this is not the most coherent article I have ever read but oh well...
No secrets to hideSacha Molitorisz
April 24, 2008
The wholesome Hugh Jackman is a far cry from his character in erotic thriller Deception. SACHA MOLITORISZ reports.
HUGH JACKMAN isn't just handsome, charismatic and living the showbiz fairytale, he's apparently a really nice bloke. "You've got to love Hugh," a friend of mine says. "Family man and super talent."
Can his life really be as perfect as it seems? It's time to hunt for skeletons; time to ask whether Jackman is anything like Wyatt Bose, the conniving character he plays in the new thriller Deception. Bose is an ambitious ladies' man with a dark side. What you see is not what you get.
First it's worth noting that Deception demonstrates yet another of Jackman's abilities. Not only does he play the quixotic main character, he also produced the film. Deception is the first feature from Seed, the production company of Jackman, wife Deborra-Lee Furness and longtime collaborator John Palermo.
Jackman is in make-up at Fox Studios in Sydney as he talks to Metro over the phone. "Right now I'm getting stuff stuck all over my body so I can go on set as Wolverine."
After the success of the three X-Men films, Jackman is now starring in a movie based around his character, Wolverine. Seed is producing this one, too.
"Actually, I'm loving producing ... I find I enjoy the acting a lot more being a producer, because you're so much more involved with the process of the creation of the scene.
"I think the hardest thing as an actor - and of course actors' personalities sometimes don't help - is that when you concentrate on what you're doing, you can forget the film as a whole. As a producer, that's what's on your mind the whole time. You're thinking, 'How can I make the best film possible?' [To be a producer and an actor], you've got to be a bit grown-up."
Now he's trying his luck as a producer in Deception, which co-stars Ewan McGregor as a lonely accountant and Michelle Williams as a troubled temptress. Set in New York and Madrid, the plot takes in a sex club, romance and embezzlement.
One feature of the film is it includes lots of sex and not much gore, marking a welcome contrast to much Hollywood fare.
"It's a very sexual film," Jackman says. "But I wouldn't say it's salacious. There's every aspect of sexuality in there."This talk of secret sex clubs seems at odds with Jackman's personal life and wholesome public image. Bose and Jackman are polar opposites, which Jackman says was a large part of the attraction for choosing the part.
"All actors love to play shadier characters," he says. "And these are parts I don't get to play a lot. With Wyatt, you're not quite sure what his motives are at any point in time. You just have the feeling that, enticing as he is, you probably shouldn't be going along with him. It might lead to trouble."
What Jackman and Bose do have in common is that both are high achievers. Born in Pymble in 1968, Jackman was school captain at Knox and studied communications at UTS before enrolling at the prestigious Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, where he graduated in 1994. After TV work on shows including Correlli, where he met his future wife, in 1999 he appeared in two Aussie features, Erskineville Kings and Paperback Hero.
A year later Jackman hit the Hollywood bigtime when he was hired as a last-minute replacement for Dougray Scott in 2000's X-Men. Its success propelled Jackman into co-starring roles alongside John Travolta and Halle Berry.
Even when the films were disappointing (Swordfish, Someone Like You, Van Helsing), Jackman emerged unscathed. There were impressive efforts too, including the X-Men films (which reputedly earned more than $1 billion worldwide) and Happy Feet and Flushed Away, for which Jackman did voiceover work. Meanwhile, he was warbling and waltzing. He won a Tony Award in 2004 for his portrayal of Peter Allen in the Broadway production of The Boy From Oz, as well as hosting those Tony awards. By 2006, Jackman was so hot he could have won an award for tying his shoelaces. That was the year he was cast to star opposite Nicole Kidman in Baz Luhrmann's Australia, which is out in November. He was a master of all trades, jack of none.
However, success producing was not instantaneous. Seed's first venture, the TV series Viva Laughlin, was pulled from Aussie screens after one episode. But Jackman has high hopes for Deception. "We had a production company and wanted to make a movie but I didn't want to jump straight into making Wolverine, which is a massive movie with massive demands. It was a movie for us to cut our teeth."
As producers, the Seed trio is largely driven by their own curiosity, Jackman says. And by the fact that, once all the reviews are read and box office figures are tallied, films aren't really that important after all.
"For my wife and I the most important thing is family," Jackman says.
In Deception, McGregor's character is vulnerable because he has no family. Jackman, by contrast, cherishes his wife of 12 years and two adopted kids, Oscar and Ava. Jackman says his prioritising of his family comes largely from his dad, who - like McGregor's character - was an accountant. Jackman was one of five kids; when he was eight, his mum left the family.
"My dad was very hard-working, very diligent, very loyal. And he was quite extraordinary as a father. There was a very difficult period where he was largely looking after us all on his own, so you can just imagine with five kids what that was like.
"And my dad doesn't give a lot of advice but when I got married he said you're going to come to crossroads in your marriage all the time, and every time if you ask yourself, whatever choice is facing you career-wise or personally, 'Is this good for my marriage or bad for my marriage? If you do what's good for your marriage, you'll be fine.'
"Oh," he says, "the guy's behind me are motioning for me to take my pants down. It's time to end the interview."
What's this? A scandal?
No, just the make-up crew transforming Jackman's lower half into Wolverine's.
DECEPTION
Director Marcel Langenegger Stars Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams
Rated MA15+. Screening now.
This story was found at:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/04/23/1208743020724.html 
