October 12: Australian actor, singer and songwriter Hugh Jackman, is 44-years-old today.

Hugh Michael Jackman, who was born in Sydney, New South Wales has had a diversified career that spans film, musical theatre and television. Jackman is a singer, dancer, and actor in stage musicals, and won a Tony Award for his role in The Boy from Oz.

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-- "Opening Number at the Oscars"

Hugh first ventured outside of Australia in 1998, when he played the leading role of Curly in the Royal National Theatre's acclaimed stage production of Oklahoma!, in London's West End. The performance earned him an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.

Jackman has also won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters. He is well known from his role as Wolverine in the X-Men series, in addition to his leads in Kate & Leopold, Van Helsing, The Prestige, and Australia.

In November 2008, Open Salon named Hugh Jackman one of the sexiest men alive. Later that same month, People magazine named Jackman "Sexiest Man Alive."

A three-time host of the Tony Awards, winning an Emmy for one of these appearances, Jackman also hosted the 81st Academy Awards on 22 February 2009.

Jackman had a one-man show at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco in May 2011. The production was a mixture of his favorite Broadway and Hollywood musical numbers, backed by a 17-piece orchestra, from shows including Oklahoma and The Boy from Oz.

Among his many other projects in the works, Jackman will star in The Greatest American Showman, a contemporary musical based on the life of P.T. Barnum. Anne Hathaway is expectd to play his love interest in the film.

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