Hugh Jackman may be one of the last true renaissance men left in entertainment. As an actor, a singer, and an overall performer – the man has more talent in his pinkie than any of us regular Joes could amass in a lifetime of practice.
The guy has been a part of the fabric of Americana for over 20 years now, noted for his portrayal of Marvel superhero Wolverine, but showing his acting chops in films like Prisoners and his pure showmanship in stuff like Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman.
Though he’s seen his popularity soar over the years, Jackman has yet to bring home the elusive Oscar. His only nomination came in 2013 for Les Mis, but Daniel Day-Lewis took home the gold that year for Lincoln. All in all, Jackman has one Oscar nomination, three Golden Globe nominations (with one win in there for Les Mis), an Emmy award, a Grammy award, and a Tony award. Oh, and how could we possibly forget his 2014 Slammy Award for ‘Raw Guest Host of the Year’ in the WWE? Not too shabby a resumé.
With Bad Education dropping on HBO this past weekend, I reached out to our resident film critic, Brandon Vick, and the Swiss Army Knife of SoBros Network, John Mosley, to ask them what some of their favorite Jackman performances were. Here’s what we came up with.
Our Top 10 Hugh Jackman Performances
10. Real Steel – Okay, hear me out on this one. I know Real Steel looks a little campy and out-there. But, Jackman delivers a real heartfelt performance that makes this movie way better than it had any right being. Full review here.
9. The Wolverine – I tried not to pick more than one of the cheesy garbo X-Men movies, but it’s hard not to put The Wolverine on here. We finally got some of the ‘Logan in Japan’ stuff from the comics, and it brought a little more depth to the character than the shallow X-Men movies did.
8. Swordfish – Y’all are out of line if we’re talkin’ Jackman movies and none of you remember 2001’s Swordfish. I’m pretty sure this is one of the first DVDs I ever owned. Everything about that movie was just sleek and cool.
7. Eddie the Eagle – This is one that popped right up in conversation when I asked Mose for his favorite Jackman performances. We also happen to have a full review of it here.
6. The Fountain – Per our resident film critic, Brandon: “movie is weird, but he definitely commits.”
5. The Greatest Showman – Jackman’s portrayal of P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman became a bit of a cultural phenomenon there for a hot minute. I swear I still have the soundtrack stuck in my head from time to time because of how often my girlfriend and my niece played it.
4. Les Miserables – I’m not a fan of musicals at all, but even I have to admit that this film did show the full range of Jackman’s talent better than any of his other performances. Hell, we have to mention Les Mis because it’s the only role Jackman’s ever played that’s yielded an Oscar nomination (Best Actor (2013)).
3. The Prestige – All three of us mentioned the top three in our Jackman Mount Rushmores. Jackman and Christian Bale playing magicians who are duking it out (literally) to create one big illusion to rule them all is simply magic on the screen. Christopher Nolan gets a ton of credit for the Dark Knight trilogy, but The Prestige, anchored by the all-world performances of Jackman and Bale, is his best work in my opinion.
2. Logan – An iconic end for an iconic character…one that Jackman had played for the better part of 20 years at the time of its release. Some actors were made to play certain characters – this is definitely an example of that. I can’t imagine another actor portraying Logan, nor do I want to.
1. Prisoners – Prisoners isn’t a film to take lightly. It is dramatic and bleak, but the cast delivers a collectively heart-wrenching performance. Chief among them is Hugh Jackman, playing Keller Dover, a man that takes matters into his own hands once his daughter goes missing. Jackman plays Keller with pain and anguish to a degree that you genuinely feel the harrowing, despondent hopelessness in that man’s soul.
Got your own personal favorite Hugh Jackman flick? Share it with us in the comments or on Twitter: @SoBrosMovies.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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