Hugh Jackman picks his four favourite movies
Even though he’s dedicated a quarter of a century of his life to playing a superhero and given rise to one of 21st-century cinema’s most iconic characters while doing so, Hugh Jackman has always given off the vibes of an actor who’d much rather be a theatre kid than a musclebound action hero.
Not that he’d even try to deny he owes his entire career to Wolverine, though, with the actor pretty much a complete unknown to general audiences when he was cast in Bryan Singer’s X-Men when principal photography had already started after Mission: Impossible II scheduling conflicts ruled out Dougray Scott.
It’s fascinating to think how different each star’s career would have turned out had things not turned out that way, although evidence suggests Jackman would have been just fine treading the boards. After all, he already had a decent amount of theatre credits to his name before he grew out his sideburns for the first time, and he’s regularly returned to the stage once Wolverine gave him A-list status.
He’s won a Tony Award for his efforts, hosted the ceremony four times, won a Grammy for The Greatest Showman soundtrack, landed the first and so far only Academy Award nomination of his career for Les Misérables, and toured the world with his one-man show that puts his song-and-dance talents to good use.
With that in mind, when pressed by Letterboxd alongside Deadpool & Wolverine co-star Ryan Reynolds to name his four favourite movies of all time, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Jackman’s first title was one of the greatest and most beloved musicals ever made; Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds’ Singin’ in the Rain.
In fact, it’s probably more surprising that he limited it to just one, although the remaining three do illustrate both Jackman’s personal preferences and his desire to keep his horizons as broad as possible. Michael Cimino’s haunting The Deer Hunter is a masterclass in acting across the board, with the filmmaker marshalling an ensemble firing on all cylinders to deliver a contemplative masterpiece steeped in the horrors of war.
Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the greatest and most timeless blockbusters in history, and Jackman is no slouch in the square-jawed and stoic leading man department. He may not have healing powers and razor-sharp claws to his name, but Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones does alright for himself with little more than a fedora, a whip, and his wits to get the job done.
Adding a touch of local flavour, Jackman’s fourth and final contender is Peter Weir’s epic war drama Gallipoli. The Australian film touches on an important moment in the nation’s history and offers Mel Gibson his first post-Mad Max showcase to underline his own star power in a manner that wasn’t all that dissimilar to the X-Men favourite having to prove himself to the world away from Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman’s four favourite movies:
- Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 1952)
- The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
- Gallipoli (Peter Weir, 1981)
