What They Say About Hugh

[jo]

Anne Dudley, a well-known composer for film, TV, Opera and even for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, is also musical director for Les Miserables. She attests to what we already know

www.silvascreen.com/index.php/2012/05/28/interview-with-anne-dudley/

quote:

Anne is currently writing music for the film version of Les Miserables. We tried to find out more about the score but it’s all “hush-hush” at the moment so we have no option but to ask about Hugh Jackman…

Q: Forget about the other two. Have you met Hugh Jackman yet?

A: Hugh is, first and foremost a delightful human being. Terrific actor, great singer, always well prepared highly professional – what’s not to like?

(Agree!)

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I hope you don't mind - the font when the material is enclosed in the quote symbols becomes a little too small to read...so I have decided to use "Quote:" for any quoted material. Does anyone have any technical suggestion on how to keep the regular font size inside a quoted material?



Jo

[jo]

This is one thread that I would love to import from the original Ozalot board. Do I simply export it here, post by post, or is there another and more practical way to do it?

oz-forum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/346606226/m/389107284



Jo

[jo]

To start with -- I will repost my messages on the topic from the Ozalot board

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Here's what Patrick Stewart has said of him --

news.scotsman.com/edinb...l-Star39s.6375249.jp

quote:
Q "How do you feel about Hugh Jackman's comment that you and Sir Ian McKellan are the Al Pacino and Robert De Niro of the Shakespearean world?"

A "Hugh Jackman. What a Prince. Bless him, that is lovely."



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From Scarlett Johansson with whom he worked in Scoop and The Prestige --


ttp://www.broadwayworld.com/a...sson_Part_2_20010101


quote:
PC: What was it like working with fellow Broadway baby Hugh Jackman in SCOOP & THE PRESTIGE?

SJ: You know, working on SCOOP with Hugh, of course, I was just very fortunate to work with Hugh. He's just - I mean, we call him the Mayor of Hollywood - he's just all around amazing. A triple threat: singing, dancing, acting. And unbelievably, ridiculously gorgeous.

PC: Well, you are all of those things, too, so you must be the Mayoress of Hollywood!

SJ. (Laughs.) Thank you. But, he's just the bee's knees and I got really lucky to be able to spend a lot of time with him on the set of SCOOP. Of course, we both discovered that we love musicals. I love musicals, I started acting because I wanted to be in a musical. I loved Rodgers & Hammerstein and Cole Porter and Gershwin. We would just spend our whole morning in the hair and make-up trailer singing CAROUSEL and OKLAHOMA! and DAMN YANKEES. Then, you know, we got to work together again on THE PRESTIGE.

PC: That would make such a good musical, I know some people have expressed interest in trying to musicalize it.

SJ: No way! Could you imagine? THE PRESTIGE definitely has that kind of - I don't know, a sort of Sondheim-y quality to it.

PC: Especially the big twist.

SJ: Absolutely! It's twisted and it's dark and it's mysterious and it's kind of grey.

PC: So working with Hugh on THE PRESTIGE was great, too?

SJ: We just totally were singing it up all the time and I was just thrilled about that! (Laughs.)



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From Maureen Lipmann's Acknowledgements in her book Lip Reading

I loved reading this portion of her book, LIP READING, where she includes Hugh Jackman in her acknowledgments ( the only one who is not family or professional staff !) --


quote:
Persona Non Gratis :

Hugh Jackman: Adorable Aussie actor, played Curly in Oklahoma! - stayed one night chez Rosenthal in order to catch dawn flight. Maureen, Zelma, and Amy all up to see him off at 4:30 am in mascara and blusher.

Notes: Maureen Lipman-Rosenthal/ Zelma, her mother/Amy, her daughter

[jo]

So, the single post does not get too long, I will group reposting my original messages into 3 -

From Brendan Fraser who bought the signed pumpkin at TBFO's BC/EFA 2003 campaign --


quote:
Meanwhile, pumpkin-toting BFO fan Brendan Fraser tries to sway our vote for Quote of the Year on a recent episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien: "I'm the most "hetero" guy I know and even I wanted to jump Hugh Jackman's bones."



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Bryan Singer recounts the first meeting and first filming with Hugh Jackman --


quote:


The film made a star out of Hugh Jackman, who was a late-in-the-game replacement for Dougray Scott, who was tied up on the set of "Mission: Impossible II."

Jackman arrived on the set late in the day and Singer took a good look at him. "I thought, 'Oh his face is rounder than I thought.' It was important that Wolverine have a round face and I thought Hugh's face looked longer in the tape I had seen. He also wasn't as huge as I thought he would be. My opinion was, 'Maybe this isn't as impossible as I thought it would be.' "

To make the final call, Singer had two cameras set up in the lobby of Roy Thomson Hall, where the crew had been shooting a U.S. Senate scene that day. Jackman and Anna Paquin, who played young Rogue in the film, were seated in two folding chairs put side-by-side so they could run through a scene where they are driving in a pickup truck together.

On the second take, Singer stepped away from the monitor so he could just filter everything out and listen to Jackman's voice. A janitor working for the venue sidled up to the baby-faced filmmaker and, mistaking him for a production assistant, began whispering a question.

"He didn't want to bother anyone important, so he sees me, this kid, and walked up and whispered, 'Hey, is that the guy they got to play Wolverine?' And I thought, 'Hmm, this is the moment, take the leap.' I said, 'Yes.' The first guy to know was the cleaning guy. And he said, 'Cool.' It's a good thing he didn't say, 'Ugh, are you kidding me?' "

Singer offered the role to Jackman then and there. It took a month, though, for the actor to really find the feral center of his character.

"He's a real sweetheart," Singer said. "He's the most loving guy, and someone who came out of musical theater. I send some ridiculous note, 'I need anger, that rage, that Russell Crowe side, get into a fight with your wife or something.' The next day he came up to me and said, 'Bry, I thought about what you said but if I ever got in a fight with Deborra, I would show up for work in tears.' I realized that's the other side of Wolverine and we didn't want to lose that either -- he's a guy you wouldn't want to get into a bar fight with but you'd let him babysit your kids."

Jackman was the breakout star but the cast was an especially deep one...



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And from his acknowledged mentor, Trevor Nunn --


quote:
GP: Hugh Jackman is well known now from the X-MEN movies and his star turn on Broadway in “The Boy from Oz,” and has been voted one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world by PEOPLE magazine. But he was completely unknown when you cast him as Curly.

TN: I cast him first as Joe Gillis in the Australian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard.” I always ask people at musical auditions to do an acting piece as well. He did a speech of Henry V’s, which is very, very unusual … and when he came to audition for Curly, he did a bravura bit of Hotspur [from "Henry IV"], a very good idea for Curly! Hugh has a great quality of revelation and also a purity of spirit, which can make that connection with the great outside landscape of “Oklahoma!” He has that sort of soul.



I also remember something that Trevor Nunn said in a documentary on Sunset Boulevard -- something to the effect that Hugh could make a living either as an actor or simply being a singer, as he was excellent in both. And when he saw The Boy From Oz, Trevor Nunn was supposed to have told Hugh " This is your (King) LEAR ", always making a comparison in Shakespearean terms.

[jo]

This was before they worked together onstage --

On YouTube, here's what Daniel Craig says about what he thinks of Hugh - as confessed to Rove :

www.youtube.com/watch?v=340Qt0S-Pvw

Check it out at 8'34" ;D



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From a Barbara Cook interview --


quote:
You’re one of those performers people will drop everything to come see. Who is the performer you will drop everything to see?

Rolando Villazon, the opera singer, and Judi Dench. Oh, and Hugh Jackman!

I’m thinking he’d be really excited to hear you said that.

He knows I feel that way. We’re friends.

I wish could say I’m friends with Hugh Jackman.
He’s a good man. I mean that, seriously. He’s extraordinarily spiritual man. He is a good, good human being. He’s gorgeous and all of that, but that’s not what drew me to his work. I’m thinking mainly about Boy from Oz; for me, it was just like an enormously spiritual experience every time I saw it. Not many men in our culture have the ability to appear so vulnerable and to give so much of their soul on stage. God, he’s just wonderful at that.



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Even the younger generation fantasizes about Hugh

American Idol's Kelly Clarkson talks about 3 things she would like to bring with her on if-you-were-alone-on-an island --

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGRK91ws2pA

Check it out at 2'15"

[jo]

Baz Luhrmann's view of Hugh as a professional actor --


quote:
“He is the most centered, incredibly focused actor I’ve ever worked with,” Mr. Luhrmann said. “I know everybody always says that in Hollywood, but I really mean it.”



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Darren Aronofsky talks at length about working with Hugh --


quote:

At the press day last weekend for The Fountain in Los Angeles, director/writer Darren Aronofsky praised Hugh Jackman for his capabilities and work in the film. He talked about his story meeting him and bringing him on to the project and his emotional depth as well as incredible physical capabilities. Read on to hear what Aronofsky said.

In talking about the chemistry between Hugh and Rachel, the lovers in the film: "And they just completed connected, and it was just electric. It was one of those things as a director you hope happens in a casting room. Which rarely ever happens, where you see two actors look at each other and understand each other."

Darren also talks about the emotional level that Hugh displayed on screen. "How many male actors have you actually seen do emotional work? On the road, that's come up. I've been in 15 cities in the last 2-3 weeks, and a lot of different people, women, have said to me, I've never seen a man that vulnerable, on or off screen. I didn't really know what he could do, because when I first started this he wasn't on my list, because he had just done Wolverine - which he was fantastic as. He became a star off of, which is an amazing, difficult thing to do if you're a fan - just to step into that role out of no where and actually pull it off was a big accomplishment. But, I hadn't seen nothing else. Then when I saw 'The Boy From Oz,' I just saw an incredible amount of talent, it was undeniable. Outside of what he did in The Fountain, the guy can sing and dance. I mean it's really kind of upsetting. It's just remarkable what he did in this movie. And it's overlooked somewhat."

Praising Jackman's physical capabilities: "Physically you won't find a specimen on the planet like him. This is the type of guy that could have been an Olympic athlete, gold medalist, in so many different sports - who knows. So that was amazing. We had a stunt double - and I know it's kinda cliché that he did all his stunts - but we had a stunt double, but he was better than the stunt double. In everything - so he climbed the tree, that's him climbing the tree. Time after time after time, everything in the movie, the fights, just everything. And outside of that, emotionally, he just unleashed."

"And then I was at a hotel, we were staying at the same hotel, and I'm sitting there kinda during my curls, my 20 lbs. curls. And this guy is moving a machine across the room. He was pulling this thing and the machine's jumping. I'm like, 'what the hell, who is that freak?' And it was Hugh Jackman training for X-Men 2. And I went over and I said 'hey, how you doing' and so he stuck. Then he went from that type of size to, in 12 months, being able to get into full lotus position. Which if anyone's ever done yoga, I mean I've been doing it for 7-8 years and can't get into lotus position. But he got into full lotus and performed all those scenes, where he's in lotus, underwater."

Discussing his emotional capacity and depth of character while filming takes to get the perfect scene: "When you're first doing the emotional scene, you start off wide. That's the traditional way to shoot a scene - you start off wide because it establishes the lighting and then you go in for close-ups. We got the camera, and suddenly these faucets started to open. It's like 'ok cut; get the camera in as quick as you can.' We flew the camera in and we just went. And he would go until he was dry. And then we would take a 10 minute break and we would go again until he was dry. It was a bit abusive, but he loved it. So we enjoyed it. That was why the cut took so long, the editing took so long, because him and Rachel, both of them, played every scene on every note - every note imaginable. Usually the actor will give you just one kind of take on it. But then I was like, you know what, 'play it as Thomas, play it as Tom, play it sad, play it angry, play it a little bit angrier, ok play it now really happy.' And we just bounced around and tried different things and it was a joy."

Read more: www.firstshowing.net/20...ntain/#ixzz0sFIaUXue



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And from composer Adam Guettel ( Light in the Piazza), grandson of Richard Rodgers --

www.talkinbroadway.com/...al/chicago/ch22.html


quote:
...Yet Guettel said that the best piece of musical theater he's ever seen was Trevor Nunn's 1998 London production of Oklahoma!. He praised Hugh Jackman's ability in the role of Curly to transition naturally between dialogue and song, helping the audience to believe a person can legitimately express themselves through music as well as speech...

[jo]

Ben Brantley, in reviewing the Broadway revival of OKLAHOMA!, cites the quality of Hugh Jackman's potrayal of Curly at the West End --

quote:

As an actress, she efficiently sends all the signals meant to convey Laurey's sexual ambivalence, but the performance never feels effortless. This was less obvious in London, where Curly was played by Hugh Jackman, who was just beginning his fast rise to movie stardom and who oozed a feverish virility that took the chill off Ms. Gabrielle's Laurey.

Indeed, one of the revelations of the London production was that Curly and Jud came across as flip sides of the same masculine force. Mr. Wilson doesn't begin to project the same insolence. His Curly is sweeter, more self-effacing, and it's impossible not to like him. But he doesn't have the power, of presence or voice, to carry off either Curly's desperate acts of impulse or his mood-setting solos.

[jo]

Katie Couric names her favorite guest @katiecouric


quote:

Of ‘@katiecouric’ Interviews: “All of them have been memorable – from Justin Bieber to Glenn Beck to Hugh Jackman,” she said. “I have to say my favorite guest is Hugh Jackman, only because he is such a nice person. He’s so generous, he’s so relaxed. When you do interviews, some people really give you a lot and they understand what goes into giving a good interview and I always feel that Hugh always really comes to play and he’s just such an engaging guy with such a wonderful personality.”



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quote:

I interviewed Ryan Reynolds not long ago and asked him a classic fanboy question: “Deadpool versus Wolverine, who wins?”

“Deadpool could beat Wolverine any day. I know it, you know it. Hugh Jackman knows it.”

Reynolds worked with Jackman, of course, in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” and though it didn’t really go so well for Reynolds on screen — Deadpool, you might recall, got his head chopped off — that didn’t sour the actor’s view of the movie star in the film’s title role.

“Hugh is a great guy. He’s a very classy human being. He sets the bar for being classy in Hollywood. It’s almost mayoral, his approach to Hollywood. It’s as much his job to sign an autograph or take a photo with a fan as it is to blow people away with his performance on screen. He could host a master class on how to be a movie star. At one point, he was going to be shooting [the new Disney sci-fi film "Real Steel"] in Louisiana while I was doing ‘Green Lantern,’ and we were e-mailing back and forth about having dinner, but they switched to Michigan at the last minute. He’s a tremendous guy and a role model, really.”

Then Reynolds added: “But, seriously, Wolverine is no Deadpool.”



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From fan favorite and auteur Guillermo del Toro ( Pan's Labyrinth et al) --

www.metro.co.uk/film/84...away-from-the-hobbit


quote:

Are there any Hollywood stars you want to work with?

I like Hugh Jackman very much. He has a lot of charisma, he’s a very good actor with a lot of energy. Some actors are eminently sympathetic and able to take the audience on huge journeys. They go through great ordeals on screen and retain basic human decency, and Hugh Jackman is one of those actors.

[jo]

Maureen Lipmann talks about --

quote:

Favourite productions you've ever worked on

Oklahoma! was a favourite, largely because of the great Hugh Jackman. Stronger women than you have fallen to their knees like Monica Lewinsky over Hugh. He's just opened in New York in The Boy From Oz and he's going to be the biggest star in the world. We had him for a year and it was bliss. Oklahoma! was a very good production, it was a hit.


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Katherine Jenkins is a mezzo soprano with crossover appeal from Wales.

Quote:

The beautiful Welsh singing star is renowned for her strong, recognisable voice and has found success in the mainstream music charts...

And now Katherine, who regularly performs for UK troops, wants to further her acting career by joining the long line of attractive women who feature in the James Bond franchise.

“I’ve always dreamed about being a Bond girl. I’d like to be an evil one trying to take over the world!” the 30-year-old told the British edition of Closer.

But the singer admits it will be tough to follow in the footsteps of former actresses who have been wowed by the spy, such as Ursula Andress, who starred in Dr No.

However, Katherine says she has a back-up plan which involves a certain Hollywood hunk – because he amazes her. “If I can’t be Ursula, I’d love to be in a musical with Hugh Jackman. I saw him singing in The Boy From Oz and he completely blew me away,” she explained.



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Here's a more detailed and gushing account of how Hugh's debut among West End stars at rehearsals was met --

http://afleasalonga.multiply.com/journal


quote:
PC: Another story?

LS: Oh, I have to tell you my Hugh Jackman story!

PC: Yes, you do! That was like his big world debut!

LS: Yeah! This was two weeks before OKLAHOMA! Opened at the National Theatre and he was playing Curley.

PC: Of course! What an iconic performance that turned out to be!

LS: I hadn't actually seen him in it or met him yet. One of my friends who was doing the MISS SAIGON segment with me said, "OK. They are rehearsing OKLAHOMA! You have to go into the house and sit," and I‘m like, "Why? What's with OKLAHOMA!?" And, she said, "You just have to trust me," and, I'm like, "Fine." I didn't even bother to get out of my SAIGON outfit.

PC: Great advice!

LS: So, I'm sitting in the fifth or sixth row and Maria Friedman is a few seats away from me. And, a cappella, out of nowhere, comes this beautiful voice singing, "Oh What A Beautiful Morning", (Sings.) "Da da da da da da da DA". And, we're like, "Oh, God. Who's that?" He was nowhere onstage. Then, the chorus begins and he comes out dressed as Curley with the hat. And, I'm like, "Oh, my God!" and you could hear this big inhale and gasp that came out from all the ladies. I looked over to Maria Friedman and she was just shaking her head like "Mmmhmmm." He was so gorgeous. Just walking out onto that stage... that man.

PC: A real star.

LS: Yeah. He was described by other members of the cast as like a Howard Keel - this tall, handsome, traditional masculine musical theatre man.

PC: Old school.

LS: Old school! Total old school! It was breathtaking to watch him. I was just like, "Wow. Now I understand why she told me to come sit out here!"

[jo]

Now it's Harry Potter's ( aka Daniel Radcliffe) turn to express his admiration of Hugh's career --

www.moviehole.net/20114...e-final-harry-potter


quote:
MH: Are there any other actors out there who you look towards for inspiration in terms of their career path? (Note: Daniel answered this some time before his current stint on Broadway, so its interesting to hear what was going through his mind in making that decision)

DR: Its very well documented how much I love Gary Oldman…I do think that his body of work is one of the most wide-ranging, varied stuff, and I think that he can do anything. Unfortunately I’ve never seen Gary on stage, but I would have loved to have seen him because some of the stage work he did was supposed to have been incredible as well. There are also people like Hugh Jackman, who I think is kind of amazing because he’ll go off and do an X-Men movie, which will go and do so many hundreds of million of dollars worldwide, and then he’ll go and do a play! I think I read it in an interview somewhere, it was either him or Guy Pierce, one Australian actor at least, they were saying that they always go back to the theatre because it keeps them sharp. It keeps them on their toes between films, and I think that’s absolutely right. Generally speaking I don’t think that you are tested as much on film as an actor as you are on stage.”...


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From Steven Spielberg himself --


www.eonline.com/news/ma...mpaign=rss_movienews


quote:

"Hugh's a great actor," Spielberg said. "He's a great entertainer. He could do anything. He could do Broadway. He could do musical theater. He could do movies—and probably a few other mediums we haven't invented yet."



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From Taylor Kitsch --

quote:

More from Taylor --


quote:
‘I learned a lot from Hugh Jackman,’ Kitsch says of Wolverine himself. ‘His work ethic is unparalleled, man. A lot of what I am now is down to just outworking people. You see how focused he is and it opened my eyes. Hugh had a very similar lifestyle to what I had on John Carter. You’re lifting weights before every take. I was on a strict diet for four months before filming, then the same for seven months, filming six-day weeks.’


Read more: www.metro.co.uk/film/re...-story#ixzz1oI4eZLvv

[mamaleh]

I remember all those lovely quotes, Jo. Thanks for reposting them.

I do wonder what songs from DAMN YANKEES Hugh sang with Scarlett. We know he's more up on Rodgers & Hammerstein than Adler & Ross. Perhaps the jazzy duet, "Two Lost Souls"? I'd love to see him do that with Scarlett or anyone.

[jo]

I am hoping the other members who have posted some messages on the same thread on the original board would repost them here.

Jo

[jo]

Lea Salonga's admiration for Hugh has not diminished

aussietheatre.com.au/features/20-questions/a-quick-chat-with-lea-salonga/

Lea is in Australia for a concert/series of concerts and was interviewed in a Q&A format --

8. Who is the actor you would most like to work alongside?

If I could work for 5 minutes with Hugh Jackman, my life would be made. I love Aussie actors… great work ethic, level of talent, and sense of humour!

Let me see -- what can they do together?

Years back, Lea played the role of Eliza Doolittle, here in Manila. Many years back, the young man named Hugh Jackman was Professor Higgins in a high school musical production of MY FAIR LADY.

Hugh would be age-appropriate...Lea will be a little too old but onstage, there is such a thing as suspension of disbelief. She sang the role of the mid-20's Fantine in the 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Miserables...

Hey, that gives me another idea -- what about a one-time stage performance of Les Miserables? Hugh can be Valjean again and Lea can be Fantine once more. That is really dreaming the dream

Jo

[eugenia]

Hugh encouraged Australians to vote for Danielle, the wife of Russell. nice touch

Hugh Jackman þ@RealHughJackman
Dancing with the stars australia.....cmon aussies there's only one choice, sms 191 777 danielle. go get em D!! @dwtson7 @spencerdanielle

[JH4HJ]

Video of Hugh @real Steel premiere Down Under.
The fun part is the male commentator, a judge from "Australia's Got Talent" . . . drooling. ;D

www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/channel-sevens-australias-got-talent-judge-brian-mcfadden-denies-he-is-to-quit-the-network/story-e6frf96o-1226415062220

[hu4601]

I laughed at the comment about the "random strange man" pinching his butt. What they didn't say was the "stranger's" name. ..........Gus !!

Cheers

[bandala]

That is very cute! Wonder if Gus knows he’s a random strange man. Probably. LOL!

[jo]

Anybody know or remember Jason Donovan? He used to be a big hit in the pop world ( UK and Australia) and was once Joseph in the first Lloyd Webber musical. He had recently returned to the West End ( the name of the big show escapes me) but does a lot of work in Australia, too.

He has some nice words for Hugh as a performer, in relation to a current reality TV show he is promoting in his native land!

www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/it-should-survive-20120828-24xk4.html

Quote:

>>>...“I think musical theatre has become a little bit more cool these days,” he explains. “With Johnny Depp and Sweeney Todd, the genre of Glee, the High School Musical movies. Look at Russell Crowe, he’s out there he loves singing in bands, he started in rocky horror and currently shooting Les Miserables. You’ve got Hugh Jackman who jumps between The X-Men and doing his own show on Broadway. It’s not uncool anymore. It’s all about entertainment. I think if you can find a niche somewhere as a dancer or a singer or an actor that’s a good place to build a career from.


Singing is only a good start ... Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce on the set of Neighbours.

“What I say to these guys is you don’t have to be the best singer you don’t have to be the best actor you don’t have to be the best dancer. Hugh Jackman is not the greatest dancer in the world and probably not the greatest singer in the world and maybe not the greatest actor in the world but when he walks onto a stage there is something very commanding. There’s a confidence about him. There’s something. You can’t take your eyes off him. That’s the magic we’re trying to unearth in a show like this. Someone who can take on the world stage and have a currency.”

Donovan’s own currency in Australia still stems from his time on Neighbours, which has lead to some interesting encounters in the middle of Australia.

“Someone the other day looked at me in a road house and said ‘Are you ... are you ... Jason McLaughlin?’” he recounts. “And I think that sums up my entire outback experience. I said ‘I didn’t get the gold Logie but I’m quite happy being Jason Donovan.’”

The reply that came back might just highlight that an X Factor win, or even a chart hit, might not leave Australia remembering you. Well not perfectly.

“Oh Jason Donovan! We loved you. You were the guy that sang Mona weren’t you?”

Everyone remembers Hugh Jackman and if I Will Survive can deliver someone even a fraction as talented, it is certainly worth watching.<<<



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Don't you just love the way he defines the Hugh Jackman performer magic

"but when he walks onto a stage there is something very commanding. There’s a confidence about him. There’s something. You can’t take your eyes off him. That’s the magic we’re trying to unearth in a show like this. Someone who can take on the world stage and have a currency.”


Jo

[jo]

Second-hand info, but still nice to know --

Quote:

>>>Aimee Scottþ@AimeeScott

Just saw @ianmckellen118 at Canary Wharf, legend! I remember when I met him @ Shepherds Bush and he told me @realhughjackman was 'very sexy<<<


I do remember tales of parties at Ian's place by the cast and they would evolve into musical soirees ( well, you have at least Hugh and James Marsden, who can both sing )


Jo

[jo]

From a former classmate in Australia --

Angela Boothþ@spooky_girl
@foodsasmedicine Channel 10 I think. Did I ever tell you I went to Uni with him? @realhughjackman


1hGabriella Campbellþ@foodsasmedicine
@spooky_girl Oh good GOD! I wouldn't have done any work having something that lovely to admire all lecture 😍


1hSaam Thorneþ@vampSaam
@foodsasmedicine @spooky_girl I watched his "in the actor's studio" interview last wk. When he mentioned WAAPA I thought of you!


1hAngela Boothþ@spooky_girl
@vampsaam @foodsasmedicine He was lovely, down to earth and talented. No ego whatsoever. Success couldn't have come to a better person.

[jo]

From one of the writers of Hugh's hugely successful Oscars Opening number --


>>>The Internet by Ben Schwartz Follow me
[e-mail]
Monday, February 23, 2009

Standing O

I was one of three writers who created this opening musical number for the Oscars. The whole experience was amazing and surreal. Hugh Jackman, who might be the nicest man in the universe, absolutely nailed it. Someone came in to film us backstage while Hugh was performing the number so there is terribly embarrassing footage of me and the two other writers jumping up and down for joy when the audience gave the piece a standing ovation. Unbelievable. If the video below doesn’t work you can watch it here- HUGH JACKMAN’S ACADEMY AWARD CEREMONY OPENING NUMBER.<<<

Jo

[nyc9]

Barbara Cook is the latest to note her favorite theater going experiences on Playbill.com. No surprise that Hugh's performance in TBFO makes her list!

www.playbill.com/news/article/170920-THEIR-FAVORITE-THINGS-Tony-Winner-Barbara-Cook-Shares-Her-Theatregoing-Experiences/pg4

"I was so moved by this performance I went a number of times. The play begins, he moves down to center stage, opens his arms and lets you into his soul. Extraordinary!"

Well said Ms. Cook!

Margie

[jo]

Margie,

Ms. Cook also went to see the show in Sydney!

They have never sang together -- it would be so memorable if Hugh and Barbara did a duet like People Will Say We're In Love (aren't both alumni of OKLAHOMA!) or maybe other Rodgers and Hammerstein show tunes.

Jo

[mamaleh]

I saw that on Playbill.com this morning and thought, "She's got to mention Hugh!" The way Cook waxed rhapsodically (and who wouldn't?!) about Hugh at the time, I was sure he'd be her number one. Well, number three isn't bad--and he does precede Paul Scofield, Judi Dench and Frank Langella.

And remember novelist/playwright/screenwriter William Goldman's famous line from Variety? “I have been going to the theatre for 60-some years. I was there for Brando in Streetcar. But nothing prepared me for Hugh Jackman." If I recall correctly, he also compared Hugh's turn as Peter to Ethel Merman in GYPSY and picked Hugh as the breakout male star of the '00s.

Hugh certainly made quite an impact by going with his gut instead of career strategizing, as he has phrased it.

Ellen

[jo]

Who were the first and second ones, Ellen?

Jo