Hugh Jackman

From laconic Wolverine to operatic Jean Valjean, Hugh Jackman has held roles that seem to have covered the gamut. This Aussie actor has proven a broad range of versatility that only few contemporary film stars can follow. He has played in the West End and on Broadway, starred in films with some of the industry's finest actors and directors, been nominated for loads of different awards, and won several. He can act, sing, and do his own stunts, and he's been named the Sexiest Man Alive. His film career grew quickly, moving from early pictures such as Erskineville Kings and Paperback Hero to X-Men within the space of a year. For the role of the comic-book superhero Wolverine, Jackman combed up his hair, donned a set of claws, and studied martial arts. He's returned to the role in several sequels, as well as the prequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Shortly after the original X-Men movie, Hugh Jackman switched gears completely with the 2001 romantic comedy, Kate & Leopold, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He returned to the stage, and in 2004, he won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his role as Peter Allen in the Broadway musical The Boy from Oz. Meanwhile, he worked with top directors and actors on films like Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain, Woody Allen's Scoop, and to Jackman's great delight, Baz Luhrman's epic film, Australia. However, few actors could fill his shoes when it came to playing Jean Valjean, the tragic hero of Les Misérables, in Tom Hopper's 2012 film adaptation of the Victor Hugo-inspired musical. Hugh Jackman won a Golden Globe and was nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award for that role. Yet for all his achievements, there is something refreshingly down-to-earth about this star, which is, of course, part of his appeal.