Jackman, Hugh (1968– )

Australian actor. After appearing on stage and television in Australia, he gained international exposure for his role in the film adaptation of the Marvel comic X-Men (2000). Known for his singing and dancing as well as acting, he won a 2004 Tony Award for his starring role in the musical The Boy from Oz (2003).

Other films include the Australian urban drama Erskineville Kings (1999), the romantic comedies Someone Like You (2001) and Kate and Leopold (2001), and the action film Swordfish (2001). More action films followed, with the sequel X2: X-Men United in 2003 and the supernatural thriller Van Helsing in 2004.

He received a degree in communications from the University of Technology in Sydney before studying drama at the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts. His first major television role was in the popular prison drama series Corelli. As both an actor and singer, he starred in Australian productions of Beauty and the Beast (1996) and Sunset Boulevard (1997), and in Trevor Nunn's English Royal National Theatre production of Oklahoma (1998–99). He sang the National Anthem at the Melbourne Cricket ground before the 1998 Bledisloe Cup and was named Australian Star of the Year at the Australian Movie Convention in 1999.