HUGH JACKMAN
The actor sits down with WHO and talks about family, his new movie and upcoming birthday celebrations
On turning 50
“I see time like money”
Hearing the name Hugh Jackman will automatically send your mind to one of the many different gripping roles the musically trained actor has portrayed throughout his successful career. From an animal mutant in X-men and Wolverine to a father desperate to provide for his family in The Greatest Showman, Jackman has done it all. Now, the homegrown star is about to turn 50 and takes a look back at his life while talking about his new role as US political congressman Gary Hart in The Front Runner.
How did you prepare for your new role?
I made the decision to go and see Gary Hart and he was gracious enough to allow me to stay with him in his home. I was on a gap year in Europe – living on 10 pounds a day and probably drunk for most of 1987 – when he was in office so I didn’t remember very much about him. When I went to see him I had done a lot of research, spoken to many, many people from his campaign who were very open to me, and I’m still in touch with them today, and the No. 1 thing everyone says about Gary is that he’s incredibly smart, one of the best politicians of the last 50 years and unbelievably enigmatic – which is very intriguing for an actor playing him. I’ve never played anyone alive before, so I was pretty nervous about it.
Should an open affair be the public’s concern?
I was brought up with the view that people’s private lives are their private lives, right? I believe in it firmly, but when you’re running for public office it can be important. What constitutes as important to some people is very different for others. A sign of infidelity, for example, may be linked to what their character is and what they’ll be like in their relationship with me as a voter. Some people go in on a gut instinct and others will think, “Oh, no, how could you do that?”
Has society changed its morals towards sex?
Oh, yes. Of course it’s changed. Across the board – in what we see on TV and the lyrics we hear on the radio, and the clothes we wear – what’s acceptable now that wasn’t before. Like would it really be an outrage if someone flashed a nipple at the Super Bowl now? I think things have changed dramatically across all areas of society.
How have you learnt to deal with the press?
You know, actors, politicians are all under the microscope. But it’s a completely different lens from where I stand. I get nervous for my family because my kids are born into it. They have no choice so I try my hardest to protect them from the media, and that’s where some of the difficulty has occurred for me.
How do you live a normal life without always feeling under the microscope?
I don’t read all the comments on my Instagram. Like that’s key for me. I’m too thin-skinned. I’ve always loved this Socrates quote and I tell it to my kids all the time because they’re on social media. I’m sure they think that what they’re doing is private and then I say look, remember what Socrates said: “Never say privately what you wouldn’t say publicly.”
How do you feel about fame?
For me, fame is a weird thing. I never wanted [it], I never sought it, I didn’t ask for it but if someone was to say to you here’s a Lamborghini … I’m going to give you the keys to a Lamborghini … occasionally in your life there’s going to be traffic. You still want the keys?
You’re going to say yeah, and that’s kind of how fame is for me.
You’ve got a big birthday coming up soon. How do you feel about that?
Time is precious. I’m turning 50 in a month so a lot of people are talking to me about time. Don’t worry, I’m not having a midlife crisis, but of course time is precious and I am watching my kids grow up very, very quickly. My son just turned 18, which he reminds me of every time I ask him to do something, he replies, “I’m an adult now.” Different events happen to all of us: good, bad, indifferent and time is no different. I see time like money. I
see it as energy. I believe that you can choose to spend it any way you like.
How will you celebrate turning 50?
I’m negotiating that as we speak. My wife [Deborra-lee Furness] would want the whole city of Toronto to come to my birthday party, while I’d probably like a dinner party for 10 – so we’re going to meet somewhere in the middle. We’ll do something and it’s going to be fun. But no speeches. No speeches.
And what about birthday gifts?
I am not a very materialistic person, to be honest. I have a journal and that was one of the greatest gifts my wife ever got me. When both of my children were born she gave me a journal with their names on it so I’ve been writing in those for both of them and I’ll give each journal to them when they’re 21.
Do you struggle to get a work/life balance?
When Deb and I got married, we made a pact that we would look at each other at every turning point in our lives and would ask ourselves if this is this good or bad for our family. The family is all four of us, so something 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. There’s been times I’ll say, “Oh my God, there’s this film and it’s such and such and it’s this and that” and very rarely, [Deb] looks at me and she’s like no, now is not the time and she is just the best barometer of that.
How has Deb supported your career?
There’s a time no-one knows about, when I was offered Oklahoma in London and she was offered a spot at the very prestigious directing school at the Victorian College of the Arts – and that’s impossible to get into. There’s two or three taken a year, and I said, “Well, we’ll stay” and she said, “No, now you need to go. We need to go to London and you need to do
Oklahoma.” I never forget her selflessness in saying that because I know she always wanted to direct, and that was a big moment for her. What are you working on now? Are you training for any musicals? Yes, I can’t announce it just yet but, yes, there is singing and dancing in my near-ish future and I love it. I don’t know if you know this, but I dance every day. Well, five or six days a week. Yeah, I sing every day. I have tap shoes in my bag and I dance every day because you just never know when that dance floor is coming.
What else would you like to achieve? Are there any genres of film you’d love to do?
Yes, a horror movie. [ Laughs] More stage, yes. There’s so much I want to do. I’ve always loved the variety in this business. I think it’s a really exciting time to be an actor. There’s an unbelievable amount of stuff being green lit. There’s many, many, many new female directors coming into the business. I’m really excited!
“I sing every day”