Hugh Jackman Quotes & Sayings

I love New York ... I think it's the best city in the world. As far as cities go, everything's there. I think it's so vibrant. I love the people, I think they're honest, in your face. If they don't like you, they'll say, 'Get out of my way,' if they like you they'll slap you on the back and support you. It's a very intoxicating environment to be in. — Hugh Jackman

Anyone who thinks they're indispensible is fooling themselves. — Hugh Jackman

I can look back on my life, where there have been moments where things might have gone the other way. Everything is like stepping stones, and I've seen people I admire falter. We're all vulnerable. — Hugh Jackman

I feel so lucky to have both a son and a daughter, because there's a different relationship with each of them. — Hugh Jackman

My father is very Jean Valjean. He's what I would call a great example of a religious person. He is a deeply thoughtful man whose religion is in his deeds way more than anything else. It's not talked about that much. — Hugh Jackman

My father was an army champion boxer ... in the British army. And so he loved boxing and talked it up as a sport. But then when my brother and I were beating the crap out of each other, he was always trying to tone it down. But I am a fan of boxing. — Hugh Jackman

I can't stand the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard! — Hugh Jackman

I'm not a loner at all. — Hugh Jackman

I didn't really know X-Men at all before I started. So I'd heard of this comic but I didn't know it was as beloved or as iconic as I have now found out, but I just know fans are going to flip out at this. — Hugh Jackman

We have far more ability than we give ourselves credit for, — Hugh Jackman

Historically, much of the motivation for public schooling has been to stifle variety and institute social control. — Hugh Jackman

I have lots of older siblings, and as they started to leave the house, I went from cooking once a week to twice, three times, and so on. After a while, it was just like making the bed. — Hugh Jackman

I lived with a coffee farmer called Dukale on a trip I made with World Vision to Ethiopia, and realised there's no good reason for the disparity in opportunity around the world. — Hugh Jackman

My dad's main client was the World Bank, and he spent most of his time traveling to Third World countries. His particular interest lay in the eradication of poverty through development and business. — Hugh Jackman

When you dance, your body just wants to find its natural weight. I'm naturally a lot more Tommy Tune than I am Wolverine. — Hugh Jackman

Your marriage goes to a whole new level. You not only fall in love with your wife in a new way, but you're forced to pull together. You have to become a united front. — Hugh Jackman

If I weren't getting paid or didn't have a character like Wolverine to maintain, I would just be a tall, lean, fit guy. — Hugh Jackman

To me, the smell of fresh-made coffee is one of the greatest inventions. — Hugh Jackman

I don't think many actors are the best judge of careers. I think generally we have good instincts about what we can do in terms of acting. And often they become directors, which I don't want to be. — Hugh Jackman

Wolverine was created in the '60s, but he feels like a '70s character in every way. More Dirty Harry, more politically incorrect, the hair, the mutton chops. — Hugh Jackman

I remember at one point being in fellowship, and everyone used to wear the fish symbol; it said you were a Christian. So I asked my father, 'Dad, why don't you wear that at work?' And he said, 'Your religion should be in your actions.' He set a great, great example. — Hugh Jackman

I can live with failure if it is born of conviction. — Hugh Jackman

Nothing has ever opened my eyes like transcendental meditation has. It makes me calm and happy, and, well, it gives me some peace and quiet in what's a pretty chaotic life! — Hugh Jackman

The activity of being a husband, a father - those are roles, too, but underneath them is the spiritual center that connects us all, and that's what's most important. — Hugh Jackman

When lifting, I'm always with a trainer because the thing that makes a difference is that last 20% in your training, and he very scientifically looks after my food as well, because when I'm going for a 'shirt off' shot, everything changes the month before, and I'm timed down to the day. — Hugh Jackman

When you're NAT on the net, you're NOT on the net — Hugh Jackman

'One Night Only,' the words I'll be hearing from my agents when I tell them I'm coming back to Broadway. — Hugh Jackman

Because I believe actually the more you do something, the less frightening it becomes because you start to realize the outcome is not as important as you think. — Hugh Jackman

The audience knows the truth, the world is simple. It's miserable, solid all the way through. But if you could fool them, even for a second, then you can make them wonder, and then you got to see something really special. — Hugh Jackman

I know I'm not known as method. By nature I'm not a brooder. What I continue to use is a mixture of the English school, which is traditionally outside-in, and the more American way of working from the inside out. — Hugh Jackman

Giving people a hand up, not a handout, is the way forward. — Hugh Jackman

To have memories of those you have loved and lost is perhaps harder than to have no memories. — Hugh Jackman

I've always felt that if you back down from a fear, the ghost of that fear never goes away. It diminishes people. — Hugh Jackman

Look, my philosophy in life is expect nothing and everything is a bonus. — Hugh Jackman

I had a fairly enlightened dad, though if you looked at his resume, it might not seem that way. He was a chartered accountant for Price Waterhouse. He was strict, and we had a very ordered life. To this day, I am the least materialistic person I know, because my father didn't raise me to just go out and buy this or that car. — Hugh Jackman

The moment your kid's born you realize no one knows anything. No one goes to classes. You just have a kid. You can read all the books you like, but unfortunately none of our kids have read the books so they don't care. You're basically making it up as you go along. — Hugh Jackman

Now I meet people with full-color 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. — Hugh Jackman

When you're playing an icon like Wolverine, it's sometimes better to be someone that nobody knows because they don't know what to expect. I don't mind a little bit of anonymity; it helps on the subway. — Hugh Jackman

As a boy, I'd always had an interest in theater. But the idea at my school was that drama and music were to round out the man. It wasn't what one did for a living. I got over that. — Hugh Jackman

The physical reality is assumed to be the wave function of the whole universe itself. — Hugh Jackman

Doing anything worthwhile takes forever. — Hugh Jackman

The last 10 years I have had to bulk up for roles and I'm naturally skinny, so I have eaten and killed so many chickens! I wouldn't even want to count. I need to balance that out. — Hugh Jackman

I just love making a fool out of myself. I made my living as a clown at kids' parties for about three years. — Hugh Jackman

I had a bad back for a couple of years. I had to do a lot of physiotherapy for it. What I couldn't understand at the time was why the therapists had me doing a lot of stomach work. — Hugh Jackman

I'm an actor. Never trust an actor, whatever their energy is. I suppose you guys see that side of me, but I'm sure there's plenty of people close to me who've seen the other one. I think if we're all honest with ourselves, we all know that internal rage. — Hugh Jackman

I find that kid actors are great reminders of the simplicity of acting. As you get older, you can sometimes complicate things a little more. You can become too aware of, 'Okay, this is the scene emotionally. This is where we need to be. We've got the climax coming up.' You can start to analyze it too much. — Hugh Jackman

What I respect as far as in myself and in others is the spirit of just doing it. For better or worse, it may work and it may not, but I'm going to go for it. Ultimately I probably prefer to be respected for that than whether it works out or not, either winning or losing. — Hugh Jackman

The longer it takes you to become successful, the harder it will be for somebody else to take it away from you. — Hugh Jackman

It's tough to watch a movie you're in - you put everything into it, you want everything to work, and you never know until you see it all together. — Hugh Jackman

The most scared I'd ever been was the first time I sang at a rugby match, Australia versus New Zealand, in front of one hundred thousand people. I had a panic attack the night before because people have been booed off and never worked again ... just singing one song, the national anthem. — Hugh Jackman

When I come home, my daughter will run to the door and give me a big hug, and everything that's happened that day just melts away. — Hugh Jackman

Both my parents are English and came out to Australia in 1967. I was born the following year. My parents, and immigrants like them, were known as '£10 poms.' Back then, the Australian government was trying to get educated British people and Canadians - to be honest, educated white people - to come and live in Australia. — Hugh Jackman

With age, you see people fail more. You see yourself fail more. How do you keep that fearlessness of a kid? You keep going. Luckily, I'm not afraid to make a fool of myself. — Hugh Jackman

Sometimes you have to go places with characters and emotions within yourself you don't want to do, but you have a duty to the story and as a storyteller to do it. — Hugh Jackman

I have a wife and a son, but the gay rumors have started. I guess it's a sign that I'm moving up the ladder. — Hugh Jackman

To make films like 'X-Men' work commercially - and also have some class - is one of the hardest things there is to do. I want to be seen to be able to cross lots of genres and still be 'fair dinkum,' as we say in Australia, which means genuine and true and, well, unique. — Hugh Jackman

You can't tackle climate change until you tackle poverty. — Hugh Jackman

Your wife is always right. Very simple. I think I'm going to get it tattooed on my forehead. — Hugh Jackman

I always think the great parts outlive the actors that play them and that's a stage tradition, that goes back hundreds of years and it should be that way. — Hugh Jackman

I think I may have been the only person to be rewarded charitably and get a tax deduction for swearing on film! — Hugh Jackman

I tried making an album six years ago. It was just horrific. Trust me, it's smashed into smithereens. I paid big money to silence that one. — Hugh Jackman

Life has ups and it has downs. I don't care who you are. — Hugh Jackman

That's the great thing about parenting. You end up going places you never thought you'd go. — Hugh Jackman

In life you don't regret the things you do, you regret the things you don't do. — Hugh Jackman

I'd sell my soul for a good cause. — Hugh Jackman

At which point should we let go and do what we want to do, and when should we submit to rules? Coming to terms with our true natures and who we really are has always been a fascination to humans. I know it fascinates me. — Hugh Jackman

Unless you're willing to fail miserably in the pursuit of your dreams, you'll never make it. — Hugh Jackman

If you put Buddha, Jesus Christ, Socrates, Shakespeare, Arjuna, Krishna at a dinner table together, I can't see them having an argument. — Hugh Jackman

I'm quite a competitive person, so I do quite like to win. — Hugh Jackman

If I could only do one exercise, it would be dead lifting. For cardio, I dance, I ride my bike, I run and I have kids. There is a ... lot of cardio just from being a parent. — Hugh Jackman

To get down to the quick of it, respect motivates me - not success. — Hugh Jackman

I'm an actor who believes we all have triggers to any stage of emotion. It's not always easy to find but it's still there. — Hugh Jackman

Tiramisu is my favourite. — Hugh Jackman

I'm lucky to have worked in theater all over the world, but there's something magical about Broadway. The audiences are smart, they're educated. They go in ready and they're up for it, they're up for the party. It's a whole different atmosphere. — Hugh Jackman

I have a terrific marriage, but unlike a lot of relationships where they ebb and flow, no matter what happens you fall deeper and deeper in love every day. It's kind of the best thing that can happen to you. It's thrilling. — Hugh Jackman

But anyone who's done a musical knows; whether you're dancing or not, physically it's the most difficult thing you can do. — Hugh Jackman

I was brought up in a way that when you're at a dinner party, you don't grab a chip unless it's been offered to everyone else. It's the manners of being brought up by English parents. — Hugh Jackman

If you get too heavy with the nods and winks, people get a sense that they're excluded from something. If they're in screenings and everyone's laughing, and they don't know what the hell it's about, somehow you feel excluded from the party, or like you're not in the inner circle. As a performer, that's the worst thing you can do to an audience. It's fun, but you have to be very careful with it. — Hugh Jackman

If I meet someone at a bus stop, I want to really meet that person. I don't want to be 'Hugh Jackman, the famous actor.' — Hugh Jackman

The word philosophy sounds high-minded, but it simply means the love of wisdom. If you love something, you don't just read about it; you hug it, you mess with it, you play with it, you argue with it. — Hugh Jackman

The Wolverine was fired from his job as a cashier in a newsagents after just six weeks because his boss said, "he talks too much to customers". He can talk to me all day. — Hugh Jackman

I'm quite an independent person, and I had to be. As a boy and growing into a young man I had to look out for myself. And now I'm very family-oriented. It's a big priority in my life. — Hugh Jackman

I don't think I knew how going to Ethiopia would affect my life, through a very simple choice of buying fair-trade coffee, we can take part in change. — Hugh Jackman

For Sunday breakfast, I make orange and ricotta pancakes, crepes and eggs. You know men, we usually go for breakfast because it's the easiest thing to cook and then we try to make it seem fancy. — Hugh Jackman

The first show I ever did, singing and dancing, was 'Beauty and the Beast.' I was playing Gaston. Gaston has red tights, knee high boots, and it's very physical. I had headaches every day for two months. — Hugh Jackman

My favorite play in drama school was 'The Bacchae.' It's about a king who literally gets eaten alive by all the women in the play in a kind of orgy - it's related to the word 'bacchanal' - and I loved that idea of animalistic chaos and following our own desires. — Hugh Jackman

I've dreamt of being in a movie musical for a long time. For some reason I never even thought 'Les Mis' would be possible. — Hugh Jackman

My kids are not that interested in my movie career, by the way. My son, in particular, never talks about it. He just wants me as his dad. — Hugh Jackman

My parents were drawn to the idea that there was space and opportunity in Australia. For the meagre sum of £10, you could sail your entire family out to Australia, so that's what my father chose to do. — Hugh Jackman

For me that's one of the great indulgences in life - a hand-tailored suit, and a great pair of handmade shoes. — Hugh Jackman

My mum and I are, in many ways, quite similar. We're both creative, gregarious, and energetic. — Hugh Jackman

If you never fall in love with your character, you'll never be able to do that character justice. No matter who it is, no matter what the character does, you have to find the reason for it. Everyone's got a reason for what they do, even if it's a reason that they're not proud of. — Hugh Jackman

Now I meditate twice a day for half an hour. In meditation, I can let go of everything. I'm not Hugh Jackman. I'm not a dad. I'm not a husband. I'm just dipping into that powerful source that creates everything. I take a little bath in it. — Hugh Jackman

I come from the theater, so for me rehearsal is vital and a way of life. There are many film directors who don't believe in it and some actors who prefer not to rehearse. — Hugh Jackman

My gosh, I love food. If I wasn't an actor, I could be a completely different body shape right now. — Hugh Jackman

Australians are coffee snobs. An influx of Italian immigrants after World War II ensured that - we probably had the word 'cappuccino' about 20 years before America. Cafe culture is really big for Aussies. We like to work hard, but we take our leisure time seriously. — Hugh Jackman

I tended to favour the piano over the guitar because it stays in one place, which is what I like to do. — Hugh Jackman

Acting is something I love. It's a great craft that I have a lot of respect for. But I don't think it's any greater challenge than teaching 8-year-olds or any other career. In my life, I try not to make it more important than it is and I just hope that rubs off on the people around me. — Hugh Jackman

As you get older you have more respect and empathy for your parents. Now I have a great relationship with both of them. — Hugh Jackman

I just find the evangelical church too, well, restrictive. But the School of Practical Philosophy is nonconfrontational. We believe there are many forms of Scripture. What is true is true and will never change, whether it's in the Bible or in Shakespeare. It's about oneness. — Hugh Jackman