Hugh Jackman first began acting in the mid-1990s, securing supporting roles on various TV shows in Australia and winning awards for his performances in Australian productions of hit Broadway musicals. His first feature film was 1999's "Erskineville Kings," a drama about two brothers who return to their hometown to attend their father's funeral. Also in 1999, he starred in "Paperback Hero," a delightful comedy wherein Jackman played a tough-as-nail truck driver who, contrary to his personality, writes a hit romantic novel.

The following year, however, Jackman came to the world's attention playing Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine, in Bryan Singer's superhero movie "X-Men." Jackman, unknown to American audiences, was instantly embraced as Wolverine, and he became a superstar overnight. He has gone on to play Wolverine in several additional films, and is now considered one of Hollywood's more reliable leading men. One can thank the casting directors on "X-Men...