Hugh Jackman speaks candidly about losing his father
Hugh Jackman has spoken candidly about his last moments with his father before taking on a movie role that moved him to tears.
The Wolverine actor lost sleep, had to see a psychiatrist and was writing in a journal to deal with the tragic loss but knew he had to keep shooting for The Son to not let his dad down.
The Son tells the story of Peter - played by Jackman - a workaholic who struggles to take care of his partner, baby and teenage son.
The plot struck a chord with Jackman who was abandoned by his mother at the age of 8 and then raised by his father.
Moments before he shot his first scene as Peter, Jackman went to visit his father Christopher who had suffered from Alzheimer’s for 12 years.
“He was nearing the end…So he was ostensibly gone, mentally. He would still smile a bit. I didn’t know he was going to physically pass away, but I knew it was kind of a goodbye,” Jackman told Variety.
Christopher Jackman passed away on Father’s Day in 2021 and his son knew what he had to do instead of grieving his loss.
“My father never missed a day of work,” Jackman explained.
“I could feel him. I knew if he could talk to me, he’d be like, ‘You got to go to work! What are you talking about?’ I felt his presence on the set.”
Jackman never forgot his roots and would always have his father nearby when filming doing crosswords.
The portrait of his father working on a crossword stays with Jackman which he says “really helped him”.
“I had an image of him on set, standing behind the action. My father worked incredibly hard — looking after five kids, the weight of the world on his shoulders. I had the feeling of him being completely free. That really helped me.”
The Son will hit cinemas on February 9 2023 in Australia and New Zealand.
Image: Variety