Hugh Jackman wanted to run out of 'humiliating' audition
The actor has revealed he read for the part of Jean Valjean in the 2012 film and then sang the track Stars for a panel of movie bosses, but his voice cracked on the final note and he was overcome with feelings of shame.
During a performance of An Evening With Hugh Jackman at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Saturday night (07.06.25), he told the audience: "I read first and I could tell it was going well.
"Then I sang and I cracked on the final note so spectacularly. Like it was the worst crack you could have ever imagined. Whatever excitement was on the panel, it just deflated immediately. I was about to run out, just humiliated."
According to Variety, Jackman went on to add: "But then the guy goes: 'Whoa, hold on a second. Why did you sing that song?' I said, 'It's the only thing I had music for. I'm sorry.'
"And he said: 'Well, you can throw that away. You'll never sing that again.' I think what he meant to say was: 'Why don't you put that to the side for like 30 years when you might sing it at the Hollywood Bowl?'"
Jackman won the role and he went on to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. The film scored three wins at the Academy Awards picking up Best Supporting Actress for Anne Hathaway as well as Best Sound Mixing and Best Make-up and Hairstyling.
The actor is set to show off his singing skills on screen again soon playing a Neil Diamond impersonator in new movie 'Song Sung Blue'.
Jackman stars opposite Kate Hudson - who released her debut album Glorious last year - as real life couple Mike and Claire Sardina, who were Neil Diamond and Patsy Cline impersonators who formed a successful tribute act named Lightning and Thunder.
The film is based on the 2008 documentary Song Sung Blue which told the couple's story.
Kate recently shared a picture of the actors singing together on screen on Instagram and wrote: "Loved every second making this beautiful film, working with the most lovely work husband you could ask for @thehughjackman, singing the iconic songs of Neil Diamond ...
"More love notes for everyone involved to come … but right now I am just so excited to share with you that we have a release date. Song Sung Blue - only in theaters this Christmas."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
‘It's unlike anything I've ever done before': Mark Hamill teases ‘sadistic' villain in The Long Walk
Mark Hamill has said his role as the Major in The Long Walk is 'unlike anything [he's] ever done before'. The 73-year-old actor stars as the antagonist in the upcoming movie adaptation of Stephen King's 1979 horror novel of the same name, and Hamill has now reflected on his 'sadistic' character. During an interview with Discussing Film, the Star Wars actor said: 'Well, he's amoral. I mean, for you to be able to do what he does … he's got to be some kind of sociopath. 'There's no sort of backstory for him, but you know he's a really troubled person. And sadistic and … just all those terrible things.' Hamill added The Long Walk was completely different to his other recent projects, like the Tom Hiddleston-starring fantasy film The Life of Chuck and the upcoming animated flick The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. He continued: 'It's unlike anything I've ever done before and that's what I like. It's like Life of Chuck, which is aeons away from what I do in this. 'And then I'm doing a voice in The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. I love that title, [it] sounds like it's important, but it's the same glorified nonsense that we've come to expect.' In The Long Walk, 100 teenage boys are forced to participate in a relentless walking contest where falling below a set pace means death. As the gruelling journey unfolds, the competitors face both physical torment and psychological collapse in a fight for survival. The movie - which was co-produced and directed by Francis Lawrence and written by J.T. Mollner - stars Cooper Hoffman, Ben Wang and Charlie Plummer, and is slated to hit screens on September 12, 2025. Hamill's Major is the military commander who oversees the walk, and the actor said he was drawn to the role after spending his teenage years in Japan, where his school was next to a U.S. military base. The Batman: The Animated Series star told Variety: 'I said, 'I know who this guy is: I've seen him firsthand'. I'd walk across the parking lot, seeing the officers putting these guys through their paces in blazing hot sun, and they were just brutal. Like if you vomit, they force you to eat it. It's horrible.' Reflecting on The Long Walk, Hamill said he hopes 'everyone will hate [his] guts' due to his portrayal as the Major. He told abc's On The Red Carpet: 'The premise is horrific and off-putting. But the real heart and soul is the story of these young guys and what they experience during the long walk. 'I'm just a bad a**. If I do my job right, everyone will hate my guts, that's okay.' Hamill's co-star Garrett Wareing - who portrays teen Stebbins in The Long Walk - warned the weight of the movie's emotional story would hit audiences hard. He said: 'It's freaky-gets me in my gut every time. That feeling doesn't leave you.'
Perth Now
6 hours ago
- Perth Now
Vanessa Kirby lost her voice after Fantastic Four birth scene
Vanessa Kirby lost her voice after filming the birth scene for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The 37-year-old actress plays Sue Storm in the new superhero movie which features a scene in which her character gives birth in space - and Vanessa has admitted the strenuous shoot - which took place over several weeks - took a toll on her vocals. She told Variety: "We had an amazing couple of weeks shooting that sequence in that spaceship. I loved every minute. I lost my voice by the end. "You only see a few shots in there, but we did hundreds, just roaring the whole time. I think the crew had to get earplugs by the end. It was a very beautiful thing to shoot. I felt so supported by those actors." She went on to reveal they used child actors when filming scenes with Sue's baby and it proved challenging at times. Vanessa explained: "100 per cent of the film was shot with a real baby. Our lead baby, Ada, a little girl, was just heaven. " We had lots of other babies who were acting with us and helping us. We got really attached to them, and they were so part of our journey. It almost became weird if they weren't there. "Also, it's challenging. The speech that Sue has was a night shoot. It was really late and we were shooting in winter in London, and all the babies cried at exactly the same line. "I thought: 'Am I delivering something so bad that they're crying at the same moment?' Babies are the most natural actors in the world." Vanessa is currently expecting her first child with her partner Paul Rabil, and she recently discussed the difference between her real baby bump and using a fake belly for her role in The Fantastic Four film. Speaking on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Vanessa shared: "I honestly think a lot of people think it's a stunt of some kind. It's just crazy timing. "Essentially, the fake belly is like a foam thing. When it's a foam, it feels very light and a bit silly. So I kept saying to Flick, who looks after my costume: 'I want more. It needs to be heavier.' "So we would try all these different things and eventually she kind of put heavy rice packets in the belly and it got so heavy, [and] I got really bad backache. "And actually it's nothing like this. This [real baby bump] is... way lighter. So, I gave myself a backache for no reason at all."
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Perth Now
Pedro Pascal downplays Avengers leader reports
Pedro Pascal has downplayed reports that Reed Richards is the new leader of the Avengers. The 50-year-old actor plays Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's new Fantastic Four movie and despite director Matt Shakman recently hinting that Richards will take on the huge role in the future, Pascal doesn't believe that will happen. He said: 'It's big news to me, that's for one. I think Matt Shakman was doing an interview and when he was speaking about Reed… there is something that happens in the comics where he is sort of drawn in by the Avengers family and asked to be put into a leadership position. That is something that happens in the comics. It isn't necessarily something that my character's future entails. 'I am being honest in that. I am not even trying to avoid spoilers. It's a little bit of a mislead.' Pedro's comments came after Fantastic Four: First Steps director Shakman told Variety that Reed was the most difficult role to cast because 'he goes from being the nerdy scientist who's locked away in the lab, to the husband and the father who'd do anything to protect his family, to the guy who's leading the Avengers'. Pascal and his Fantastic Four co-stars Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will reunite for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday but plot details are being kept under wraps.
