Hugh Jackman on his admiration for King Charles, his feud with Ryan Reynolds and the challenges of being a dad
Hugh Jackman has told Sky News he’d love King Charles to join him for a cameo in the new Deadpool movie.
The Wolverine star – who is reprising his X-Men role for the third film in the franchise about a foul-mouthed anti-hero – has a jokey rivalry with Ryan Reynolds who plays the title character.
He joked it’s that friendly feud which has given him mixed feelings about returning to the role – and invited the monarch to give him a hand.
Hugh Jackman. Pic: Black Bear Pictures/See-Saw Films
“It’s mainly joy and excitement and fun [but] I have trepidation in that I have many, many hours every day with Ryan Reynolds.” Jackman laughed.
“That’s going to be a real mental health stretch for me, but I don’t know, maybe we’ll get King Charles in there to do a cameo.
“What do you think, Your Majesty – little cameo? You’re welcome to punch Ryan Reynolds as many times as you like, Your Majesty.”
Promoting his latest film, The Son, the Australian actor said that as he’s also a British citizen the Royal Family is very much part of his own family’s history.
“I remember even when Lady Di and Prince Charles got married, I remember my father making us all come down,” he said.
“We had to watch television that night and he popped champagne, and it was very important to him.
“I wish the new monarch all the best – it’s an insurmountable role to take on and I admire him for taking it on, and I wish him all the best.”
Zen McGrath. Pic: Black Bear Pictures/See-Saw Films
Jackman also talked about the way his life has been impacted by his latest film role.
While it’s not uncommon for film stars to see work forcing them to have time away, master a new skill or change their physical appearance, it’s not so usual for them to admit to their relationship with their own children being changed because of a character they’ve played.
The 54-year-old said making The Son – in which he plays the father of a depressed teenager – has given him a new perspective on being a dad to his own children, Oscar, 22 and Ava, 17.
“Any parent knows it’s the most humbling thing you can ever do.
“It pushes your buttons more than anything else, and it somehow brings out a fear and a worry that is so hard to handle, and I’ve become a different parent because of this film.”
The star went on to explain how being in the movie has changed the way he speaks to his children.
“I find I’m more often saying, ‘I don’t know’ or ‘give me a second’, ‘I don’t know what to do’, ‘I’m thinking this, but I’m also thinking that’ and it really disarms them, actually, particularly when we’re getting into a fight.
“And also, to tell them things that I’m feeling that has nothing to do with them, because I don’t want them to think I’m mad with them, and if I’m worried about something else, I explain to them what I’m going through.
“So, it’s changed things for me, for sure.”
Sir Anthony Hopkins. Pic: Black Bear Pictures/See-Saw Films
The Son is the second directorial feature from filmmaker Florian Zeller, whose debut The Father was critically acclaimed, winning Oscars for best adapted screenplay and best actor for star Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Jackman says it was him that approached Zeller about starring in his next project, despite having some “doubts” about the role.
“I actually reached out to the director, like I chased this one down because I just really, really wanted to play the part.
“I loved the story, I love Florian as a filmmaker, as a writer – The Father was incredible and so I was passionate about doing it and also daunted.
“I remember going to have my first talk with him, which he ended up casting me from, thinking I’m equally terrified to get the part and not to get the part because it’s a kind of character I don’t get offered a lot.”
It’s surprising to think of Jackman doing something he’s not done before – in a varied career spanning almost thirty years he’s become the longest running Marvel star as Wolverine/Logan, stolen hearts in Baz Luhrmann’s Australia and showcased his musical talents in Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman.
However, he says he certainly doesn’t feel as though he’s mastered his craft.
“I never feel, to be honest, that I’ve done it all or ‘ah this is a breeze’,” Jackman admitted.
“It never feels easy for me.
“[The Son] was just, it felt like something I rarely get a chance to do, and I relished every minute of it.”
In the film, Jackman’s character struggles to understand his son’s mental health issues.
(R-L): Jackman and Vanessa Kirby. Pic: Black Bear Pictures/See-Saw Films
The teen, played by Zen McGrath, is skipping school and finding it increasingly hard to function.
Jackman says he’s extremely sympathetic to young people who are finding it hard to cope.
“It’s so hard to be a teenager, and I think particularly with the pandemic, I think it’s incredibly difficult,” he said.
“There’s social media, all these things that are so different than what we grew up with, it was hard for me growing up as a teenager – it’s a really difficult time for any kid, I think – but I would say right now it’s the hardest it’s ever been – that’s my sense of it.
“And yet, having said that, I think there’s real hope, I feel that the younger generation, those teenagers are much more open about talking about things, they’re much more fluid and less judgemental about what group you’re in or what sexuality you have – they don’t care about any of that stuff and so I see a lot of hope, but I think it’s really difficult for them.”
Despite recognising how tough things are now, the star also admits there are certain aspects of life now that he would have appreciated when he was younger, and toxic masculinity prevented some honest exchanges.
“Thankfully, we are getting better at having open conversations about being more vulnerable, about accepting that we don’t have all the answers, about relying on other people for help,” Jackman said.
“All of these things, I think, are long overdue.
“And, you know, I wish I could have had those conversations when I was a teenager.”
Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts
After his award-winning role in Zeller’s previous film, Sir Anthony Hopkins returns in a cameo part in The Son – playing a different character and the father of Jackman’s character Peter.
They have one, long scene together, with Jackman describing the veteran as an “acting hero” of his.
“I think the thing I learned most, that I admired about him most was that he was the first one to turn up on set before any crew member turned up he was there,” he explained.
“He woke up at 3:30 in the morning so excited that he just went to work and he arrived at like 4am or something – the security guard was there, no one else and he just waited and then he was so good that we finished at like 11:30 in the morning.
“The scene was done and he asked the director if he could go again and I said to [Zeller] ‘Why do you think he’s going again?’ He said, ‘I think he just misses acting’ – because of the pandemic he hadn’t acted, so he just wanted to get out there and do it and he loves it.”
The Son is out in UK cinemas now.
A Banksy artwork, where a glass police box looks like a tank of piranhas, has been moved into protective storage ahead of its display at the London Museum’s new location.
The artwork made headlines last summer when it featured as part of the street artist’s animal-themed collection in the capital, which concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter on the entrance to London Zoo.
The piranhas piece is now in the care of the London Museum and will be kept in secure storage before it becomes accessible to the public as part of a permanent display at the museum’s Smithfield location, which is opening in 2026.
The artwork is moved from London’s Guildhall. Pic: PA
The police box had stood in Ludgate Hill since the 1990s before it was painted to resemble a fish tank.
The box was temporarily relocated by the City Of London Corporation to Guildhall Yard, where thousands of visitors viewed it from behind safety barriers, after Banksy confirmed he was responsible for the artwork.
It was later moved to Guildhall’s South Ambulatory.
Banksy’s London animals collection was made up of nine works including a rhino seemingly mounting a silver Nissan Micra, two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched out towards each other, and three monkeys that appeared as though they were swinging on a bridge.
Some of the works, which also included a howling wolf on a satellite dish, were removed, covered up or vandalised, after being painted across the city from 5 to 13 August 2024.
Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said: “Banksy stopped Londoners in their tracks when this piece appeared in the Square Mile – and now, we’re making it available to millions.
“By securing it for London Museum, we’re not only protecting a unique slice of the City’s story, but also adding an artwork that will become one of the museum’s star attractions.”
The artwork after it first emerged. Pic: PA
Brendan Barns, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s culture, heritage, and libraries committee, said: “Banksy’s Piranhas are already part of City legend – and soon, they’ll be part of London’s story, too.
“Moving this piece into the care of London Museum guarantees that millions of people will be able to enjoy it, alongside an extraordinary collection that celebrates the capital’s creativity and diversity.”
Read more:
Latest Banksy street art located after speculation
Blink-182 star to auction rare Banksy worth millions
Two men charged with stealing Banksy painting
Glyn Davies, head of curatorial at London Museum, added: “With the arrival of Banksy’s Piranhas, our collection now spans from Roman graffiti to our first piece of contemporary street art.
“This work by one of the world’s most iconic artists now belongs to Londoners, and will keep making waves when it goes on show next year in the Museum’s new Smithfield home.”
London Museum’s London Wall site opened in 1976 and closed in December 2022 in preparation for the move to Smithfield.
London Museum Docklands remains open.
Taylor Swift has announced she is getting married to her NFL star boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
The pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end shared the news in a joint post on Instagram, with the caption: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
The announcement was liked more than 1.7 million times just over 30 minutes after it was posted.
Pic: Instagram / @taylorswift
Swift and Kelce started their relationship in 2023, after the three-time Super Bowl winner said on his podcast New Heights that he tried and failed to meet the singer at her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City.
Rumours grew that the couple were dating after Swift was spotted at a number of Chiefs games. On her seventh time in the stands, she brought her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, along.
Kelce told the Wall Street Journal in November 2023: “There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: ‘Yo! Did you know he was coming [to the Eras Tour]?’
“I had somebody playing Cupid… She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From January: Taylor cheers on Travis after Chiefs win
Earlier this month, Swift appeared on Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, and announced her 12th album, titled The Life Of A Showgirl.
Speaking to Kelce and his brother Jason, Swift said it was inspired by the Eras Tour – and also talked about his attempt at meeting her two years ago.
While she said his plan to give her his number on a friendship bracelet was a “wild, romantic gesture,” she joked he “didn’t do any proper logistical planning” and thought he would be allowed backstage.
“Because he knows the elevator lady, he thought he could talk to her about just getting down to my dressing room,” she added. “That’s how it works in 1973.”
Read more about Taylor Swift:
Swift’s final London show was the ‘best’
The impact of the ‘excruciating’ Era’s tour
Her new chart record
The new album, which will be released on 3 October, marks her first release since she took back control over her entire back catalogue from private equity firm Shamrock Capital.
Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.
Despite rumours he would retire after losing this year’s Super Bowl, Kelce will play for the Kansas City Chiefs again this season.
He told GQ magazine his on-field performances “slipped a little bit” as he started acting, and added: “I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”
Entertainment
Men should ‘demand’ prostate cancer test, ex-Sky presenter says – as he speaks about his stage-four diagnosis
Former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has called on men to “demand” a prostate cancer test and for the government to actively offer screenings, after his own stage-four diagnosis.
Speaking to Anna Jones on Sky News, Murnaghan said he didn’t have any of the usual prostate cancer symptoms – such as frequent or urgent urination or the occurrence of blood – but “fell very ill on a foreign holiday”.
Upon being treated by the NHS, he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer.
Pointing to how prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests are getting more accurate, Murnaghan said they should be offered in the same way as screenings for other cancers are.
“They might cost a little bit more money, but think about the money you save,” he said.
“Treating people who get to my stage, there’s an awful lot of things that are being thrown at me that are costing a lot of money.
“As in so many other cancers, if you are diagnosed much, much earlier, then of course you save money much further down the line.”
He said he finished chemotherapy in early July and is currently waiting to see what the effect has been.
It comes as a coalition of more than 60 cancer charities, known as One Cancer Voice, is warning the government must take urgent steps to tackle cancer care in England – including faster diagnosis targets and better prevention policies.
According to analysis carried out by the charities, more than six million new cancer cases could be diagnosed in England between now and 2040.
This would equate to a diagnosis every two minutes, which is up from one every four minutes in the 1970s.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Cancer cases to rise in England
Murnaghan said there is “no formal screening programme” for prostate cancer and men “actually have to ask for it rather than be offered it as so often happens with other cancers”.
In the absence of a screening programme, he said he would advise men of a certain age to “go and demand it”.
‘A real bolt from the blue’
Speaking of how he put off screening, Murnaghan said: “In my own case, I fell through those gaps.
“I foolishly sat in your [presenter Anna Jones] position for many many years speaking to people about this very issue and talking about men, particularly over the age of 50, men in high risk groups who may have a history of it in their family, to go and ask for this screening…
“And I kept thinking you know ‘once I got over that age I will go and do that’,” he said.
“I kept thinking, ‘okay well you know I’ll get round to it’, life intervenes, jobs, children, holidays…all kinds of things and I never did…
“So what happened was at the end of last year I fell very ill on a foreign holiday and kind of rushed back here to get treated by a wonderful health service and was diagnosed, a real bolt from the blue.”
Read more:
England warned it faces six million new cancer cases by 2040
The former Sky News presenter is planning to join Sir Chris Hoy on a charity bike ride to raise money for cancer charities.
Sir Chris was himself diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in September 2023.
Murnaghan is a familiar face to Sky News viewers as one of its main presenters from 2007 until 2023.
In September 2022, he announced the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II on the channel.
Before joining Sky, he presented ITV’s News At Ten and the BBC Ten O’Clock News – now known as BBC News At Ten – as well as Channel 4 News.
Murnaghan also presented the quiz show Eggheads on BBC Two for 11 years.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment11 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024