Hugh Jackman’s second chance

Hugh Jackman was born to sing and dance, said Ryan Gilbey in the London Guardian. The burly Australian actor—best known for playing the clawed superhero Wolverine in the X-Men series—fell in love with musical theater at the age of 5, after starring in a school performance of Camelot. At 10, he asked his father if could take dance lessons. His father approved. His older brother didn’t. “What are ya—a poof?” Jackman recalls him saying. “I wasn’t 100 percent sure what that was. But I knew it didn’t sound like something I should be. And that was it as far as dance. I shut it down.” His brother apologized when Jackman was 18. “That released something for me. I signed up for a tap class the day after.”

It was too late for a dancing career, but that hasn’t stopped him from hitting the boards as a triple-threat performer. Jackman has starred in several Broadway musicals and recently brought a one-man song-and-dance show to the stage. He even had to be discouraged from giving Wolverine jazz hands. “[Director] Bryan Singer used to yell at me, ‘Stop moving! Just stand there and say your lines!’” His ebullient showmanship has led to questions about his sexuality. But Jackman, who’s been married for 15 years, laughs off the suggestion that he’s gay. “You really know you’ve made it when the gay rumors start.”

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