Born on October 12, 1968 in Sydney, Australia, Hugh Michael Jackman is a film producer and film and stage actor who is popularly known for his role as Wolverine in the X-Men films. Jackman is the youngest of five children from English parents. His mother left for England when he was eight, and grew up with his father and siblings. He was educated at University of Technology in Sydney where he graduated with a degree in communications with a major in journalism. He became part of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts shortly after college and graduated in 1994. Jackman had appeared on numerous stage productions before his first film role came to him in the form of X-Men's Wolverine. This was a role he portrayed thrice, as the first movie spawned of a sequel and a third installation. Wolverine, a movie spin-off of the X-Men trilogy, is set to be released in 2008 with Jackman still doing the role. In 2004, he won a Tony award for his portrayal on a Broadway production of The Boy from Oz. He also got an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performer in a Variety, Musical or Comedy program in 2005, after hosting the Tony Awards for three years in a row.

Nicky Fontana is played by Hugh Jackman in the CBS series Viva Laughlin. Nicky is a tycoon—a wealthy casino owner whose rival approaches him for help. His rival, Ripley Holden, is asking for financial help because he is trying to put up his own casino. Viva Laughlin ties up its audiences with glamour and wealth in the casinos of Laughlin with the mysteries that spawn from the business dealings of the two businessmen.



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