Hugh Jackman Is Open to Hosting the Oscars Again — With One Rule
Samantha Bergeson
More than a decade later, and Hugh Jackman is ready to return as an Oscars host.
The “Logan” star hosted the 2009 Academy Awards, and has since served as the emcee for the Tony Awards four times. When asked if he would consider returning to host the Oscars, Jackman told Variety “yeah,” but shared one stipulation for the gig.
“My only rule is I don’t want to be working while I’m doing it,” Jackman said.
Well, that may be a problem: Jackman simply is everywhere. After starring in Florian Zeller’s “The Son,” which is already creating Oscar buzz, Jackman is off to reprise his role as Wolverine opposite Ryan Reynolds for “Deadpool 3.” The Australian actor is also part of Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Hulu limited series “Faraway Downs,” which is a recut of 2008 epic period piece “Australia” co-starring Nicole Kidman.
Jackman is rumored to be attached to “The Good Spy” novel adaptation, helmed by Hany Abu-Assad (“Paradise Now,” “Omar”) surrounding the 1983 Beirut bombing outside of the U.S. Embassy. The Oscar nominee is additionally set to play Paul the Apostle in biblical story “Apostle Paul,” written by Matt Cook.
And this is only Jackman’s film projects. The two-time Tony winner will conclude the Broadway run of the rendition of “The Music Man” on January 1, 2023.
“Up and coming actors ask me, all the time, if there’s a secret to it, and I say, ‘Just do the work. You’ve gotta do the work,'” Jackman previously told Collider about his approach to his career. “The people who make it look the easiest have just worked harder. You don’t wanna show the work up on the stage or on the screen, but for me, it’s part of the privilege of working. I didn’t get my first job until I was 26 or 27, so I understand what a privilege it is to have a part, so I always feel that desire to work.”
Jackman added, “For me, personally, to quieten any doubt in my mind, I never want my brain to be going, ‘You’re winging this. You really should have done more work.’ That, to me, is a killer. I’m not always gonna be great and I’m not always gonna give the best performance, but I can’t go to sleep at night, if I know that’s because I really just didn’t do the work.”
