Col. William "Bill" Stryker, M.D. is a fictional comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, and enemy of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Brent Anderson, he first appeared in the 1982 graphic novel ''X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills''.

Rev. Stryker is a Christian fundamentalist televangelist who sees himself on a mission from God to destroy the mutant race.

In the film ''X2'', Stryker is played by Brian Cox as an army colonel with a fervent desire to destroy mutants. Danny Huston portrays Stryker in the superhero prequel movie, ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' in which he is the villainous leader of the Weapon X project. In 2009, Stryker was named IGN's 70th Greatest Villain of All Time.

Fictional character biography

''God Loves, Man Kills''

Stryker is a religious fanatic, with a military history which may have involved the Weapon X project (the same project which results in Wolverine being given his adamantium skeleton). Stryker is characterized by his unequivocal hatred of mutants. So strong is this hatred that Stryker goes so far as to kill his own wife and mutant-born son immediately after his birth. Crazed and outraged, Stryker then makes a failed suicide attempt. As time passes, he becomes convinced Satan has a plot to destroy humankind by corrupting prenatal souls, the result of this corruption being mutants. Additionally, Stryker eventually comes to see the birth of his mutant son as a sign from God, directing him to his true calling: ensuring the eradication of all mutants.

Driven by this newfound conviction, Stryker then becomes a popular but controversial preacher and televangelist. While his followers, including a secret paramilitary group called the Purifiers, commit hate crimes against mutants, Stryker arranges to have Professor Xavier kidnapped, brainwashed, and attached to a machine that, using his brainpower, will kill all living mutants. In order to stop this scheme, the X-Men are forced to join forces with their nemesis, Magneto. When the extent of his bigotry becomes obvious—he attempts to kill Kitty Pryde in front of a television audience—one of his own security guards shoots and arrests him.

''God Loves, Man Kills II''

Stryker, who made no appearances until this storyline in ''X-Treme X-Men'', was assumed forgotten. This time, it was revealed that Stryker had been serving a prison sentence as a result of the events of his previous actions. Lady Deathstrike, a character with ties to the X-Men's Wolverine, made her way onto the airplane where Stryker was being transferred. Once there, she killed his guards and rescued him, where it was revealed that the two are lovers, and he immediately began a crusade against the X-Men, focusing on Wolverine, Cannonball, the X-Treme X-Men team, and Shadowcat, against whom he apparently had a grudge.

Stryker sent a group of followers against several of the X-Men, and kidnapped Kitty Pryde. Along the way, Kitty convinced Stryker that mutants were not an abomination, and he seemed to turn over a new leaf.

Decimation

However, he recently came back as a major player right at the start of the Decimation following Marvel's House of M event, deeming the sudden massive reduction in number of the mutant population a sign of God, saying "He made the first step and now we have to take the next", basically rallying for genocide on TV. He was featured mostly in ''New X-Men'' as the main villain, but also appeared in other comics set during this time frame. With the help of Icarus, one of the Xavier Institute's students, he caused a bus to explode, killing about 1/4 of the de-powered students from the academy. Then he planned the assassination of Wallflower, ordering one of his snipers to shoot her in the head. Next he tried to kill Dust, though it was actually X-23. The deaths of Wallflower and Dust were Stryker's prime objectives, as he had been informed by Nimrod that both girls would destroy his army. Finally he attacked the institute with his "Purifiers," killing Quill, leaving Onyxx and Cannonball critically wounded, and hurting Bishop, Emma Frost, and other students. After Stryker's Purifiers were defeated, he was killed by the enraged boyfriend of Wallflower, Elixir.

Recently, Bastion resurrected Stryker with a Technarch, to join Bastion's new Purifiers. Bastion revealed that as the founder of the Purifiers, Stryker has the second highest number of mutant kills. He is surpassed only by Bolivar Trask, the founder of the Sentinels.

Bastion charges Stryker to locate Hope and Cable, following their return from the future in the Second Coming event. His Purifiers, in conjunction with Cameron Hodge's Right footsoldiers, engage the X-Men and New Mutants. The Purifiers take out Magik with a weaponized ritual, Illyana is abducted by demons through one her own stepping discs. They also disrupt Nightcrawler's teleportation with a sonic attack, disorientating him. The battle culminates when Wolverine orders Archangel to take out Stryker. Warren shifts to his "Death" persona and slices Stryker in half at the waist with his wings.

Other versions

Ultimate William Stryker

Beast reveals that the leader of the anti-mutant conspiracy within the U.S. government that operated was an Admiral named Stryker, who is also linked to the creation of the Ultimate Marvel Universe's version of the Legacy Virus. Stryker's son, Reverend William Stryker, Jr. later appears in Ultimatum as a leader of an anti-mutant coalition armed with Sentinel tech. probably stolen from SHIELD. He has cybernetic facial implants and resembles Ahab from the mainstream Marvel Universe and various alternate realities.

In other media

Film

The story prior to his recent reappearing formed the loose basis for the film, ''X2''. Stryker is the main antagonist, and he is played by Scottish actor Brian Cox. He is said to be a military scientist who has gone into defense contracting, but in a reference to his comics' counterpart, several lines of his hint at a belief that he destined to eradicate mutants and that he has been ordained by God to do so . His connection to Wolverine is made more explicit, as is his motivation regarding his son. Also, rather than having killed his son, Jason (who himself is partially modeled after Mastermind, another X-Men foe), at birth, Stryker sent him to Xavier's school in hopes of curing him, regarding mutation as a disease that must be cured. Xavier had no interest or belief in 'curing' mutants, which angered Stryker. Additionally, Jason continued to grow angry, resentful, and vindictive towards his parents; he tortured them by planting illusions in their brains until his mother committed suicide by drilling into her own brain in order to "bore the images out". Stryker then gave his son a lobotomy to make him more docile. He attacks the X-Mansion learning the information from brainwashing Magneto. He kidnaps Cyclops and Professor Xavier and brainwashes them both. Jason, under his father's direction brainwashes Xavier- after Xavier learns that Stryker is the mastermind behind an assassination attempt on the President by a brainwashed Nightcrawler- into using a reproduction of Cerebro to kill all mutants, while Cyclops is left to confront the attacking X-Men. Magneto, wearing a helmet designed to shield against telepathic attacks, is able to reach Xavier while the X-Men are incapacitated by the psychic assault, but then has Jason make Xavier use Cerebro II to kill ordinary humans. At his direction, Mystique impersonates Stryker and instructs Jason of a change in plans, which Jason then communicates to the brainwashed Xavier. Magneto and Mystique escape, and soon thereafter Storm and Nightcrawler enter Cerebro II and disrupt Jason's illusion, allowing Xavier to break free from his control before any humans or mutants are killed. Stryker attempts to escape, but his attempts are foiled by Wolverine and Magneto, who chains William to a large block of debris. In his last moments, he confronts Wolverine about how he apparently volunteered to have the adamantium put in his skeleton, and asks him whether he would actually side with mutants. Looking at the young mutant he was carrying to safety, a young boy with a lizard-like tongue (Artie Maddicks), Wolverine informs Stryker that he would "take his chances with him" and left him to die. As Wolverine walks away, Stryker bellows after him that "one day someone will finish what I've started. One day!" Given his immobilised status, Stryker presumably dies when the nearby dam bursts.

Stryker returns in the film ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', again as the main antagonist, set roughly twenty years before ''X-Men'', portrayed by Danny Huston. This is a younger version of Stryker. Huston liked the complex Stryker, who "both loves and hates mutants because his son was a mutant and drove his wife to suicide. So he understands what they're going through, but despises their [destructive] force." He compared the character to a racehorse breeder, who rears his mutant experiments like children but abandons them when something goes wrong. In the film, Stryker starts off as a Major trying to recruit Victor Creed and James Howlett to join Weapon X. While searching for a mysterious rock, Stryker threatens to kill civilians to garner information, causing Wolverine to leave the team. Through the years Stryker begins working with Creed and using Wade Wilson as Weapon XI. He tells Creed to kill all the other members of the team and to have Logan's girlfriend Kayla (Silver Fox) - an agent of Stryker's keeping an eye on Logan- fake her death. After Logan is left for dead by Victor, Col. Stryker persuades Logan to become Wolverine. The process is successful, and Stryker wants to use Logan's DNA for the XI, but Logan hears this and escapes. After General Munson tries to shut Weapon X down, learning of Stryker's son and believing that he is too emotionally close to the situation, Stryker kills him. Also Stryker kidnaps mutants, including a younger Cyclops (Tim Pidcock) in order to pass their abilities into Weapon XI. The others escape with Kayla while Logan and Victor battle Weapon XI. Weapon XI is defeated, but Stryker shoots adamantium bullets in Logan's head, causing amnesia as a result of the damage done to his brain; although the physical injury heal, his memories seem to be permanently gone. He points the gun at Kayla but Kayla tells him by using her power of persuasion to walk until his feet bleed and then keep walking, refusing to order him to kill himself as that would make them no better than him. Stryker unwillingly does so. As he is walking down the road in a scene during the credits, he is picked up by the military police who arrived to bring him in for questioning about his connection with General Munson's murder. In this scene, he is seen to have gained weight and has more rugged features such as wrinkles, this is when he starts gaining an appearance similar to Brian Cox like in ''X2''.

William Stryker. Sr makes a brief appearance in ''X-Men: First Class'' played by Don Creech. He appears as a CIA agent set in the 1960s discussing the existence of mutants with Charles Xavier. Xavier comments on Stryker's son William as a method of proving his psychic abilities to the agent. As a nod to the events of ''Origins'', he briefly meets Emma Frost and comments on how he'd like to keep her incarcerated. His bigotry is also apparent, he even works out a deal with the Soviet forces off of Cuba's coast to join American forces in attacking the X-Men at the film's climax, resulting in the departure of one of the team's members to Magneto's side.

Video games

The game-exclusive master villain in ''X-Men Legends'' named Gen. William Kincaid (voiced by John DiMaggio) is largely based on the film series incarnation of Stryker and similar characters such as Bolivar Trask and Dr. Steven Lang.

Stryker is referenced several times in X-Men: The Official Game. It's revealed that his son Jason Stryker survived and is using his father's secret program Master Mold to kill the X-Men. It's also revealed that The Hand and Kenuichio Harada funded it for him.

Col. Stryker appears in a major role in ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' voiced by David Florek.

References

External links

William Stryker at Marvel.com

Category:Fictional majors Category:Film characters Category:Marvel Comics supervillains Category:Fictional Vietnam War veterans Category:Fictional cyborgs Category:Fictional mass murderers Category:Fictional colonels Category:Fictional undead Category:Fictional priests and priestesses Category:Fictional generals Category:Fictional private military members Category:Comics characters introduced in 1982 Category:Fictional scientists Category:Fictional aviators Category:Fictional cult leaders Category:Characters created by Chris Claremont

es:William Stryker fr:William Stryker it:William Stryker nl:William Stryker pt:William Stryker fi:William Stryker sv:William Stryker

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	Hugh Jackman
birth name	Hugh Michael Jackman
birth date	October 12, 1968
birth place	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
occupation	Actor
years active	1994–present
spouse	Deborra-Lee Furness (1996–present) }}

Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.

Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters. He is known for his role as Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' series, as well as for his leads in ''Kate & Leopold'', ''Van Helsing'', ''The Prestige'', and ''Australia''. Jackman is a singer, dancer, and actor in stage musicals, and won a Tony Award for his role in ''The Boy from Oz''.

In November 2008, ''Open Salon'' named Jackman one of the sexiest men alive. Later that same month, ''People'' magazine named Jackman "Sexiest Man Alive."

A three-time host of the Tony Awards, winning an Emmy Award for one of these appearances, Jackman also hosted the 81st Academy Awards on 22 February 2009.

Early life

Jackman was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the youngest of five children of English parents Chris Jackman and Grace Watson, and the second child to be born in Australia (he also has a younger half sister, from his mother's re-marriage). One of his paternal great-grandfathers was Greek. His parents divorced when he was eight, and he remained with his accountant father and siblings, while his mother moved back to England. As a child, Jackman liked the outdoors, spending a lot of time at the beach and on camping trips and vacations all over Australia. He wanted to see the world: "I used to spend nights looking at atlases. I decided I wanted to be a chef on a plane. Because I'd been on a plane and there was food on board, I presumed there was a chef. I thought that would be an ideal job."

Jackman went to primary school at Pymble Public School and later attended the all-boys Knox Grammar School, where he starred in its production of ''My Fair Lady'' in 1985, and became the captain of the school in 1986. Following graduation, he spent a gap year working at Uppingham School in England. On his return, he studied at the University of Technology, Sydney, graduating in 1991 with a BA in Communications. In his final year of university, he took a drama course to make up additional credits. The class did Václav Havel's The Memorandum with Jackman as the lead. He later commented, "In that week I felt more at home with those people than I did in the entire three years [at university]".

After obtaining his BA, Jackman completed the one-year course "The Journey" at the Actors' Centre in Sydney. About studying acting full-time, he stated, "It wasn't until I was 22 that I ever thought about my hobby being something I could make a living out of. As a boy, I'd always had an interest in theater. But the idea at my school was that drama and music were to round out the man. It wasn't what one did for a living. I got over that. I found the courage to stand up and say, 'I want to do it'." After completing "The Journey", he was offered a role on the popular soap opera ''Neighbours'' but turned it down to attend the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts of Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia, from which he graduated in 1994.

Career

Early work

On the night of his final Academy graduation performance, Jackman received a phone call offering him a role on ''Correlli'': "I was technically unemployed for thirteen seconds." ''Correlli'', devised by Australian actress Denise Roberts, was a 10-part drama series on ABC, Jackman's first major professional job, and where he met his future wife Deborra-Lee Furness: "Meeting my wife was the greatest thing to come out of it." The show lasted only one season.

After ''Correlli'' Jackman went on the stage in Melbourne. In 1996, Jackman played Gaston in the local Walt Disney production of ''Beauty and the Beast'', and Joe Gillis in ''Sunset Boulevard''. During his stage musical career in Melbourne, he starred in the 1998 Midsumma festival cabaret production ''Summa Cabaret''. He also hosted Melbourne's Carols by Candlelight and Sydney's Carols in the Domain.

Jackman's early film work includes ''Erskineville Kings'' and ''Paperback Hero'' (1999), and his television work includes ''Law of the Land'', ''Halifax f.p.'', ''Blue Heelers,'' and ''Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River''.

''Oklahoma!''

Jackman became known outside of Australia in 1998, when he played the leading role of Curly in the Royal National Theatre's acclaimed stage production of ''Oklahoma!'', in London's West End. The performance earned him an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Jackman said "I totally felt like it can't get any better than this. On some level that production will be one of the highlights of my career." He also starred in the 1999 film version of the same stage musical, which has been screened in many countries.

''X-Men''

In 1999, Jackman was cast as Wolverine in Bryan Singer's ''X-Men'' (2000), replacing Dougray Scott. His co-stars included Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, and Ian McKellen. According to a CBS interview in November 2006, Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness told him not to take the role, a comment she later told him she was glad he ignored.

Wolverine was tough for Jackman to portray because he had few lines, but a lot of emotion to convey in them. To prepare, he watched Clint Eastwood in the ''Dirty Harry'' movies and Mel Gibson in ''Road Warrior''. "Here were guys who had relatively little dialogue, like Wolverine had, but you knew and felt everything. I'm not normally one to copy, but I wanted to see how these guys achieved it." Jackman was adamant about doing his own stunts for the movie. "We worked a lot on the movement style of Wolverine, and I studied some martial arts. I watched a lot of Mike Tyson fights, especially his early fights. There's something about his style, the animal rage, that seemed right for Wolverine. I kept saying to the writers, 'Don't give me long, choreographed fights for the sake of it. Don't make the fights pretty."

Jackman also had to get used to wearing Wolverine's claws. "Every day in my living room, I'd just walk around with those claws, to get used to them. I've got scars on one leg, punctures straight through the cheek, on my forehead. I'm a bit clumsy. I'm lucky I didn't tell them that when I auditioned."

Jackman, at 6'2½ (1.89 m), stands a foot taller than Wolverine, who is said in the original comic book to be 5' 3". Hence, the filmmakers were frequently forced to shoot Jackman at unusual angles or only from the waist up to make him appear shorter than he actually is, and his co-stars wore platform soles. Jackman was also required to add a great deal of muscle for the role, and in preparing for the fourth film in the series, he bench-pressed over 300 pounds. An instant star upon the film's release, Jackman later reprised his role in 2003's ''X2: X-Men United'', 2006's ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', and 2009's ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''. He also cameos as Wolverine in 2011's ''X-Men: First Class''.

2001

Jackman starred as Leopold in the 2001 romantic comedy film ''Kate & Leopold,'' a role for which he received a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination. Jackman plays a Victorian English duke who accidentally time-travels to 21st-century Manhattan, where he meets Kate (Meg Ryan), a cynical advertising executive. In 2001, Jackman also starred in the action/drama ''Swordfish'' with John Travolta and Halle Berry. This was the second time Jackman worked with Berry, and the two have worked together twice more in the ''X-Men'' movies.

He hosted an episode of ''Saturday Night Live'' in 2001.

Stage 2002–2009

In 2002, Jackman sang the role of Billy Bigelow in the musical ''Carousel'' in a special concert performance at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

In 2004, Jackman won the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for his 2003–2004 Broadway portrayal of Australian songwriter and performer Peter Allen in the hit musical ''The Boy from Oz'', which he also performed in Australia in 2006. In addition, Jackman hosted the Tony Awards in 2003, 2004, and 2005, garnering positive reviews. His hosting of the 2004 Tony Awards earned him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performer in a Variety, Musical or Comedy program.

Jackman co-starred with Daniel Craig on Broadway at the Schoenfeld Theatre in a limited engagement of the play ''A Steady Rain'', which opened in previews on 10 September 2009 and closed on 6 December 2009.

Films 2003–2008

After 2003's ''X2: X-Men United'', Jackman played the title role of monster killer Gabriel Van Helsing in the 2004 film ''Van Helsing''. Jackman and the film were noted in Bruce A. McClelland's book "Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead".

Jackman was one of the choices to play James Bond in 2006's ''Casino Royale'', but eventually lost out to Daniel Craig. Jackman starred in the 2006 film ''The Prestige'', directed by Christopher Nolan and co-starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson. As Robert Angier, Jackman portrayed a magician who built up a rivalry with contemporary Alfred Borden in attempt to one-up each other in the art of deception. Jackman stated that his main reason for doing ''The Prestige'' was to work with the musician David Bowie, who played scientist Nikola Tesla.

Jackman portrayed three different characters in Darren Aronofsky's science-fiction film ''The Fountain'': Tommy Creo, a neuroscientist, who's torn between his wife, Izzi (Rachel Weisz) who is dying of a brain tumor, and his work at trying to cure her; Captain Tomas Creo, a Spanish Conquistador in 1532 Seville; and a future astronaut, Tom, travelling to a golden nebula in an eco-spacecraft seeking to be reunited with Izzi. Jackman said ''The Fountain'' was his most difficult film thus far due to the physical and emotional demands of the part.

Jackman also starred in Woody Allen's 2006 film ''Scoop'' opposite Scarlett Johansson. He rounded out 2006 with two animated films: ''Happy Feet'', directed by George Miller, in which he voiced the part of Memphis, an emperor penguin; and ''Flushed Away'', where Jackman supplied the voice of a rat named Roddy who ends up being flushed down a family's toilet into the London sewer system. ''Flushed Away'' co-starred Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen (Jackman's fourth time working with him).

In 2007, Jackman produced and guest-starred in the television musical-dramedy series ''Viva Laughlin'', which was canceled by CBS after two episodes. Jackman's 2008 movies included ''Deception'' (which he starred in and produced), ''Uncle Jonny'', and ''Australia''.

''Australia''

In 2008, director Baz Luhrmann cast Jackman to replace Russell Crowe as the male lead in his much-publicized epic film, ''Australia'', which co-starred Nicole Kidman. The movie was released in late November 2008 in Australia and the U.S.

Jackman played a tough, independent cattle drover, who reluctantly helps an English noblewoman in her quest to save both her philandering husband's Australian cattle station and the half-caste Aboriginal child she finds there.

Of the movie, Jackman said, "This is pretty much one of those roles that had me pinching myself all the way through the shoot. I got to shoot a big-budget, shamelessly old-fashioned romantic epic set against one of the most turbulent times in my native country's history, while, at the same time, celebrating that country's natural beauty, its people, its cultures.... I'll die a happy man knowing I've got this film on my CV."

2009 to present

Jackman's ''X-Men'' sequel film, ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', opened in 2009.

Jackman had a one-man show at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco from 3–15 May 2011. The production was a mixture of his favorite Broadway and Hollywood musical numbers, backed by a 17-piece orchestra, from shows including ''Oklahoma'' and ''The Boy from Oz''. The show had a run-time of approximately 100 minutes, and also included slide shows of Jackman's youth, family, and work, as well as some one-on-one interaction with the audience. Jackman was backed by fellow musical theatre veterans Merle Dandridge and Angel Reda.

Future projects

Jackman also plans to play Billy Bigelow in a remake of ''Carousel'' Jackman is being considered, along with Ewan McGregor, to reprise the role of Joe Gillis in a new film version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''Sunset Boulevard''. Jackman is working on creating a new comic book series, ''Nowhere Man,'' with U.S. publisher Virgin Comics and writer Marc Guggenheim, with hopes of adapting it to a film as well. Jackman stars in an upcoming movie named ''Unbound Captives'', where he will play alongside his past co-star Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson. Jackman will star in ''The Greatest American Showman'', a contemporary musical based on the life of P.T. Barnum. The female love interest part is being written with Anne Hathaway in mind. ''Real Steel'' (2011), a DreamWorks science fiction film. Director Lee Daniels has confirmed Jackman has joined the cast of his upcoming film ''Selma'', a film about Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon Baines Johnson and the civil rights marches. On 27 January 2011, DreamWorks announced that Jackman will star in the film ''Rise of the Guardians'', scheduled to be released on 21 November 2012. Jackman has been cast in ''Movie 43'', an upcoming 2012 ensemble comedy. Jackman is in negotiations to star as Jean Valjean in a film adaptation of the musical rendition of ''Les Misérables''.

Production company

In 2005, Jackman joined with longtime assistant John Palermo to form a production company, Seed Productions, whose first project was ''Viva Laughlin'' in 2007. Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness is also involved in the company, and Palermo had three rings made with a "unity" inscription for himself, Furness, and Jackman. Jackman said, "I'm very lucky in the partners I work with in my life, Deb and John Palermo. It really works. We all have different strengths. I love it. It's very exciting."

The Fox-based Seed label has grown in size to include execs Amanda Schweitzer, Kathryn Tamblyn, Allan Mandelbaum and Joe Marino, with Alana Free operating the Sydney-based production office whose goal is to mount modest-budget films to harness local talent in Jackman's home country.

Other interests

Charity work

As a philanthropist, Jackman is a longtime proponent of microcredit – the extension of very small loans to prospective entrepreneurs in impoverished countries. He is a vocal supporter of Muhammad Yunus, microcredit pioneer and the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Jackman is a global advisor of the Global Poverty Project, for which he narrated a documentary; and he and the project's founder Hugh Evans visited the UN for the cause in 2009. Jackman hosted a preview of the Global Poverty Project Presentation in New York together with Donna Karran, Lisa Fox and his wife Deborra-Lee. He is also a World Vision ambassador and participated in the climate week NYC ceremony on 21 September 2009.

Jackman supports The Art of Elysium and the MPTV Fund Foundation, and he and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness are patrons of the Bone Marrow Institute in Australia. Jackman also narrated the 2008 documentary about global warming, ''The Burning Season''.

Jackman also uses his Twitter account for charity. On 14 April 2009 Jackman posted on his Twitter page that he would donate $100,000 to one individual's favorite non profit organization. On 21 April 2009 he revealed his decision to donate $50,000 to Charity:Water and $50,000 to Operation of Hope.

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig made a unique place for themselves in the history of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising 8 December 2009, when it was announced that they had raised $1,549,953 in the 21st annual Gypsy of the Year competition, from six weeks of curtain appeals at their hit Broadway drama, ''A Steady Rain''.

Sports and other activities

Jackman has shown keen interest in sports. In high school, he played rugby union and cricket, took part in high jumping and was on the swimming team. He enjoys basketball and kayaking. He has expressed an interest in football, committing his support to Norwich City FC. In the United States, Jackman supports the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, attending a game at PPL Park in June 2010. On 22 June 2011, Jackman again attended a home Union match against Sporting KC, sitting in front of the Sons of Ben supporters section, nicknamed "The River End".

Jackman is a longtime fan and supporter of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, a NRL club based in Sydney's north. He sang the national anthem at the 1999 NRL Grand Final.

Jackman plays the piano, does yoga, and has been a member of the School of Practical Philosophy since 1992.

Personal life

Jackman married Deborra-Lee Furness on 11 April 1996. They met on ''Correlli'', an Australian television series. Jackman personally designed an engagement ring for Furness, and their wedding rings bore the Sanskrit inscription "Om paramar mainamar", translated as "we dedicate our union to a greater source".

Furness had two miscarriages, following which she and Jackman adopted two children, Oscar Maximillian (born 15 May 2000) and Ava Eliot (born 10 July 2005).

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
1994	''Law of the Land''	Charles McCray	1 episode
1995	''Correlli''	Kevin Jones	10 episodes
1995	''Blue Heelers''	Brady Jackson	1 episode
1996	''''	Duncan Jones	5 episodes
1999	''Erskineville Kings''	Wace
1999		Jack Willis
2000			Saturn Award for Best Actor
2001	''Kate & Leopold''	Leopold	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2001		Eddie
2001		Stanley Jobson
2003
2004
2004	''Van Helsing: The London Assignment''	Gabriel Van Helsing	(voice)
2005	''Stories of Lost Souls''	Roger	segment "Standing Room Only"
2006	''Happy Feet''	Memphis	(voice)
2006	''Flushed Away''	Roddy	(voice)
2006	''''	Robert Angier	Nominated – Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor
2006	''''	Tomas / Tommy / Tom Creo	Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2006		Peter Lyman
2006	''X-Men: The Last Stand''
2007	''Viva Laughlin''	Nicky Fontana	TV series, also executive producer
2008		Wyatt Bose	Producer
2008	''Uncle Jonny''	Uncle Russell	Tropfest 2008 Finalist Film
2008		The Drover	Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Actor in a Drama
2008	''''	Narrator	Documentary
2009	''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''	rowspan=2	Producer
2011	''X-Men: First Class''	Uncredited cameo
2011		Arthur
2011	''Real Steel''	Charlie Kenton	Post-production
2011		Boyd Bolton	Post-production

Awards and nominations

Awards

1997 Variety Club Award for Best Actor in a Musical – ''Sunset Boulevard''

1998 Mo Award for Best Actor in a Musical – ''Sunset Boulevard''

1999 Australian Movie Convention, Australian Star of the Year

2000 Saturn Award for Best Actor – ''X-Men''

2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Theatre World Award – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Broadway Audience Award – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance of the Year – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in a Musical – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 TDF-Astaire Award for Best Male Dancer in Theatre – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Theater Fan's Choice Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival – Short Film Award for Best Actor – "Making the Grade"

2004 Australian Showbusiness Ambassador of the Year

2005 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program – 58th Annual Tony Awards Ceremonies

2006 ShoWest Award for Male Star of the Year

2006 Mo Award for Australian Performer of the Year

2008 WAAPA – Chancellor's Alumni Award for Excellence, UTS Towering Achievement Award

2008 Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance in a Stage Musical – ''The Boy from Oz''

2008 Australian Film Institute Award Readers' Choice

2008 ''People'' Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive Award

2008 Australian GQ Man of the Year

2008 Teen Choice Award for Choice Actor in an Action Adventure ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''

2009 Jackman had his hand and footprint ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 21 April 2009.

2009 Best Performance By A Human Male at the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards as Wolverine in ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''

2010 People's Choice Award for Favorite Action Star – ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''

Nominations

1997 Mo Award for Best Actor in a Musical – ''Beauty and the Beast''

1998 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical – ''Oklahoma!''

2001 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy – ''Kate & Leopold''

2001 CFCA Award for Most Promising Actor

2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program – 59th Annual Tony Awards Ceremonies

2006 Green Room Award for Best Male Artist in a Leading Role – ''The Boy from Oz''

Mentions in popular culture

Jackman was chosen as ''People'' magazine's Sexiest Man Alive of 2008.

In the ABC comedy-drama ''Scrubs'', one of the more prominent running gags is Dr. Cox's (John C. McGinley) seemingly irrational hatred of Jackman.

In the 7th season of ''Punk'd'', Jackman was led to believe that he had accidentally blown up director Brett Ratner's house. On the Season 6, Episode 13 of ''Will & Grace'', which aired on 10 February 2004, the character Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes), mentions he is going to see ''The Boy From Oz'', because he can not wait to see Hugh Jackman. He later discusses wanting to sue Jackman for stealing some of his dance moves.

References

External links

'A Steady Rain' Rules Broadway – opening night blog at broadway.tv

Jackman, Hugh National Library of Australia, ''Trove, People and Organisation'' record for Hugh Jackman

Category:1968 births Category:Australian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Australian film actors Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian musical theatre actors Category:Australian people of English descent Category:Australian stage actors Category:Australian television actors Category:Australian television presenters Category:Australian voice actors Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People educated at Knox Grammar School Category:People from Sydney Category:Tony Award winners Category:University of Technology, Sydney alumni

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