Hugh Jackman names the one director who made him “a better actor forever”
For most actors, honing your craft comes from years and years of putting in the work to be the best you can possibly be. For others, like Hugh Jackman, delivering a good performance is often also a team effort, and a good director can make all the difference.
From an early age, Jackman was a dreamer. In fact, before he became a household name, he’d dream of travelling the world, spending hours looking at atlases and hoping one day that he’d become a chef on a plane before he realised that wasn’t actually a real job. Later, in his final year at university, he found his true calling, taking a drama class and realising how at home the whole ordeal made him feel.
Still, though, he didn’t really think of it as much more than a hobby at that point, not until his early 20s, when things sort of started to click into place. Before, part of his inability to see it as a valid career path was that it wasn’t really something that seemed like an option when he was younger, and he also didn’t think he stood out as much as those around him, who often appeared cooler and more self-assured than he felt he was at the time.
Then, the first few years of his career were spent doing theatre and television shows, and he only became a more prominent name outside of Australia in 1998, when he landed a role in Oklahoma! on London’s West End. At that point, Jackman thought he’d reached his peak, and still, to this day, labels it as one of the most significant highlights of his career, one that pushed him toward bigger and better opportunities and his eventual breakthroughs on the big screen.
This, of course, came with his role as Wolverine in X-Men in 2000, a stint that wouldn’t seem all that challenging on the surface but which actually forced Jackman out of his comfort zone in more ways than one. For starters, Jackman had few lines in the film, which meant his performance relied heavily on emotive acting. Secondly, and perhaps most obviously, it was unlike anything he’d done before, so there was a lot to think about and get right to make sure he didn’t completely fall on his arse in front of the camera.
From there, Jackman learned a lot from his working on films with high-profile actors, mainly about how to better his craft and always give his all, even on projects that scare him. In fact, he later learned from Nicole Kidman that pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is one of the most important things you can do, as is finding a director who will work with you and push you to your truest potential.
Specifically, Kidman told him to chase good directors and go for movies that resonate, even if they’re difficult to watch. She said that, even if something is challenging, a good director really does make all the difference.
“A great director will make you a better actor,” Jackman said in 2017, reflecting on her advice in an interview with Bafta.
Spotlighting those who made him a better actor, Jackman recalled how Trevor Nunn, director of the West End’s Oklahoma!, “made me a better actor forever”, and how The Wolverine director Jim Mangold made him a better actor “because he pushed me”.
He added, “And so, I certainly have that in my blood, I certainly have a belief about myself that there is a lot of room for improvement. And so I hope I’m learning, I really do.”
