The Tragedy Of Hugh Jackman Explained

Hugh Jackman revels in all the "cutting-edge" success that playing Wolverine has brought him in his acting career; however, it hasn't been without its set of challenges. In fact, the Australian actor put his own body through the wringer for his craft on several occasions; his vocal cords, for example, have been left permanently damaged because of him making the gruff Logan voice for over 20 years.

It isn't only on the film set that Jackman experienced his share of ups and downs, though. His personal life holds a number of heartbreaking tragedies that impacted him in painful ways. Jackman opened up about how his mother, Grace, walking out on the family when he was a child hit him hard and had a lingering influence on his formative years. At the same time, he grew close to his father, Christopher — viewing him as a remarkable man and stellar parent — so he was devastated when his dad died in 2021. Two years after his father's death, Jackman and his wife of 27 years, Deborra-Lee Furness, announced they were splitting up. Considering how long they had been together, they were seen as one of the quintessential celebrity couples who gave others hope about true love and marriage, then it was all over.

Jackman's cabinets at home might be filled with awards and his social media accounts bursting with love from fans around the globe, but he's human like everyone else — and has experienced life's highlights and lowlights.

While Hugh Jackman was born in Australia, his parents immigrated to the country from England before his birth. According to Jackman, his mother, Grace, packed up and left the family when he was 8 years old because she missed her own relatives in England, so she moved back to her home country to be closer to them. Jackman told Australian Women's Weekly (via News.com.au) that Grace sent a telegram to tell everyone the next day; however, he didn't accept she was truly gone until he was a teenager.

"One of the main things I remember is that horrible feeling that people were talking about you and looking at you because it was odd for the mother to leave," he said. Eventually, his parents divorced, with his sisters going to live with his mother in England and him staying with his brother and father in Australia.

Despite how Grace left the family, Jackman holds no resentment toward his mother because of it, stating how he understood why she took the steps she did after they discussed it years later. "The thing I never felt, and I know this might sound strange, I never felt that my mum didn't love me," he said. "I've spoken about it at length with her since and I know she was struggling. She was in hospital after I was born suffering from post-natal depression. There wasn't a support network for her here."

Children who have abandonment issues experience feelings of fear and stress. Hugh Jackman revealed to Parade that after his mother, Grace, left when he was 8 years old, he "was a fearful kid who felt powerless," which was further compounded by him being the youngest child of four. He added: "I used to be the first one home and I was frightened to go inside. I couldn't go into the house on my own. I'd wait outside, scared, frustrated. Growing up I was scared of the dark. I was scared of heights. It limited me. I hated it, and that contributed to my anger."

Jackman explained how when he was a teenager there was the possibility that his parents were set to reconcile and they would be a family again. When this didn't happen, though, the anger boiled over in his life. Jackman explained how he and his friends used to headbutt their lockers at school, and he developed a "Wolverine rage" when he played rugby as he would let the emotion take over him on the sports field.

While "The Greatest Showman" might be one of the biopics that lied to your face, it boasts Hugh Jackman in his element as P. T. Barnum — who was involved in the tangled history featuring the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus – where he combines his three talents: Acting, singing, and dancing. Jackman holds a special relationship with the theater and said his infatuation for the stage began when he was 5 years old and formed a part of a "Camelot" play.

Even at such a young age, people could see his undeniable ability on stage and when he was 11 years old, a teacher suggested to Jackman's father that he sign up for dancing lessons to take his performance up a level. According to Jackman, his father agreed to it, but the young Jackman was dissuaded from doing so because of his older brother Ian's needling and derogatory remarks about dancers. They were words that could have veered his life's path in a different direction if it were not for something positive that happened when Jackman was 18.

Jackman told TODAY how he went to watch "42nd Street," and his brother Ian approached him about his comments from years earlier. According to Jackman, his brother said: "I said something really stupid to you about eight years ago. You belong on the stage, and I'm really sorry." Ian's apology meant everything, as the actor enrolled in dance lessons the very next day and pursued his dreams to the fullest.

Hugh Jackman met Deborra-Lee Furness on the set of the Australian television show "Correlli" in 1995. There was an instant attraction between the pair and they started dating soon afterward, before tying the knot in 1996. In 2004, Furness appeared on the talk show "Enough Rope with Andrew Denton," where she discussed her marriage to Jackman and the decision behind adopting their son, Oscar. She explained how she and Jackman planned to have a child of their own first and then adopt, but they faced significant issues with conceiving children. Instead, they went the adoption route and never looked back.

In a 2017 interview with People, Jackman opened up about his and Furness' inability to conceive children. He said: "We struggled, a couple miscarriages, IVF — it's not easy, particularly on Deb." Jackman confirmed what Furness had said about them always considering adoption, hence why they welcomed two children in the form of Oscar and Ava. However, they wanted to make a significant difference at the same time. "Our motivation behind adopting was, 'Where is the need?' The biggest need is in mixed-race kids," Jackman said.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Hugh Jackman remains tied to the role of Wolverine and is likely to be so for the remainder of his career. There have been multiple Batman, Hulk, and Spider-Man actors throughout the years, but there has been only one Wolvie: Jackman. While his body transformation to become the shredded superhero is nothing short of grueling, he reportedly underwent a painful experience during the filming of 2003's "X2."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, producer Tom DeSanto and director Bryan Singer allegedly had it out on set during the production one day. DeSanto suspected Singer and several crew members of being intoxicated and wanted to stop filming for safety reasons. However, Singer pressed ahead with a scene that went wrong and left Jackman bloodied. Reportedly, the stunt coordinator wasn't on set either, and the incident prompted another producer, Ralph Winter, to shut down the production. The event spiraled into a major behind-the-scenes drama that saw several cast members threatening to walk if DeSanto left the film.

Indeed, if Jackman's bloody scene had made it into the final cut of "X2," it likely would have been one of the Marvel movie moments that would have outraged fans.

In November 2013, Hugh Jackman posted a picture of him with a bandaged nose on his Instagram account. While fans might have thought it was a Wolverine-esque injury he suffered as an action star, the actor revealed it was something else. He wrote: "[Deborra-Lee Furness] said to get the mark on my nose checked. Boy, was she right! I had a [basal] cell carcinoma. Please don't be foolish like me. Get yourself checked." Much like Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free Song," he urged his followers to apply sunscreen. While basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer, early treatment is usually effective and causes minimal damage.

In April 2023, Jackman posted an Instagram video where he discussed going to the doctor to get checked out again. Once more, he encouraged his followers to wear sunscreen and get their skin checked out if anything seems amiss. Later, Jackman revealed his biopsy results were negative to his followers. That said, this was the sixth procedure he had done since 2013.

There are a number of musicians who have permanently damaged their bodies performing live. Hugh Jackman joined the club in March 2015 when he canceled dates for his "An Evening with Hugh Jackman" tour in Turkey after his doctor advised him to rest his voice. Posting on X (formerly known as Twitter), Jackman wrote: "I have a left vocal hemorrhage. At [the] advice of Dr. Kocak Dr Korovin I will cancel my shows in Turkey." While Jackman eventually made his way back onto the stage to belt away his favorite show tunes, this wasn't the only vocal injury he suffered in his career. 

In February 2023, he told BBC's "Front Row" radio program that playing Wolverine over all these years caused irreparable vocal damage to him. "I have done some damage to my voice with Wolverine," he said. "My falsetto is not as strong as it used to be and that I directly put down to some of the growling and yelling."

Jackman added how he had been taught how to properly scream in a way that didn't damage his voice in drama school. Even so, he didn't always follow the teachings for his performance as the X-Men's resident berserker. However, Jackman revealed he had employed a vocal teacher to assist him with his roles to ensure he didn't do any further damage to his pipes in the future.

After Hugh Jackman's mother, Grace, left the family in Australia to go back to England, Jackman stayed behind in the land from down under with his father, Christopher. As Jackman revealed on "Live with Kelly and Ryan," Christopher has been one of his greatest supporters, watching every single one of his shows since he was 5 years old and always telling him "wonderful work" after a performance.

In September 2021, Jackman posted a photo on his Instagram account, revealing that Christopher had died on Father's Day in Australia. Jackman wrote: "And whilst there is deep sadness, I am filled with such gratitude and love. My Dad was, in a word, extraordinary."

Speaking to Variety in October 2022, Jackman disclosed that his father had Alzheimer's disease and he had visited Christopher before he started filming "The Son." He said: "He was nearing the end. So he was ostensibly gone, mentally. He would still smile a bit. I didn't know he was going to physically pass away, but I knew it was kind of a goodbye." Jackman received the news that his father died when he was filming the movie, but he chose to carry on with the production since he knew his father hadn't missed a day of work and would have wanted him to push on as well. 

Speaking to the BBC in December 2022, Hugh Jackman said that there were mental health professionals employed on the set of "The Son" to assist the cast and crew because of the traumatic nature of the story. "This was the first time I'd ever seen such a thing on a film, and people used it and it was necessary," Jackman said, adding that discussions about mental health should be encouraged more.

In a separate interview with The Sun in February 2023, Jackman admitted that he had started seeing a therapist himself to resolve previous trauma from his past and to understand how it influenced him. He explained how he had resisted it for so many years, since it wasn't too common for people to seek out mental health assistance in Australia. However, he found a benefit to it, saying: "You need a friend that you can unload with everything. You need that in all sorts of ways, from all sorts of people. Having someone really smart, who's actually a little bit removed from your world, can be really helpful."

Jackman added how therapy helped him to find out more about himself, while strengthening relationships with those closest to him.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Hearts shattered in September 2023 when Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness announced their separation. The couple had been married since 1996 — and for fans and cynics, they stood as living proof that celebrity marriages can work in the long term. It came as a shock since Jackman had posted a picture and loving tribute to 27 years of marriage with Furness months earlier on his Instagram account.

The couple didn't disclose the specific reasons behind their separation. Instead, they issued a joint statement to People, stating: "We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage. Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth."

According to a source close to the pair who spoke to ET, there is no animosity or bad vibes between the couple. Much like their shared statement, they simply found themselves walking different roads and decided a split was the best solution. Reportedly, they are on good terms and remain focused on parenting their two children, Oscar and Ava. It appears to be true as well, since Furness joined Jackman to celebrate his birthday a month after they announced their separation.

Music remains ingrained in Hugh Jackman's DNA, as he found a love for theater and performance early in his life. Part of the reason for this is because he studied under the tutelage of Australian music legend Brian Buggy, who received an Order of Australia Medal in 1998 for his contributions to the arts. Apart from all his other achievements, the Brisbane-born Buggy was also known for helping to discover and shape the next generation of performers, such as Jackman, as well as "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Matrix" star Hugo Weaving.

In August 2024, Jackman posted a heartfelt Instagram Story (via Hello! Magazine) celebrating the life and influence of Buggy, who died at the age of 83. Jackman wrote: "I want to pay tribute to Brian, OAM. He was in charge of music at Knox High School. He taught me, and literally thousands of students across the years, a deep love and joy for music." Jackman added how Buggy's passion for music and affinity for a laugh remained cherished memories, while he praised his mentor's ability to control any room he was in. He concluded the message by expressing his appreciation for Buggy and extending his condolences to the family.

Want to learn more about Hugh Jackman's most famous role as Wolverine in arguably one of the best comic book movies of all time? Then check out the small details in "Logan" only true fans noticed.