I am a big goofball: Hugh Jackman

Describe Hugh Jackman in one sentence...
I am a big goofball, you know. Don’t tell anyone that, but I’m a big goofball. In Australia we call it a ‘dag’.

If not an actor, then what?
I was very idealistic as a student. I initially pictured myself as a radio stringer for ABC or the BBC somewhere in the Middle East, filing reports, changing the world, all that sort of thing. But I realised I didn’t have the passion or the skill or the personality for it. Then I realised the journalist’s job – you know, the love of stories and the quest to understand human nature and report back – was part of an actor’s job too. It dawned on me that acting was what I wanted to do with my life. Nothing had ever touched my heart like acting did.

The co-star you have loved working with the most?
I loved working with Nicole [Kidman] in Australia. I’ve known her for a long time since she is a great friend of my wife. But it wasn’t until this film that we truly got to know each other; we have become really good friends. Nicole is an amazing person to work with. She is full of surprises.

Which is a more exciting medium to act in — stage, film, or television?
Each is different and has its own thrill; being on Broadway is the modern equivalent of being a monk. I sleep a lot, eat a lot, and rest a lot. It’s a little strange when you are on the stage and people fling underwear at you. It was clean underwear, by the way! I made the ultimate error the first time it was done to go ‘Oh, is that for me?’ and to put it on. From that moment, in every second show, something flew my way.

Films are great, too. I meet people with full-colour Wolverine tattoos on their backs. Thank God I did okay, because I think if I hadn’t, they’d spit on me in the street. My son has a Wolverine punching bag and sleeps with a Wolverine toy that speaks in my voice.

You are also known to be a philanthropist...
I support the Global Poverty Project and Microcredit — a financial innovation that provides funds to poor entrepreneurs and the unemployed; and the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation as charity. Also, the FilmAid International Inc.