy. As it is there's a group of us from high school getting together and doing a bit of a trip around the States, which is like what we did when we hit 40."

That a star of his stature and worth remains tight with those he rubbed blazers with at Sydney's Knox Grammar (Jackman was school captain in 1986) speaks of the way he goes about things, about his code - focused, passionate, accessible, giving.


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
Speak to Jackman and he'll generally turn the conversation away from himself. He's not attempting to hide or deflect - he's just interested and sincere in wanting to know more about those sat opposite.

How many kids? How old? Where are you originally from? How's the publishing industry holding up? Nice shoes - where are they from? Let's just take some time to talk about the cricket first. He'll remind you that he studied communications and wanted to be a journalist, before a rethink and a decision to turn down Neighbours for Perth and the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

He landed on the small screen on graduation - it was in only his second gig, a minor role in the ABC's Corelli, in 1995, where he met and fell for Furness.

Blue Heelers, Halifax f.p and Snowy River: The McGregeor Saga were further small-screen outings - and if you haven't caught his hosting of Foxtel's In Fashion alongside Rove McManus, then please do.


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
On the large screen he went back to back with the dusty Paperback Hero and urban Erskineville Kings - and then headed for the West End and an Olivier award nomination as Curly in Oklahoma!

2001 was the first time GQ featured the lithe actor with Clint Eastwood's jaw and rugged good looks - a year before he'd scored a role as Logan/Wolverine on X-Men and a fitting debut line for a proud Aussie bloke: "I'll have a beer".

'Move over Mel Gibson, Hollywood has a new Australian heartthrob' were the words we used to highlight Jackman back then - in an issue fronted by the Ian Thorpe.

Jackman would end up spending 17 years with his eyebrows cocked as the mutant with anger problems and adamantium claws – the longest run at a celluloid superhero in history (Adam West’s Batman only flew for three seasons; Robert Downey Jnr's Ironman debuted in 2008).


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
The anger and the menace of Wolverine was always at odds with Jackman personally - but he mined enough pain to inject into each beastly turn and ultimately ride the $6.4bn X-Men films have so far made.

Wolverine, who scored three standalone features, was always the Jackman kids' college fund, and why not? It gave the Aussie incredible exposure and changed things overnight.

"My wife is unbelievably prescient with these things - she gets a sense of what's happening way before I do. On that opening weekend, we stood on a stoop on a Saturday night with me as Wolverine, and she just said, 'Everything's different from here'. I'm like, 'C'mon it's just one film Deb'. She wasn't having it. 'No, I can feel it. It’s changed. It's all going to change from here.'"

Within a day, paparazzi were capturing Jackman's daily moves and he began to field peculiar interactions on the street.


"I remember this guy came up to me with his mate, and goes, 'Oh, Wolverine'. And his mate goes, 'It's not Wolverine - look how tall he is'. He goes, 'It is'. And they started having this full-on argument three feet from my face. I actually settled it by pulling out my driver's licence and showing them. And instead of them asking for an autograph or whatever, the guy who lost was like, 'Fuck that. Damn it'. And then they walked off."

X-Men also delivered the X-Factor. Scripts landed, and a lot of them. Ultimately, his blockbuster billing set in play an ability to push far further than the comic book realisation - everything from singing in Cantonese (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan)
to hosting the Oscars, to fighting robots (Real Steel) and take the piss out of himself - and quite often his homeland – on Saturday Night Live.


An Oscar nomination and Golden Globe Award as best actor in a comedy or musical came for Les Miserables, an Emmy for his hosting of the Tony Awards, with a Tony Award attached to his portrayal of Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz.

That Allen passed away at 48 is not lost on Jackman – though he's firm in stating he's not one to look back and reflect, even in this, his 50th year.

"It's just not my thing. I'm someone who tries really hard to look forward - never back. I prefer to be curious about what it is you're creating than looking back. I know it sounds like a bumper sticker, but that's genuinely how I feel – I'm yet to hit the good or bad versions of a mid-life crisis so the number for me doesn't make me at all reflective. In fact, the people I admire the most are older, as they seem to get more curious. That's the secret to feeling young."


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
He cites Pat Schoenfeld, the 86-year-old Broadway doyenne and theatre producer. "She does pottery every single day. She plays tennis three times a week. She invites me to every single opening. She goes to the theatre two or three times a week, museums and, you know, I think particularly in New York, no one I've ever met talks of retirement. Everyone's talking about what it is you're doing, it's this sense that you're only as good as what you're doing right now - and philosophically, I'm a believer that you're either growing or shrinking in life."

Right now, he's staring at an extended break with nothing planned for the rest of the year. He may shoot a film, he may not.

"I'm sure Deb will have something to say about that - 'ah, when are you going back to work?' – but this is the first time in my life that I don't know what's next and that's incredibly exciting."


He reads and dances and sings everyday. He suggests another one-man theatre show akin to 2011's Back on Broadway could be in the offing, so too a stage production of last year's movie The Greatest Showman.

"That's been one of those great surprises," he says of the musical piece. "It was a risk for the studio to take. And it's always nerve-racking when your face is on a poster that says 'The Greatest Showman' because if you fuck it up you can see the first line of every review. I was also fully aware that if I got it wrong, the chances of me doing another musical in the lead were greatly diminished. And I would love to be able to, in my lifetime, do at least three or four more. Yeah, I would love to. So with Les Mis and Showman, it keeps that on track." Pushed to choose a career highlight, Jackman doesn't put forward his Oscar-nominated turn as Jean Valjean in the theatrical re-imagining of Victor Hugo's work. Instead, he opts for Allen and The Boy From Oz.


"Being nominated for an Oscar was incredible, but the year I had here doing Oz was a huge turning point. Not just career wise, but how I felt. It was a turning point in following and trusting my instincts, because I'd been offered that originally and turned it down. I thought it wasn't a great idea at the time - because then I wasn't being seen for movies, I was a 'musical theatre guy'."

Jackman then caught Todd McKenney as Allen as it played to sold-out theatres across Australia.

"It was an incredible performance by Todd and I was sick to my stomach the whole time 'cause I was like, 'Damn, that was a big mistake. Damn, I should have trusted my gut, I should have trusted my gut.' So when they rang me two or three years later and were like, 'Hey, Hugh, how are you? We were thinking...' I said, 'Yes. Yep, I’m in'. And they were like, 'Oh, we're going to Broadway. 'I know, I'm in.' I said yes immediately.


"So I was in New York on stage as Peter Allen, every night, ad-libbing, 'cause 10 minutes of it was always ad-libbed, I was learning and it was just incredible. When Broadway embraces something, it's a pretty amazing experience - you're living in this city and doing this great show and a bunch of stuff came from it too, you know, [Steven] Spielberg ended up asking me to do the Oscars."

In acting, Jackman’s business, there are many well-worn adages. 'You're only as good as your last performance'; 'Movies will make you famous, television will make you rich, theatre will make you good'; 'Acting takes a lifetime to perfect'.

With the big 5-0 blinking in the distance, it's the last that sticks – given, by its reckoning, Jackman should be about halfway there now.


PHOTOGRAPHER: BEN WATTS
"To be completely honest, I'm enjoying acting more now than ever before. Because I feel excited about it. I feel at home on a stage and comfortable on film - which has taken a while to get to. I can broadly say the first 10 years on film felt stilted. I was sometimes a little nervous and it stopped my enjoyment of it all. So it's taken me a little while to feel comfortable - like 10 years - but I do now and I'm lucky and blessed to have had the chances I've had. Some people bomb out early - I had a few lucky turns that gave me more chances. I'm lucky, you know. I am. I really am.

--

This article was originally published in the June/July 2018 issue of GQ Australia. You can purchase a copy of the issue here, until sold out.

[jo]

njr --



Very much appreciated, especially so that Hugh shares some insights on his career usually not talked about much in other interviews.


Jo

[jo]

As to the short-tem :

Right now, he's staring at an extended break with nothing planned for the rest of the year. He may shoot a film, he may not.

"I'm sure Deb will have something to say about that - 'ah, when are you going back to work?' – but this is the first time in my life that I don't know what's next and that's incredibly exciting."


He reads and dances and sings everyday. He suggests another one-man theatre show akin to 2011's Back on Broadway could be in the offing, so too a stage production of last year's movie The Greatest Showman.

"That's been one of those great surprises," he says of the musical piece. "It was a risk for the studio to take. And it's always nerve-racking when your face is on a poster that says 'The Greatest Showman' because if you fuck it up you can see the first line of every review. I was also fully aware that if I got it wrong, the chances of me doing another musical in the lead were greatly diminished. And I would love to be able to, in my lifetime, do at least three or four more. Yeah, I would love to. So with Les Mis and Showman, it keeps that on track."

Hmm... only the promo campaign for THE FRONT RUNNER at the moment, to keep him busy...

Unless the return to Broadway ( either Back On Broadway II or the stage adaptation of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN happens sooner than we think.

At some point, I hope he does write a book on his career, as it is one of the most varied in today's entertainment world. His journalism training gives him an eye for observing what has happened around him as well as the talent to write an interesting retrospective on his career.


Jo

[jo]

"To be completely honest, I'm enjoying acting more now than ever before. Because I feel excited about it. I feel at home on a stage and comfortable on film - which has taken a while to get to. I can broadly say the first 10 years on film felt stilted. I was sometimes a little nervous and it stopped my enjoyment of it all. So it's taken me a little while to feel comfortable - like 10 years - but I do now and I'm lucky and blessed to have had the chances I've had. Some people bomb out early - I had a few lucky turns that gave me more chances. I'm lucky, you know. I am. I really am.

Despite all the hints from fans and even Deadpool about a return to the XMEN world, Hugh seems truly decided to branch out. Given his versatility and talent spanning film and stage...and occasional hosting entertainment shows ( Back on Broadway seems more of the latter than a true stage musical/drama)...he is probably giving himself the luxury of time on how the next phase of his career should take shape. Indie-type drama? Musicals ( biopics or another film adaptation of stage material or another original musical)? Comedy? Action cum drama? Another tour-de-force drama like PRISONERS? Hope something exciting comes along soon!


Jo

[hughmanity]

Thanks, njr, for not making Jo wait.  Lol

May 30, 2018 9:29:08 GMT -5 jo said:

njr --



Very much appreciated, especially so that Hugh shares some insights on his career usually not talked about much in other interviews.


Jo

[jo]

*Giggle*


Jo

[jo]

"To be completely honest, I'm enjoying acting more now than ever before. Because I feel excited about it. I feel at home on a stage and comfortable on film - which has taken a while to get to. I can broadly say the first 10 years on film felt stilted. I was sometimes a little nervous and it stopped my enjoyment of it all. So it's taken me a little while to feel comfortable - like 10 years - but I do now and I'm lucky and blessed to have had the chances I've had. Some people bomb out early - I had a few lucky turns that gave me more chances. I'm lucky, you know. I am. I really am.

*Presumably the 10-year period includes his first film forays : a serious inner city drama and a rom-com ( Erskineville Kings/PaperBack Hero)

*The first ten Wolverine years started when the first one was filmed in 1999, until the first spinoff movie XMEN ORIGINS: Wolverine, which was filmed in 2008. During that end of his first decade he ended that phase with Australia and Origins. Other films included Kate and Leopold/Somwhere Like You/Swordfish/Van Helsing, XMen : 1-3,


It was also during that period that he was in the yearlong run of The Boy From Oz, which seemed like an epiphany for him : he rediscovered the magic of a live performance and more so, the audience interaction aspects. This experience eventually led him to hosting the Oscars ( something that he probably never thought was within his reach, not even in a million dreams ). But that was from 2003- 2004, while the Oscars hosting came in early 2009 ( after moving to NYC). After TBFO, he began working on interesting projects ( such as Aronofsky's The Fountain, Nolan's The Prestige, even a stint with Woody Allen ( Scoop) -- 2006 was when he had 6 films released ( including his first work with animation voiceover, Flushed Away and Happy Feet. In 2007-2008, he filmed Australia ( a project which he probably did for both professional and personal reasons)…

He did come back to Broadway in 2009 for A STEADY RAIN ( his first foray in stage dramas). He also tried his hand in his first family-friendly movie ( not animation) with Real Steel, which was quite successful after initial audience apprehensions with the film subject. He went back to Broadway ( Back on Broadway) in late 2011 before filming Les Miserables. What followed was one of his most prolific years -- Les Miserables filmed in 2012,a reteaming with his Kate and Leopold director James Mangold in The Wolverine ( filmed after Les Miserables), then The Wolverine, Prisoners... and Days of Future Past ( not sure as to the timing - I need to check on this). There was another attempt to work with a successful director( Joe Wright in PAN) but the film did not sit well with audiences. That was followed by a return to Broadway with Butterworth's The River. Another filler-movie but was quite well-received was Eddie The Eagle. Then he started pre-production for two passion projects which would become important milestones in his career : the finale movie of his Wolverine years, called LOGAN ( which scored extremely well with both the critics and audiences and his first original movie musical ( a project of very long duration, The Greatest Showman)


Just a stray thought -- did his move to NYC helped a lot in his becoming self-assured in his career? For one, it gave him the opportunity to practice his art in both performing branches, film and theatre. NYC may have also helped him discover an environment that encouraged a more fulfilling lifestyle, with new circles of associates and friends ( such as Gerry Schoenfeld) in his own and in other fields. He also found his voice for his chosen advocacies -- New York was were his LAUGHING MAN advocacy sprouted its seeds. The one career venture that seemed very promising but fizzled out after a few attempts was the creation of SEED to sprout new film or stage ventures. As a matter of fact, The Greatest Showman was first announced as a project of SEED in tandem with FOX where they had a deal. On the negative side and given the size of SEED ( modelled after the Buena Vista template of Disney and concentrated on smaller-scale films) -- in a sense his involvement as leading man for SEED projects sort of stymied his involvement with big studio projects ( excluding the XMEN franchise). But that association ended in the 2010's.


At this point, he is now looking at a new career path without Wolverine. The first step was taking an indie project called The Front Runner -- which views the Gary Hart Scandal within the ambit of a changing role of media as national observers. He has been rumored for other new projects ( one is Bad Education and the other is The Good Spy) which seem to indicate his interest in exploring other film subjects.


Jo

[jo]

Publicity profile for MONTBLANC, but it also lets us in on Hugh Jackman the person.


www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/mens-style/hugh-jackman-timeless-allure-nyc-best-place-date-night-bespoke/

Telegraph Luxury Men's Style

Hugh Jackman on the timeless allure of NYC, the best place for date night and why bespoke is best


Montblanc ambassador Hugh Jackman Credit: Getty
Stephen Doig
5 June 2018 • 10:31am

The actor on the daily indulgences and grand vistas that make life sweeter.


What’s your definition of luxury?

It means treating yourself as important, in whatever form that takes. It could be clothing, or it could be choosing to spend time on yourself.




What is your ideal destination?

New York is our home and I love it, but it takes a while to switch back into the pace after being away. I’ve just been to the Turks and Caicos Islands, which was like a dream. The colours of the sea and the sky are hard to comprehend.

Australia is still very close to my heart too. I can see the sunset on Bondi beach from my balcony in Sydney. And Byron Bay is an incredible place: the food, the surf, the people, the music… Everything is designed to put you at ease.


What drew you to becoming an ambassador for Montblanc?

My aunt is a real film snob, and when I told her I was going to work with them she said, ‘Finally, some class!’ I think luxury means having a rich history and honouring it. I’ve been to the company’s leather workshop in Florence, and the level of expertise there is something else.

Who are your favourite designers?

I have been lucky enough to have suits made for me by Tom Ford, Dunhill and others. Once you go bespoke, it’s very hard to go back.


Where do you go on date night?

Eleven Madison Park is an incredible restaurant in New York. My wife and I are about to have our 22nd wedding anniversary, but our dining tastes differ a great deal. She likes a 45-minute affair; I like a long, drawn-out meal with wine pairings – Eleven Madison does a fantastic eight-course menu, and you get to have more wine that way.



What’s your favourite form of transport?

A bike – always. It’s the best way to see a city.

What’s your poison?

I’m a big coffee drinker. An Italian roast from Laughing Man is the best (it’s a charitable foundation I founded to help coffee farmers in Ethiopia). That stuff will keep you going.
montblanc.com

It seems that this interview was done on or before mid-April. Also, some quote seems to be repetitions from earlier interviews?

[jo]

A different kind of interview ( with role-playing with the interviewer - kind of ) --

For XMEN ORIGINS : WOLVERINE publicity campaign.




I wonder who is going to sue whom ( to uphold the Me,Too campaign) - LOL!


Hugh is ever the gentleman …


JO

[njr]

Jun 20, 2018 17:26:32 GMT -5 jo said:

A different kind of interview ( with role-playing with the interviewer - kind of ) --

For XMEN ORIGINS : WOLVERINE publicity campaign.




I wonder who is going to sue whom ( to uphold the Me,Too campaign) - LOL!


Hugh is ever the gentleman …


JO

Lucky girl! She sure had balls to do that! I remember seeing that video when it first came out. I bet Deb wasn’t too pleased, but took it in stride.

[mamaleh]

I remember that rather forward interview, too. Hugh’s playing along added to the fun. What surprised me was musicals-fan Hugh’s unfamiliarity with most of the lyrics of “Tonight.” Or maybe he was so nonplussed by the interviewer’s more than friendly manner.

Ellen

[kathyn]

I've seen this, too. She was very forward but lucky her. lol

[jo]

Thanks to Jackman'sLanding for this find --


magazin.lufthansa.com/xx/en/people-en/im-in-the-business-of-illusion/

Hugh Jackman
“I’m in the business of illusion”
Hugh Jackman
Interview


INTERVIEW RÜDIGER STURM
Musical star, actor, model and Oscar host: Hugh Jackman is an all-rounder. In an interview, he talks about his fear of singing, about big egos, small problems and the end of Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman
… was born in ­­Sydney in 1968. Although he was already well known in Australia, his international career took off with the X-Men film series in 2000. Other hits include Les Misérables (2012) and Prisoners (2013).


Mr. Jackman, In The Greatest Showman, you portray the famous circus showman P.T. Barnum. Is he a role modelHe is an inspiration, but I am quite different from him. We may share how we believe in connecting with an audience and making it feel that it’s special, that it’s not just another night. Barnum was also a marketing genius, who said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”


Who’s the greatest showman of our time?

Steve Jobs was one and Richard Branson is, too. I also understand the comparison to Trump. Both he and Barnum understand the media and what people want, and they both published populist books about how to make money: Barnum, The Art of Money Getting, and Trump, The Art of the Deal.


Do you admire successful people like that?

I admire great athletes and the Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the founder of microcredit, and Deepak Chopra, the spiritual writer. But the greatest hero I ever met was Nelson Mandela. What I admire about Barnum is how he influenced the way we think. The idea that your talent, your imagination, your hard work can define you and your success.


What’s your relationship to the art of making money?

Very clear, very healthy. I didn’t have much money in the beginning when I met my wife, who is also an actor, and neither did she. But we were as happy as we are now. This goes for my family, too. Whenever my mother was given something for Christmas, you knew someone else would be getting it for their birthday. She once said the best present that she ever got from me were the 20 home-cooked dinners I once gave her. I’m probably the least materialist person you’ll ever meet, and that’s the big difference between P. T. Barnum and me.


When did you first get interested in show business?

When I sang in a school concert at age 5. I never felt like a singer, but I was always doing it. Then, when I got a job in Beauty and the Beast in 1995, my contract included singing lessons paid for by the producer. It was clear that I was not a slam-dunk song-and-dance man. Anyway, singing scared the crap out of me.


That bad?

Once, in 1997, I had to sing the Australian national anthem at the Bledisloe Cup, a big rugby match between Australia and New Zealand – in front of 100 000 spectators. People had been booed off in the past, but I said I would sing. I had the only anxiety attack I ever had in my life the night before. Walking out, I asked myself: “Why am I doing this?”


How did you overcome your fear?

That’s something I learned to do as a kid. My older brothers used to do crazy things, like jumping off very high cliffs into the ocean. When I was afraid to try, they made fun of me. So I learned how to face challenges. But my singing role in the musical Oklahoma was actually a stepping stone to Hollywood for me. When I was meeting with agents there, they all said, “You were incredible in Oklahoma!” I asked, “Did you see the show?” They answered, “No, but we heard about it.”


On a more serious note, you suffer from skin cancer and have had to have surgery several times …

That was ultimately just a small health problem. Basal cell carcinoma, nothing anyone ever died of. It’s just something you have to watch. I mention it because I want people to get regular check-ups and use sunscreen, something I didn’t do as a kid.


You sound so relaxed about it …

That’s probably because I’ve been doing transcendental meditation since 1992. Not for the religious experience but as a technique. I do it twice a day and it helps to calm my mind.


Has it improved your life, too?

Definitely. My level of happiness, my capacity for embracing people and situations. It has also increased my ability to trust myself and not get overwhelmed. And I am far more efficient than I used to be. Above all, it keeps me grounded, which is particularly important since I work in the business of illusion.


So why do you appear to be losing interest in your work? You refuse to return to the X-Men films as Wolverine …

That’s not why. A little bit of me thinks: It’s the first time you have been fully satisfied seeing the character on the screen! But what sparked the ending was a discussion I had with comedian Jerry Seinfeld. When I asked him why he ended his legendary show, he said, “If you leave at the right time, you are propelled into whatever is next with a sense of energy and excitement. But if you stay too long…” That rang true to me.

At the start of filming the first X-Men movie, I thought I was going
to get fired any minute



Did you really have a hard time getting into the role?

At the start of filming the first X-Men movie, I thought I was going to get fired any minute. I wanted to please the director, but what I was doing didn’t feel right, so I thought, “I’m just going to do what I want. If I go down, I’ll go down swinging, not feeling meek.” Actually, he liked what I was doing better than before!


Are there any perks to no longer being Wolverine?

The training was crazy. Don’t do it. You can’t eat carbohydrates and you feel flat and drained.


At least you became the Sexiest Man Alive …

I took that with a little smile. I know it was lobbied for by the studio at the time. Nothing but illusions! Believe me, I know who I am and what is real and what isn’t.

Hugh is so disarmingly honest ( such as the comment on the studio lobbying for his Sexiest Man Alive title) and so refreshingly open.


Jo

[jo]

Reposting this article from the thread on THE FRONT RUNNER --

Sept 29, 2018 16:18:22 GMT -5 jo said:

An interview with Filipino-American Hollywood-based journalist re THE FRONT RUNNER and other stuff …

including the hints on a new musical


entertainment.inquirer.net/295874/hugh-jackman-talks-turning-50

Only In Hollywood

Hugh Jackman talks about turning 50

By: Ruben V. Nepales - Columnist
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 12:40 AM September 30, 2018

Jackman (center) in “The Front Runner”


LOS ANGELES—As he turns 50 next month, Hugh Jackman continues to be one of the rare actors who tackle various genres and excel in each one of them—musical, drama, action, superhero and romantic comedy.

The 2013 Golden Globe best actor-comedy or musical winner for “Les Miserables” is set to star in “Bad Education,” reportedly inspired by screenwriter Mike Makowsky’s experience in high school. The movie is said to be akin to Reese Witherspoon’s film, “Election.” The Aussie actor is rumored to play operative Robert Ames in “The Good Spy,” Baltasar Kormakur’s film adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Kai Bird’s biography of the CIA man who was attempting to forge a healthy relationship between the US and Middle East nations when tragedy struck.

Hugh hinted that he will tackle another musical.

In the meantime, he portrays American Sen. Gary Hart in Jason Reitman’s “The Front Runner,” based on Matt Bai’s book, “All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid.” The drama chronicles the rise and fall of Hart, who was a leading Democratic presidential nominee in 1988 until one week when his extramarital affair with Donna Rice was exposed.
Celebrating his special birthday on Oct. 12, Hugh has shared over two decades of his life with his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness. They have two children, Oscar Maximilian and Ava Eliot.



Excerpts from our chat:
As you celebrate a milestone in October, how precious is time to you?

I’m turning 50, so a lot of people are talking to me about time. Don’t worry, I’m not having a midlife crisis that I know of yet. Of course, time is precious. I watch my kids grow up very quickly. My son just turned 18, which he reminds me of every time I ask him to do something. He says, “I’m an adult now. I do what I want (laughs).”
Life is a beautiful, magical thing. The only thing we can really control is our attitude to it. Different events happen to all of us—good, bad, indifferent. Time is no different. I see time like money. I see it as energy. You can choose to spend it any way you like.

How do you plan to celebrate this big 5-0 birthday? I’m negotiating that as we speak (laughs).

My wife would want the whole city to come to my birthday party. I’d probably like a dinner party for 10 so we’re going to meet somewhere in the middle. We’ll do something but it’s going to be fun. No speeches. One of the key things for parties is you should be able to walk there or at least be driven (laughs) … within three blocks. That’s the radius.



Will you do another musical?

Yes, but I can’t announce it just yet. But yes, there is singing and dancing in my near-ish future. I love it, yeah.

Are you already preparing for that?

I dance every day. Well, five or six days a week, I dance. I sing every day. The great author Oliver Sacks is one of my favorites. He was famously played in “Awakenings.” He takes a pair of flippers everywhere he goes. Everywhere. He says, “You never know when you’re going to be near water, and I love being under the water, so I need flippers (laughs).” Well, I have tap shoes in my bag, and I dance every day because you just never know when that dance floor is coming.

It would be great to watch you dance.

It would be better for me to dance than to talk, honestly. It would probably be more interesting (laughs).




Did you talk to Gary Hart in preparing to play him in “The Front Runner”?

I tried not to probe too much about that horrible week. I had read a lot about it. I knew a lot about it. He did tell me some things I didn’t know about. But one thing that he said to me is, “If there’s anything I had in terms of an ability in politics was the ability to see 10 years in advance.”

He’s on record in 1984 talking about how the Cold War is already over, what we need to worry about is the power vacuum which will lead to the rise of extremism in the Middle East. Now this was 1984. He actually wrote a report to the Clinton administration warning in 1998 that there would be an attack, thousands will die, that we need to look at flight training centers.

He was an incredibly prescient man.

(On questions about his personal life) … that’s a private discussion that “I should have with my wife, that is no one else’s business.” He got that wrong. He couldn’t just let that go. It’s a very different world now.




Over the years, how has your attitude toward being hounded by the press evolved?

Actors and politicians are under the microscope. It’s a completely different lens from where I stand. I’m sure there are some actors who find it suffocating and unbearable. I don’t. But I get nervous for my family. I’m fully aware I was 30 when I did “X-Men,” so any kind of big media attention didn’t happen until I was 30.

Hopefully by 30, you know who you are, what you stand for, what’s important to you. I went in with my eyes wide open. My kids are born into it. They have no choice. I try my hardest to protect them. And that’s where some of the difficulty has occurred for me.

I was chatting with someone the other day. For me, fame is a weird thing. I never wanted fame, I never sought it, I didn’t ask for it. But if someone says to you, “Ruben, I’m going to give you the keys to a Lamborghini. Occasionally in your life, there’s going to be traffic. Do you still want the keys?” You’re going to say, “Yeah.” And that’s how fame is for me (laughs).


You’re one of the actors who are good at finding balance between life and work. Can you talk about your struggle to say yes or no to certain opportunities?

When Deb and I got married, we made a pact that we would look at each other at every turning point. We would ask ourselves, is this good or bad for our family? Seems a simple question. The family is four of us so it may be great for my career but terrible for the family or actually it may be a bit of a sacrifice for the family but really good for me and important for the kids to see their parents doing the thing we love.

So it’s not necessarily an easy answer, but I would never have found the balance that I found if it wasn’t for Deb. I can tell you at least seven or eight times in the last 25 years when my eyes lit up with, oh, this opportunity, that opportunity. I just look over at Deb, and she would just give me a look like no, this is not the time and she’s just unbelievable with that.

No one has her feet further on the ground than Deb. She’s been in the business. She understands opportunity when it’s time. Like okay, you should go. No one knows about this. When I was offered “Oklahoma” in London, she was offered a spot at the very prestigious directing school of Victorian College of the Arts (in Melbourne). That’s impossible to get into. There are only two or three taken a year.

I said, “We’ll stay” and she said, “No, you need to go. We need to go to London and you need to do ‘Oklahoma.’ I never forget Deb’s selflessness in saying that because I know she always wanted to direct and that was a big moment for her. At the same point of her saying that, there’d be times when I’ll say, oh my God, there’s this film and it’s such and such and it’s this and that. She would look at me. She’s like no, now is not the time. She is just the best barometer of that.

It looks like the possibility for a new musical ( which presumably will be on Broadway, based on his response to the same question from the YahooEntertainment Facebook Q&A) looks more probable now, with this reconfirmation of his evolving plans! Yeah!!!!


Jo

[hughmanity]

Seems this great picture was taken during that interview (based on the photo cred)

[jo]

This is not an official recap from the Howard Stern Show nor is it a video clip or a podcast.


But Howard Stern's most fanatic fan keeps a journal of everything that happens to the show


He transcribes everything he heard in today's broadcast -- until we get a video clip or an official podcast or report fromt the show, this seems to be our only source of info now. Also, this may be accurate or not - but at least we get the gist of the long interview.


marksfriggin.com/news.htm

Please scroll down --


This is going to be super-long!

LOl - you may need to take an intermission to finish reading it

*Hugh Jackman Visits. 11/12/18. 8:50am

After the break they played a Marfan Mike promo for Hugh Jackman. They also played the Fred theme song and a Lenny Dykstra ''Pussy Eating Sex Tip'' bit. They played a phony phone call the guys made to a guy selling a Three Stooges thing with clips of Gary talking about why women don't love the Stooges like guys do. They played a song parody Mark McGrath sang about Gary to the tune of Sugar Ray's ''Every Morning.'' They played Van Halen's ''Eruption'' as they were coming back. Fred threw in some Yoko Ono clips over that song.

Howard came back and said he has Hugh Jackman there. Howard said he's a good looking young man. He said he looks good. Hugh thanked him for that. He said he finished a movie on Saturday night and he finished at 4. He said it's called Bad Education. He said it was a scandal about a school superintendent who was part of a $12 million embezzlement thing. He said the guy got the school to number 4 in the country. He said the story is really interesting. Howard asked if the guy is out of prison. Hugh said he is. He said now he's a tutor online. He said he hasn't met the guy though. Howard asked if it is necessary to meet someone you play. Hugh said it isn't but he did when he was going to play Gary Hart. He said he had to meet Gary. He said he was super nervous about portraying him in the worst 3 weeks of his life.




Howard said this movie is about Gary Hart who was fucking around on his wife and back then you didn't know how to handle things. He said now you know you just deny it. Hugh said that there's a line in his final speech about how things in your public life are interesting but not really important. Howard said back in the day when you were caught cheating you didn't become president. Hugh said it escalated for him because it was the start of 24/7 TV and things like that. He said it was a steamroller. Howard said the guy would freak out when they'd ask him about the affair. Hugh said there's a great scene where they're coaching him and he says it's none of your business. He said that he was a private guy and he was protective of his family.

Howard asked if he would have been a good president. Hugh said he thinks he would have. He said he met Gary and he was introduced to him by one of his campaign team. Howard said Jason Reitman asked him to play this part and he wanted to meet with Gary Hart. Howard said he's going full Daniel Day Lewis trying to get into his head. Hugh said he wanted to tell him to his face that he respects him and he's going to take this seriously. Howard asked if he had to write him. Hugh said they were introduced via email. Howard asked what would motivate Gary to meet with him. Hugh said h thinks that he knew he had good intentions with this script. He said that this book had come out and he had worked with the author on that. Howard asked if he was nervous going to meet with him. Hugh said oh yeah.

Howard asked where he met with him. Hugh said he flew out to Denver and he lives outside of there. He said that the guy is very private so he's not sure if he can share some of these stories. He said the intro was through Gary or Doug and they got started talking and they met and he met him curbside at the airport. Howard said then he's in the car with Gary Hart. Hugh said he was nervous. He said he didn't know what that moment was going to be like. He said Gary shook his hand and the other hand was on his cheek. He said it was his way of making him feel comfortable. He said it didn't feel weird at all. He said that the guy is the same age as his father and his father is as private as Gary is. He said that he had this thing that was like it was meeting his father. He said it calmed him right down. He said they talked like they had known each other forever.

Howard asked if Gary asked if he was going to show him fucking Donna Rice and things like that. Hugh said not at all. He said he spent 3 days with the guy. He said his wife had just had hip surgery. He said that the wife can't climb the stairs so they were sleeping downstairs. He said he just slept in their bed up in the bedroom. He said it was amazing.
Howard said he'd never even let him use his bathroom. Howard asked if his house is better or is Gary Hart's. He said Hugh has stayed at his place. Howard said he must be better host. Hugh said they're equally as good. Howard said he didn't let him stay in his bed. Hugh said he did stay up until 11 at night. He said he was a little upset that they didn't go to bed at 8:30.




Howard said Gary Hart got caught in a scandal. He said his wife stayed with him. Hugh said they just celebrated their 60th anniversary. Hugh said they separated twice and they had met at 19 so they had some rocky periods. He said that he witnessed one of the most loving and caring relationships. Howard said he has seen that before where they stay together and they rekindle things. Hugh said he wanted to ask about that rocky stuff and how that works out. Howard asked if he ever asked them about what they said to their daughter. Hugh said he didn't ask. Howard said when you're going to play a guy who is still alive and you go there for three days what do you pick up. He asked if you pick up speech or mannerisms. Hugh said on the performance side it's how he makes people feel around him. He said all of us are different. He said Howard is probably the same all the time. Howard said he is shallow. Hugh said that we're all different around people. He said he wants to see how he is publicly. He said he picked up on his warmth and generosity. He said he is playing his life and this is his life and legacy. He said he felt from Gary was care for him. He said he wanted to make him feel at ease. He said he didn't have to do that.




Hugh said that Gary's whole campaign team flew to Denver to see the movie with him. He said that's how much they cared about him. Howard said he must be haunted by that whole thing and how close he came to being president. Hugh said he thinks it's been really hard on him. He said the last couple of years especially. He said you see where the country is going and he sees that he knows what to do. He said that he isn't even on TV. He said in 1998 Clinton put him in charge of security in this country and he was the one who came up with Homeland Security. He said that Gary was the one who said there would be an attack on this country. He said no one paid attention until something happened. He said he was in the garage with Steve Jobs. He said that he was a visionary. He said that he had to watch all of this change because of this affair.

Howard said we don't really care about that stuff. He said that Gary Hart asked the press to follow him around and they'd be really bored. Hugh said they were already following him around. He said that he was being staked out before that article came out.

Howard asked what they did in those three days at Gary's house. Hugh said that they walked around the property and talked. He said Gary is now in his 80s.




Howard said he should do a movie about this own father. He said his father was something else. Hugh said he doesn't remember his father having any time to himself. He said he was a partner at Price Waterhouse and that had to be a 70 hour a week job. He said he had to raise 5 kids. He said you had to rotate cooking and cleaning and all of that. Howard asked where he was in the age range. Hugh said he was the youngest.

Howard asked how old he was when his mother left. Hugh said he was 8. He said he asked his mom why it was that she left. He said he's still asking questions. He said about a year and a half ago he spent some time with her. He said he had a clearer focus on things and he asked her. He said she was able to answer him openly and honestly. Howard said if he ever had a real conversation with his mom about that stuff he'd be afraid of breaking her.

Hugh said he knows how much work Howard has done over the years. He said he thinks that he would have had him talk to his mother. Howard said he has gotten shot down trying to talk to her. Howard said she just gets too upset.

Howard asked why his mom left. Hugh said he's not sure he can say. He said he has four siblings that he has to think about. He said that it felt like there was another person making those choices at the time. Howard said maybe she was handling things her own way and had to do it to handle her mental health. Hugh said this was in the mid 70s so it was a different time. He said it was a whole different thing.

Howard asked Hugh if he felt like it was his fault. Hugh said not at all. He said that he was embarrassed that his mother left. He said that he was afraid that people thought about him like that was the guy whose mother left. He said he just wanted things to be normal. Howard said he wanted to fit in.




Howard said Hugh's brothers called him a poufter for wanting to be a singer and dancer. Hugh said he was in 5th grade and he came home asking to take dance lessons. He said his dad was all for it. He said that his father didn't believe in getting new sneakers but he'd pay for a new instrument. Hugh said that his brother was talking about him like that and he wasn't thinking that way at all. He said he did musicals at school and all of that. Howard said it does take balls to be in a high school musical. Hugh said he was in an all boys school and they did the plays with the all girl's school. He said everyone wanted to be in that musical because of that.

Hugh said at 18 he wasn't thinking about dancing. He said he went to see 42nd Street with his dad and brother and his brother told him he should be up on that stage and he was wrong for saying what he said to him.

Howard said Hugh went for acting school when his grandmother left him some money in her will. He said that he was a bad actor when he started. Howard said if you work at it you can learn to be an actor. He said it's a skill. Hugh said he was all in. He said there was a main teacher who hated him and he thought he was just there fresh off the bench. Howard said it's great when he makes it and they didn't. Howard said he was thinking about radio like that. He said he got more and more well known and successful and he was like ''Fuck you guys.''

Howard said Hugh worked as a party clown. He asked if he was good. Hugh said he was good with kids up to the age of 3. He said he could juggle and do that but nothing more. He said he didn't have the ability to do balloon animals or anything. He said his last party was for an 8 year old and the kid was talking about how he was crap. He said he looked in his bag and got out three eggs and he broke all three. He said they had the eggs and they were throwing it at him. He said they were kicking the shit out of him too. He said it was pathetic. He said he never went back after that one. He said he was crap so he had to give it up.




Howard asked Hugh about leaving Gary Hart's house and what happened after that. Hugh said he left and he felt like he had a good friend. He said they still stay in touch. He said on the way to the airport Gary gave him his 100 day plan and it would be a different world if he had been president. He said he had a plan for the Middle East and all of that. He said that education was his number one thing. He said things would have been so different today. Howard said if he had not been caught up in scandal then things would have changed.

Hugh said that Gary told him that presidents don't have to be president for two terms if they are doing a good job. He said Gary said that they also go domestic and then they go international 9 months in. He said Gary told him that he was going to finish with the cold war and he was going to go to the middle east and make a deal with them over there. He said that he would stay there for weeks if he had to. Hugh said then Gary said he would come back and he'd be conservative. He said he thought he'd have a 65 percent approval rating. He said then he would go after education and make that his focus. He said then he'd be in Air Force One talking about what he wanted to do with education and within that 100 days he would have had an education system that would have prepared people for the future.

Howard said all people wanted to ask him was about having sex with Donna Rice. Hugh said he hopes he doesn't mind him saying this but he has such great respect for him. He said Gary would say that he could see into the future. He said as a leader that's what he wants. He said he met Charon Perez and he knew he'd be unpopular for a lot of his leadership. He said you have to do those things even the people are against you.

Hugh said that he did a bit in the movie where Gary would draw a graph. He said it got cut out of the movie though. He explained it to Howard and said that you should judge your politicians on how far into the future your politicians want to take you. He said that it's not on the left or right but the up or down which is the future and past.
Howard said it's such a shame that all of this happened with Gary. Hugh said his voice was lost to public life. He said John McCain was so important too. Hugh said he asked him if he was ever asked to be a lobbyist. He said Gary said he was and he was sickened by it.




Howard asked if he talked about Trump. Hugh said he did. He said Gary thinks this is a good way to go back to first principles. He said this is a republic and the backbone if a republic is civic duty. He said it goes back to the JFK thing where he said ''Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.'' He said Gary sees this as a wakeup call. He said Gary is just saying forget that, we have a very divided system. He said we all have to get involved. He said everyone should be involved.

Howard said it must be so intense for this guy. He said he could have been the greatest president but they just don't know. Hugh said that Gary feels the weight of the people dying in the middle east. He said he was talking about our dependence on oil in 1984. He said that there wouldn't have been any Afghanistan or Iraq if he was president.

Howard said the movie is called ''Front Runner.'' Hugh said that Gary liked the movie and he said that his wife is the strongest woman who he's ever met. Howard said somewhere along the road he got tempted and got powerful and gave into his needs. He said it ruined his whole life. Hugh said he's not even sure that happened. He said they had some separations. He said they never revealed if the affair happened. He didn't ask him about it. Howard said those are tough conversations.




Howard asked Hugh about doing the movie Les Mis and how he got an Oscar nomination for that. He said then Daniel Day Lewis wins every time. He asked if he ever asks what the fuck this is. Hugh said never. He said his publicist rang him the morning of and told him not bother writing a speech.




Howard said that Hugh did Wolverine and he was eating a dozen eggs a day. Hugh said he did. He said that he loves acting and there are actors who will risk their lives for that kind of thing. He said he didn't love Wolverine so much to shrink his balls. Howard said he was very veiny as Wolverine. Hugh said he's a skinny person so the veins show. He said he had to get into shape to play that role. He said he was doing push ups before doing scenes. He said he was holding things in his hands so he was all pumped up. He said that's how he got that going. He said the trainers didn't care how you were acting but they'd show how to show off all of the muscle.

Howard said it must have felt great being in shape. Hugh said it did. He said the hard thing is being in Ketosis and you have no energy. He said that you are burning fat at a really rapid rate. He said then there's the dehydration. He said you drink a ton of water the week before. He said then you stop. He said you lose 10 pounds of water weight. He said then you have sugar and then you watch your veins bursting out. He said the sugar goes right into your blood stream.
Howard said after you do the movie you must have to recover. Hugh said he probably thinks that it's easier to stay in shape than get into shape. He said that you feel like crap and feel tired. He said then he'd get down. He said he goes to the gym 4 times a week now. He said he was good at squatting and stuff but not at benching. Howard said he heard he was benching 350. Hugh said he was doing like 240 or so.

Howard said they wanted Russell Crow to play Wolverine. Hugh said absolutely. He said that Gladiator was about to come out and he thinks he didn't want to do it. He said Russell told them to look at him. He said he had done nothing at that point. He said he had done some theater and some films and he was doing Oklahoma at the time. He said he had a baseball cap on and they asked him to take it off and then they saw his hair and told him to put it back on.

Howard said he thought that the movie was about wolves or something. Hugh said he didn't know anything about X-Men and he didn't know there was even an animal called Wolverine. He said he was told to go down the road to see one at the zoo. He said that he was told to watch Mad Max to see how to play this character.

Howard said when you play Wolverine you don't have to play a wolf. Howard said his wife told him not to take the part. Hugh said his wife was going off 3 pages of the movies. He said this is the only time she's ever been wrong. He said he went to the audition and he saw who was going to be in it and said it had to be something else. Howard said you have to act. He said you don't know with these films. He said you don't know you'll end up in something like that.




Howard said he has played Wolverine so long. He said it's brilliant so why not. Hugh said he's told young actors to just say yes to anything. He said just do it and pay your rent. He said later on then make some choices. He said Michael Caine has said it. He said one in 10 is a success so say yes to everything.



Howard said he's not sure if this is true but Hugh turned down James Bond. Hugh said not really. He said he got a call from his agent saying they were interested and they were wondering if he was interested. Hugh said he took it as them just asking around and they were canvassing a lot of people. He said he rang Russell about that and asked what he thinks he should do. He said that he was told to just know what direction they were going in so he has to do something he really loves. He said that he thought that Bond needed a change and he thought that it had to go back to being tougher and all of that. He said then he saw Casino Royale and he was like ''Oops.'' He said it was really good. He said he's doing what he wants to do now.

Howard said he has been offered stuff that has gone on to be successful. He said that he's sure that Daniel Craig doesn't care that he turned it down and talks about turning it down. Hugh said Daniel is the funniest guy he's ever met. He said he makes him cry with laughter. He said he did a play with him and he's an amazing guy. He said he's so funny. Howard said he's always announcing that he's not going to be James Bond but then he comes back. Hugh said he's in great shape for that. He said that he was doing Les Mis and he was doing Sky Fall next door. He said that he was talking about how he was injured from jumping off an apple box. He said he was a foot away and injured his shoulder. He said that guy is funny though.




Howard asked Hugh about making a big deal out of turning 50. He said that he thinks he looks good for 50 but they say don't talk about your age. Hugh said he thinks he's happier now. He said he feels way better now about his age. He said he's happier now than he was when he was younger. He said he wouldn't mind going back now that he knows what he knows. He said he wants to feel comfortable in his own skin. He said he's getting there. Howard said he doesn't' feel that way. He said he was giving him advice in private. He said he shouldn't listen to him. He said he's having lot of anxiety now. Hugh said he knows that he'll never get rid of it but he'll deal with it. Hugh said at 18 he took things way too seriously. He said his wife gave him 3 books to read for his 50th. He said that the three books are about childhood, family and friends. He said he was looking through it and he looks a lot happier than he was feeling at the time. He said he used to think he had to hide all of that stuff.

Hugh said he would tell Jason Reitman that he was feeling nervous about a scene and he'd calm him down. He said that he'd tell him that he'd never let him go home feeling that way. Howard said that he thought it was a dumb move for Ivan Reitman's son to get into directing. He said he remembers hearing that from Ivan and he wanted to give the kid a job doing something for him and he didn't want to do that shit. He said that he's making some really good movies. He said that he must have agreed to do this Gary Hart thing right away. Hugh said he did.

Hugh said that they don't do rehearsals so they capture everything on camera. He said Jason emails everyone telling them that things will be fine. He said that they don't care how many takes they do because he knows they'll get it eventually. Howard said Ivan told him he had to figure this shit out right away. Hugh said that worked for Howard. Howard said he also coddled him. He said he broke him down and brought him back. He said Ivan was really great. He said he owes it all to Ivan and Betty Thomas too. He said you have to feel safe when you're doing a movie.



Hugh said he loves to be able to do things in different ways. He said he likes to play and explore.


Howard said Hugh did The Greatest Showman and there was a crazy thing in the news about that. Hugh said he has had some skin cancer things removed. He said he got them removed and he had about 50 stitches. He said before he goes to the doctor for his check up every 3 months... He said he was trying to get the money for The Greatest Showman. He said he went in and they had to cut something off. He said that the doctor was going away for 10 days. He said he got this thing removed and he told him he had to sing the next day. He said the doctor told him he can't sing. He said if the blood rushes to your nose it could get infected. He said he told the director this and they thought that the workshop wasn't going to happen. He said he had to have someone sit in for him. He said he did a spoken word part of one song and then he started singing and took over. He said it was a good show biz movement. He said his nose started bleeding and he had to go get it stitched back up.



Howard asked if he was freaking out about the stitches. Hugh said not at all. He said his doctor did. He said the doctor was talking about putting fat from his belly in his nose to make it even. He said he didn't care about that. Hugh said when he was 21 he was doing okay with the women but he had to work at it. He said no one was looking at him like he was a stud. Howard asked if he's saying that there's hope for them all. Hugh said he saw his poster out there and he was looking pumped up out there. Howard said that's not his body. He said they put his head on another body for that poster.
Hugh said they went in for the fat thing and it hurt so much. He said they inject it into your nose and it burns. He said that the doctor said he had to do it every 6 months. He said he got into a little bit of a fight with the guy over it. He said he's not going to do it. He said he doesn't care about it. He said there are things he cares about but not that.
Howard said he was voted world's sexiest man. Hugh laughed and said that came out a month before a big X-Men movie came out. He said the people from People said that he was going to be asked about that more than anything else in his life. He said they were right. Howard asked why he's not hosting any award shows lately. Hugh said he did that for a bunch and he would do it again. He said you have to be not working when you do it. He said that he's been working so he hasn't had the time to do it.


Hugh asked if Howard would ever host. Howard said that's too much for him. He said that it's Hollywood congratulating themselves and that's not what he does. He said it wouldn't work.

Howard said it's weird that he and Hugh worked together at the Joan Rivers funeral. He said he was nervous about it. Hugh said he's sure he was. Howard said he got the call and he didn't want to do it. He said he went to Melissa and told her what he was going to do. Howard said Hugh was there and sang. He said that he thought he knew her. Hugh said he really didn't. He said he was in her will and she asked him to sing this song he did in a musical. He said that they weren't hanging out all the time but he did see her occasionally. Howard said they were saying that he was gay when he started to do this play where he played a gay man. Howard said he heard a guy yell out ''No Wolverine! Don't do it!'' Hugh said that was true. He said that his wife saw the show about 40 times and she could hear people whispering about him in the bathroom. She just said ''He isn't!'' when she heard the whispering.

Howard said they should do a Wolverine the Musical. Howard said that would be the best. He started to sing a song about Wolverine.



Howard said he's said it all. He said that Hugh is the greatest actor that has ever lived. He said he sings and dances. Hugh said he would call in if he ever brings that up again to argue with him. Howard said he can play such a wide range of characters. He asked if he is not the best actor that has ever lived. Hugh said not at all. He rattled off a bunch of names of actors that are great. He said if he added something about being versatile then maybe he'd be in the top 10. Howard said Joan Rivers didn't put any of them in her funeral. He said she asked him to be there. Hugh thanked her for doing that.



Howard said that this new movie is called ''Front Runner.'' Howard said he and his wife have rules about how long they're apart from one another. Hugh said that they do have a 2 week rule. He said they don't work at the same time either. He said her mom is the nicest woman on the planet. He said he loves her. He said she sat him down and got uber serious with him. He said she made him promise her four things. He said she made him promise he'd be honest with Deb. He'd never go to bed on an angry word, that he'd love her daughter as much as he can forever and he'd be a patron of the bone marrow place she worked at. He said she passed two years ago sadly. He said just be honest with the person and you can make a relationship work. He said she knows more about him than anyone else. Howard asked if he tells her everything. Hugh said always. Howard asked if he makes doody in front of her. Hugh said he does. Howard said that ruins things. Hugh said he and his wife will chant in the bathroom while he's on his Squatty Potty and she's brushing her teeth. He said Deb will doody in front of him. He said she'd hate him talking about it with Howard. Howard said if he sees her he's going to tell her not to do that. He said that he must be really in love. Robin said she told Howard there are people like that in this world. Howard said he has never seen his wife do that and she has never seen him do it.

Hugh said that his friend farted and he had never farted in front of his wife before. He said that's just so much hard work. He said his friend made him take blame for farting in front of his wife. He said that's just too much. Howard said if you're walking down the street and you see an attractive woman then you don't say anything. Hugh said two times out of 10. He said both he and Deb talk about how hot people are. He said he does edit a little bit.



Howard said he hasn't seen Hugh in 9 years. Hugh said his wife doesn't want him talking about how big his dick is. He said he thinks Howard is the best interviewer though. He said Deb loves him though. Howard said look at you. He said wait until she hears about the doody. Hugh said she'll say that he went too far.

Howard said when he was on the show last time he was very open. He said he talked about how he will get an erection in a love scene. Hugh said that Deb said that she was doing a movie early on and she asked what she should do if the guy gets a boner and the other actress said she would be pissed if he didn't.



Howard said that Ivanka and Jared showed up to his 50th birthday. Hugh said he's known them for 15 years or more. He said that they have the same group of friends and they're great friends. He said that if your friend's dad becomes president do you just dump them? He said that would be weird. He said he values their loyalty to him. He said that he'd hate to think that he can't say they're his friends and he's not going to dump them. He said we all have friends we disagree with on some things.



Howard said he wants him to feel free to fart in front of him. He said he thinks this is a terrific performance in this movie. He asked if he's done with Wolverine now. Hugh said he is. He said he did finish it after his conversation with Jerry Seinfeld. He said they were offering him a crazy amount of money to continue it. He said Jerry told him not to run the tank dry. He said you can really over do it. He said you leave with something left in the tank. Howard said maybe there is more in the tank. Hugh said he made the announcement with Marvel before that last film.


Hugh said if he changes his mind he'll let Howard and Robin know. Howard said please consider him for Wolverine the Musical. Hugh said he's got it.


Howard said Hugh Jackman has poured his heart out to them today. He said he put his life into this movie about Gary Hart. He said now you have to go see the movie. He said Hugh has done his job and now you do your part. Howard said that the movie opens up on November 21st. Howard asked what else he's doing. Hugh said he's doing Colbert today and a bunch of other shows like Ellen and things out in L.A. Howard wrapped up and went to break a short time later

Hugh Jackman Recap. 11/12/18. 10:25am

After the break they played a Lifestyle Tips for the Elderly with Ronnie the Limo Driver bit. They also played James Gang's ''Walk Away'' as they were coming back.

Howard came back and did a live commercial read and then said if you believe Hugh Jackman it's possible to become that good looking by just willing it. He said he just hit the gym and became good looking. Robin said that's not what he said. Robin said you have to have bone structure. Robin asked if he saw that thing circulating around with him with short hair. Robin said he looked quite handsome. She said she has it to show him. Howard said he doesn't want to see it. Robin said they had just swapped his hair for a cropped haircut. Howard said please don't do that. He said just leave it alone. He said he has enough problems. He said he needs to cover up his face. Robin said she thought the result was a good one.
Howard said he's sure she gets turned on by Hugh Jackman. Robin said she loves everything about him, not just his looks. She said she likes the kind of human being he is. Robin said he's a great guy.

Howard said he gave him some books so he better read them. He said each page has only one quote on it. he said he's not sure if it's supposed to be private. Howard gave the names of the books. He said he will read them. He said they're small.

Howard said they sent over the movie. He said this system is set up by the movie studios. He said he has the system and they had his movie Front Runner for him to watch. He said across the upper third of the screen they have Howard Stern and the date in big letters on the screen. He said that he wasn't able to see Hugh's face as Gary Hart. He said he got annoyed. He said he had to look around the big HOWARD STERN on the screen. He said the movie was so riveting that he had to watch the rest of it. He said that the movie studios are nuts doing this. He asked if they really think he's going to steal it. He asked if they think that low of him. He's not going to steal the movie.

[jo]

He said he finished a movie on Saturday night and he finished at 4. He said it's called Bad Education.

That explains why he has a fresh haircut!


Ok, Mr. Jackman -- what's next


JO

[jo]

[jo]

No international access to the link. Can someone please reproduce the interview as shown from the link?

Thanks!

Jo

[jo]

More clips /official reports of the interview --

Hugh Jackman on Retiring From Wolverine, Writing an...

Hugh Jackman on Retiring From Wolverine, Writing an Oscar Speech, and the Movie Role He Wishes He Didn’t Turn Down
Actor also talks meeting with former politician Gary Hart for his new movie “The Front Runner”

Nov. 12, 2018


The time has finally come for Hugh Jackman to retract his adamantium claws once and for all. On Monday’s Stern Show, the superhero actor confirmed he will no longer play Wolverine in any future X-Men movies after the box office and critical success of 2017’s “Logan.”

“I feel good because I was really proud of that last film,” Hugh told Howard.

But as Stern Show co-host Robin Quivers pointed out, there’ve been plenty of people before Hugh who’ve said they were done with a certain role only to eventually reprise it later on. Should Hugh ever have a change of heart himself and suit up to play Wolverine once again, he promised he’d come on the Stern Show and tell Howard and Robin first.
“I’ll make you a deal - if I change my mind, I’ll tell you guys,” Hugh told them.

Had it not been for fellow Aussie actor Russell Crowe, Hugh might never have starred in any of the X-Men movies. According to Jackman, it was Crowe who producers first wanted to play Wolverine but he turned the role down and suggested the then-unknown Jackman instead. Hugh admitted to Howard he’d not only never heard of the X-Men, he also didn’t know what a wolverine was.

“I didn’t know there was an animal called a wolverine,” Hugh said. “I came to set after studying wolves.”
The wolf training wasn’t necessary to play Wolverine but the gym training definitely was. Hugh told Howard how important his diet and exercise regimen was in attaining his superhero physique. He also made it clear he never used any steroids in order to bulk up, especially considering their undesired side effects.
“I don’t love Wolverine enough to shrink my balls to the size of a raisin,” Hugh said.



Photo: 20th Century Fox

There were also some on-set tricks that helped make Hugh look more pumped up than he actually was. “If my hands are out of shot, I’m holding sandbags or 40-pound weights,” he revealed. And even though Howard read Hugh could bench press 350 pounds, Hugh confessed he couldn’t come close to lifting that much weight.

“It’s bullshit. It’s probably from me. I probably bullshitted,” Hugh said with a laugh.
His turns as Wolverine made him a worldwide movie star but Hugh told Howard there was another film franchise that he came close to starring in – the James Bond movies.

“I got a call from my agent saying, 'They’re interested in you for Bond,'” Hugh remembered, though he suspects there were multiple actors being considered for the high-profile part at the time. After reading the script, Hugh felt the role wasn’t right for him and could potentially take up too much of his time. He passed and the 007 job went to Daniel Craig.
“I go to see ‘Casino Royale’ … I was like, ‘Oops,’” Hugh said of seeing the Bond sequel and realizing how good it turned out to be.



Photo: The Howard Stern Show


It was another film, though, that Hugh said he truly regrets turning down. When he was asked to play lawyer Billy Flynn in the movie musical “Chicago,” Hugh was in his early 30s and considered himself too young for the role. He said no to co-starring in the project but upon seeing the film for the first time felt he’d made a mistake.
“I really should have just said, ‘Let’s put some makeup on. Let’s go old!’” Hugh told Howard. The role eventually went to Richard Gere who won a Golden Globe for his performance.

Hugh caught the acting bug back as a young child while growing up in Australia. When his grandmother passed away, she left Hugh a few thousand dollars in her will, which he used to sign himself up for acting lessons. The training did not get off to a good start, though, as Hugh explained his instructor seemed to have it out for him.
“I must’ve been all-in because it was really shitty for the first few months,” Hugh said, telling Howard he was determined not to quit.




As bad as the reception he got in his early acting classes was, it was nothing compared to the heckling he received while working as a birthday clown. Hugh told Howard he had a hard time entertaining any child over the age of three since all he could do at the time was juggle. He recalled working an 8-year-old’s party once and juggling eggs.
“I remember the kid going, ‘Mom, this clown is crap!’” Hugh said. “It ended up with the kids having the eggs, throwing them at me, and that was working. They loved it.”

Eventually, audiences came to love Hugh. He starred in a number of Australian stage productions throughout the ‘90s as well as the West End production of “Oklahoma!” in 1998. The musical that earned him his most recognition came on film, though, in 2012’s “Les Misérables” which Hugh received his first Academy Award nomination for. The morning his name was announced as a nominee, Hugh’s publicist called him to tell him the good news but then told him there was no need for him to write a speech since he was up against Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln.”

The publicist was right – Hugh lost that Oscar to Daniel Day-Lewis. But Hugh told Howard even with the odds not in his favor, he came to the Academy Awards that night with a speech in his pocket, saying he didn’t want to risk looking like “a dick,” unprepared at that moment.

“It’s your one chance, really, to thank the people who really made it possible,” Hugh said. “I was not making that mistake of being overwhelmed and forgetting my wife.”




His next shot at an Oscar nod could come as soon as this year in “The Front Runner.” Hugh portrays former presidential candidate Gary Hart who became the early favorite to win the Democratic nomination in 1987. That is until stories suggesting he was having an extramarital affair were printed in several newspapers, forcing him to suspend his campaign and abandon any plans of winning the White House.

Before production on the movie started, Hugh told Howard he wanted to meet with Hart so he could assure him the movie would by no means disrespect him or his family. Hugh flew to Colorado and wound up spending three days with Hart and his wife Lee at their ranch outside Denver.

“He makes a mean martini, let me tell you,” Hugh said of Hart.



In addition to his hospitality, Hugh said Hart gave him candid details about what it was like to have his campaign end the way it did and what he was planning to do in his first 100 days had he won the presidency.
“It was kind of incredible,” Hugh told Howard.

Hart told Hugh he had brokered a deal with then Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev that would have ended the Cold War before he was even sworn in as president. His first day in office would have actually been spent in the Middle East where Hart told Hugh he would stay until a peace agreement was signed between all warring factions and nations, even if it took him weeks of waiting around for other world leaders to get onboard with his plan. Next, Hart would turn his attention to domestic issues, telling Hugh he would have overhauled the American education system, refocusing on technology so that students would be better prepared to join the ever-changing workplace toward the end of the 20th century.
“He had so many brilliant ideas,” Hugh told Howard.

Following his personal scandal, however, Hart’s ideas, no matter how skillful or ahead of their time they might have been, were overshadowed by stories of his alleged infidelity. Hugh supposed it’s been especially frustrating for Hart to have no voice in the current political discourse.

“I think it’s been really, really hard for him the last couple years,” Hugh said. “He did share with me the anguish he feels every time he reads about a serviceman or woman being killed in the Middle East.”
Hugh was not there when Hart viewed a screening of “The Front Runner” though he heard the now 81-year-old approved of the film. In a testament to what kind of a candidate Gary Hart was, joining him in the theater was his presidential campaign team, all of whom flew to Denver to see the movie with him.

See Hugh Jackman in “The Front Runner” when it premieres in theaters nationwide Nov. 21.

[hughmanity]

Nice shot from Stern Show set

http://instagram.com/p/BqGlrLgAZZA

Shots outside Colbert show  swipe left for all

http://instagram.com/p/BqGxsTKgrn6

[hughmanity]

Arriving at Colbert show.  

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

Hey, no tap-dancing with Andy ( friend of Hamish) this time


Jo