The excitement surrounding Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine for Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) has been massive. The film also features a joke about him coming out of his superhero retirement as the wisecracking Deadpool quips: “Disney brought him back. They’re gonna make him do this ’til he’s 90.” It may be the joke that everyone on the internet would agree upon with amusement, but it also perfectly sums up the longevity Hugh Jackman has had in the superhero genre, which, by the way, has also been the reason he is one of the wealthiest actors by net worth.
To the wider world of blockbuster-loving movie lovers, the Australian actor is seemingly irreplaceable as the iconic X-Men character Wolverine. Imagine this, someone who was around 10 years old when they first saw him play the adamantium-clawed mutant is now 34. Only one actor other than Jackman can boast such longevity in playing the same character in more than four movies – Patrick Stewart, his X-Men co-star.
But Jackman’s career is much more than the X-Men franchise. The versatility, screen presence and commitment he has displayed in some of the most incredible movies in over two decades have made him one of the greatest actors of the 21st century. He is a winner of a Primetime Emmy Award, a Grammy, two Tony Awards (including an honorary) and a Golden Globe Award, besides nods for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Film Award. Jackman is, therefore, just one Oscar away from becoming only the fourth actor and only male to boast both Triple Crown of Acting (Academy, Emmy and Tony awards) as well as EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony).
Hugh Jackman began his acting career with a couple of plays and a TV appearance in 1994 in Australia. He gained recognition on the Australian stage circuit with his portrayal of Gaston in Disney’s musical Beauty and the Beast (1995–1996).
After another successful stage appearance with Sunset Boulevard (1996–1997), Jackman arrived in London’s West End with the Royal National Theatre’s Oklahoma! (1998–1999). His performance in Oklahoma! earned him an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. The same year, he appeared in the TV film version of the play.
The year 1999 was also when Jackman made his big screen debut, with the Australian drama Erskineville Kings and followed it up the same year with another Australian movie, Paperback Hero.
Jackman’s life changed when he bagged the most iconic role of his career — Wolverine in the Marvel superhero film X-Men. The film released in 2000, became a blockbuster, and instantly established Jackman as a superhero icon. That role is the reason why Jackman is so phenomenally popular among an entire generation of superhero fans.
He reprised the role in eight more films: the sequels X2 (2002) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), the prequel X-Men: First Class (2009) in an uncredited appearance followed by a leading ensemble role in the prequel-sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), and his solo standalone outings in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Wolverine (2013) and Logan (2017).
Due to studio dynamics, all his appearances as Wolverine were in movies not considered part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Deadpool & Wolverine is, therefore, the first time Jackman will appear as the famed superhero in an MCU film.
Jackman’s charisma is, however, more than just a superhero icon. He has entertained audiences of all ages through his skills in musicals as well as romantic leads. Among his best-known movies outside of Marvel are the romantic comedy Kate & Leopold (2001), action thriller Swordfish (2001), period thriller The Prestige (2006), suspense thriller Prisoners (2013), epic film Australia (2008), and the musicals Les Misérables (2012) and The Greatest Showman (2017). He has also done voice performances in animated movies such as Happy Feet (2006), Rise of the Guardians (2012) and Missing Link (2019).
His best-known stage plays since his international fame as Wolverine include The Boy from Oz (2003 – 2004, 2006), A Steady Rain (2009) with Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway (2011–2012), The River (2014), and The Music Man (2021–2023).
Jackman has received numerous accolades over the course of his long career and has been nominated for several other top honours. Among them are Oscar and BAFTA nods for Best Actor for Les Misérables. He won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for the same film.
He has also won the Emmy for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for hosting the 58th Tony Awards and was nominated in the same category for hosting the 59th edition. He has received two more Emmy nominations in different categories for his hosting work and one for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Bad Education (2019).
Jackman also has a Grammy award, which he won in the category of Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Visual Media for The Greatest Showman.
He won a competitive Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for The Boy from Oz. In 2012, he was honoured with a Special Tony Award. He received his second competitive nod for a Tony Award in 2022 for Best Actor in a Musical for The Music Man.
Jackman earned a Guinness World Record for “Longest career as a live-action Marvel superhero” for his portrayal of Wolverine from 2000 to 2017. He was awarded jointly with Patrick Stewart, who played Professor Charles Xavier aka Professor X in the X-Men franchise.
The record was broken in 2021 by Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe and J.K. Simmons, who reprised their iconic roles from Spider-Man (2002) in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) after having played them in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).
Stewart took the honour back with his appearance as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), setting the record at 21 years 296 days for the portrayal of a live-action Marvel character.
But Jackman is set to break the record once more with the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, which would then take the record to more than 24 years.
Over the course of his quarter-century career, Jackman has delivered some of the biggest blockbusters on the big screen. Many of them are also critically acclaimed — a testimony to his immense influence as a leading man.
His biggest films by worldwide box office gross (above USD 200 million) as solo lead or part of a leading ensemble include:
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) – USD 747,862,775
Logan (2017) – USD 614,202,315
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) – USD 459,260,946
Les Misérables (2012) – USD 435,292,452
The Greatest Showman (2017) – USD 428,875,907
The Wolverine (2013) – USD 416,456,852
X-Men 2 (2003) – USD 406,348,630
Happy Feet (2006) – USD 385,000,315
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) – USD 374,825,760
Rise of the Guardians (2012) – USD 306,941,670
Van Helsing (2004) – USD 300,150,546
X-Men (2000) – USD 296,872,367
Real Steel (2011) – USD 263,880,341
Australia (2008) – USD 215,080,810
His highest-rated movies (above 70 per cent) according to Rotten Tomatoes are:
Bad Education (2019) – 94 per cent
Logan (2017) – 93 per cent
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) – 90 per cent
Missing Link (2019) – 88 per cent
X2 (2003) – 85 per cent
Eddie the Eagle (2016) – 82 per cent
X-Men (2000) – 82 per cent
Prisoners (2013) – 81 per cent
The Prestige (2006) – 77 per cent
Happy Feet (2006) – 76 per cent
Rise of the Guardians (2012) –74 per cent
Flushed Away (2006) – 73 per cent
The Wolverine (2013) – 71 per cent
Les Misérables (2012) – 70 per cent
As is evident, Jackman has found success across genres – superhero, musicals, drama and animated – delivering performances that have received universal praise from both fans and critics.
Hugh Jackman has a net worth of around USD 100 million, according to celebrity wealth tracker Celebrity Net Worth. However, some other reports suggest his net worth is as high as USD 180 million.
In other words, it can be concluded that the net worth of Jackman as of 2024 averages somewhere at USD 150 million. In any case, it will certainly increase once Deadpool & Wolverine hits the screens. A lot is expected of it in terms of revenue. It is the only MCU movie releasing this year and is, therefore, expected to be one of the highest-grossing movies of 2024.
According to Deadline, Deadpool & Wolverine is projected to open at USD 200 million to USD 239 million in the US alone. If it opens at USD 200 million, it would be the first R-rated film to do so. Even if it manages to open at anywhere more than USD 132.4 million, it will break the record held by Deadpool (2016) as the biggest R-rated opening at the domestic box office.
The figure is significant, given that Jackman’s stature reportedly assures him a share in the profits through backend deals. Estimates suggest his paycheck, before any additional revenue from the movie’s performance, could be between USD 20 million and USD 40 million.
It is not an unbelievable figure since Jackman is the one behind the tremendous success of the X-Men franchise as is evident from the fact that the instalments without him are among the lowest-grossing in the series.
However, there is a significant difference between his wealth and the net worth of Ryan Reynolds — his Deadpool & Wolverine co-star. Despite not having delivered as many major hits as Jackman, Reynolds built a higher net worth due to his profitable investments in a series of businesses. It is quite similar to what Ashton Kutcher has achieved, an example of how actors who have diversified into businesses continue to earn more even later in life.
There are unconfirmed reports of an impact on Jackman’s net worth following his separation from Deborra-Lee Furness. Jackman and Furness married in April 1996 and, after 27 years, announced their separation in September 2023.
In total, the movies starring Jackman in a leading role have earned over USD 5 billion at the worldwide box office. These include the X-Men films in which he played either the solo lead or an ensemble lead.
Reports suggest that Jackman was paid USD 500,000 for X-Men, the first film in the franchise. It is highly unlikely that he would have a backend deal, given that he was still fairly a new face on the big screen. But the success of X-Men and his performance guaranteed a rise of around 100 per cent in his paycheck for the next instalment. With each successive X-Men film, his paycheck continued rising till it peaked at USD 20 million.
X-Men (2000) – USD 500,000
X2 (2003) – USD 1 million
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) – USD 5 million
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) – USD 20 million
The Wolverine (2013) – USD 20 million
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) – USD 7 million
The reason behind his pay cut for Days of Future Past was reportedly because it had a larger ensemble cast comprising other major names as well as his relatively shorter screen time. Similarly, he is believed to have taken a pay cut for Logan to help the makers spend more on the production of the R-rated film. However, he is believed to have had a backend deal, which would guarantee him several million, thanks to the stupendous performance of the film. Including salary, bonuses and backend deals, Jackman is believed to have earned around USD 100 million from the X-Men movies alone.
Of course, the X-Men films are what made Jackman what he is today. But he did earn a substantial figure from other movies.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, he earned the following from some of his other movies.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011) – USD 1.5 million
Van Helsing (2004) – USD 2 million
Butter (2011) – USD 2 million
Les Misérables (2012) – USD 5 million
Real Steel (2011) – USD 9 million
Australia (2008) – USD 10 million
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is an international co-production in which Jackman starred opposite Gianna Jun, one of the highest-paid K-drama actors, Chinese star Li Bingbing and American actor Vivian Wu. The same year, he starred in Real Steel, a sci-fi film about a man who trains robot boxers. On the other hand, Australia (2008), in which Jackman co-starred with Nicole Kidman, is one of his best-known films. In 2023, an extended version of the film was streamed as a six-part series re-titled Faraway Downs.
Outside of movies, Jackman has aced on the stage both as a concert artist and in theatre. His Broadway musical The Music Man earned USD 3 million per week despite the pandemic, according to Variety.
Before that, he toured the world in 2019 for the concert The Man. The Music. The Show, which included material from the soundtrack of his musical film The Greatest Showman as well as other songs, including “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Gaston.” According to Billboard Boxscore figures, the concert earned over USD 23.4 million in its European leg.
He also has a production company, Seed Productions, which he co-founded with his assistant, John Palermo and Deborra-Lee Furness in 2005. Their first production was the musical drama Viva Laughlin (2007). Nothing much is known about the production house as of 2024.
Jackman bought a triplex apartment in New York City for USD 21 million in 2012, which was almost half its asking price. The apartment has a living area of 1,021 sq metres. Its uppermost floor had a “jaw-dropping full-floor primary suite.” Jackman listed the property for sale in June 2022 for almost USD 40 million.
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He reportedly still owns a mansion and its adjoining land in East Hampton, which he bought in two transactions in 2014 and 2015 for USD 7.5 million. Spread over 10,117 sq metres, the estate now has two new structures and is offered on rent for USD 500,000 between May and September.
Jackman’s most recent property purchase happened in 2022 when he reportedly bought a 436 sq metre penthouse in the Chelsea neighbourhood in New York City for USD 21.1 million.
(Hero image: 20th Century Studios/Marvel Stud/Courtesy of 20th Century Studio – © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL./IMDb; Featured image: Francois Duhamel – © Touchstone Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved/IMDb)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore.
Hugh Jackman instantly rose to international fame with his first Hollywood movie, 'X-Men' in 2000. Before that, he had already made a name for himself on the theatre circuit, especially in musicals.
Besides the movies featuring him as Wolverine in the 'X-Men' franchise, Hugh Jackman's highest-grossing films include 'Les Misérables' (2012), 'The Greatest Showman' (2017) and 'Happy Feet' (2006).
Some reports suggest that he has business ventures which may add to his net worth. However, details about them are unclear.
Yes, Hugh Jackman will reportedly be seen in the mystery comedy 'Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie' in 2026, two years after 'Deadpool & Wolverine'.
Hugh Jackman's net worth has risen significantly over the years. Though his highest reported paycheck is USD 20 million per film, he has charged lower for some movies, especially non-superhero ones. This has resulted in a net worth shift, though it remains very high.
Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare ..Read More
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