I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit sitting in movie theaters watching Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the epic X-Men series. He’s the best Wolverine ever, and the Guinness World Record cites Jackman as the longest career as a live-action Marvel superhero. However, Jackman is much more than a superhero actor. He has acted in movies the likes of “Kate and Leopold,” “The Fountain, a period romance named “Australia,” and even the film version of “Les Miserables,” a performance that earned him a Golden Globe Award. Hugh Jackman’s talent as an actor surprises no one. The man has even won two Tony Awards for his work on Broadway. He has also won an Emmy Award. But did you know he’s also a singer? And not just any singer. A really good singer and producer. In fact, he won a Grammy Award (as a producer) for Best Soundtrack Album for “The Greatest Showman.” As if being one of the most talented guys on the planet isn’t enough, People Magazine named Jackman, who has been married to the same woman for more than 20 years, the “Sexiest Man Alive in 2008. ”
It is perhaps “The Greatest Showman,” where Jackman shines at his best. Starring as the legendary P.T. Barnum, Jackman stunned the world with his versatility and singing talent. The show was a biographical musical drama that served as the directing debut of Michael Gracey. Jackman, along with Michelle Williams, Zac Effron, Zendaya, and Rebecca Ferguson, delivered a show-stopping performance that would have made Barnum himself proud. Featuring nine original songs from Justin Paul and Benj Pasek, “The Greatest Showman,” covered Barnum’s creation of Barnum’s American Museum and gave a historical account of the lives of the stars of the attractions in the museum.
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The museum is cringe-worthy in retrospect. Barnum’s goal was to make a name for himself, but with the wax figurines he had set up, sales were slow. When Barnum’s children suggested he show something “alive,” Barnum came up with the idea of using “freaks” to draw traffic to his museum. He pulled people together who had various unique qualities, such as the bearded lady “Lettie Lutz.” Thus was the beginning of Barnum’s Circus.
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In his own words, Jackman said that a bad musical “stinks to high heaven,” but a good musical has people coming together and opening their hearts. Watch below Hugh Jackman as he pulls off a performance of “The Greatest Showman.”
