The Hollywood Reporter has a fawning and lengthy cover story on Hugh Jackman (like, reasonable fawning, not psychopathic, overwrought Esquire-style fawning), and much of it confirms what we already knew – that Hugh Jackman is friendly and super-nice to pretty much everyone. “Open and immensely likable,” as the writer describes him. But there’s also some juicy stuff too, like how Jackman’s 13-years-older wife Deborrah (57) gets annoyed with the constant gay rumors:
In addition to his family, Jackman has surrounded himself with friends, including 11 high school buddies who accompanied him on a reunion trip to Japan four years ago and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus (whose micro-finance campaign Jackman actively supports).
Despite these friends and a seemingly idyllic life, Jackman admits rumors about his sexuality have taken a greater toll than previously acknowledged, especially on his wife. “Just recently, it bugs her,” he says, blaming the Internet, which she frequents more than he does. (Jackman largely sticks to cricket sites and The Economist.) “She goes: ‘It’s big. It’s everywhere!’ “
And then there’s my favorite part, about how Jackman’s friend Tony Robbins (the famously banana-fingered self-help guru) helped Jackman overcome his anxiety, which, oddly, Jackman says gets on movie sets but not onstage. Anxiety he has since overcome by naming the different sides of his personality.
Robbins suggested the strapping 6-foot-3 superstar name the secure and insecure sides of his personality. “Frank was the more confident, and Charles was the other,” says Jackman.
“I always thought strength came from getting rid of that fear,” he adds. “And Tony said: ‘Charles is your sensitivity. Charles makes you question. Charles makes you work harder. When you walk on set, thank Charles for everything.’ ” He pauses. “Tony really transformed my life.” [THR]
The craziest part about this is that Hugh Jackman is Australian. In California, we have an insanely high tolerance for loopy dipwads, and this is par for course, but if you told the average Australian guy that you had names for two of your alter-egos, I guarantee his nickname for all three of you would be “pooftah.” If whatever weird stuff Tony Robbins tells you helps you get through the day, fine, but if he’s really in the business of self-help, a central tenet of his philosophy should be “maybe don’t tell anyone else about old Drop Dead Fred and Chris Gaines. Like, ever.”
