Taming The Beast

Dark and brooding doesn’t do it for Hugh Jackman anymore. The easy-going actor tells CHRISTINA KO why there’s much light ahead, whether it’s to do with film, family or farming coffee.

- Christina Ko

HUGH JACKMAN IS feeling guilty. He’s put on his black-tie best for a fancy function at the New York Public Library courtesy of Montblanc, which is launching a new collection of goods to benefit Unicef’s literacy programme, and he’s pondering if he’s let down the cause by coming to the city landmark for dinner, and not to borrow a book.

“Can you even get a book out from the New York Public Library?” he asks. We look at each other, one a writer by profession, the other an ambassador for education, and shrug. But tonight is not a night to wallow in contrition — it’s a night to proselytise, and to party with purpose.

Besides, we have plenty to discuss, from his role as X-Men’s Wolverine, whose claws he retired earlier this year after almost two decades playing the character, to his upcoming turn as the riveting PT Barnum, to how he hopes a coffee shop he founded will one day change the world.

LOGAN WAS RELEASED EARLIER THIS YEAR, MARKING THE FINAL TIME YOU’LL PLAY THE CHARACTER AFTER A 17-YEAR RUN. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

It was nerve-wracking. And exciting. I had the idea for the last film and I was so excited, but I couldn’t believe that we were allowed to do it — that the studio would let us do it this way. The moment they did, I was excited, but nervous. I knew it was the last time. I knew that we had never quite gotten it right, for me. We’ve gotten close, but never quite right. So it was important we did.

WHAT WAS SO RIGHT ABOUT THIS TIME?