Hugh Jackman
This charming thunder from down under first made noise in 1995 on Australian TV prison drama Correlli opposite Deborra-lee Furness, who would become his wife a year later despite their 13-year age difference and the mother of his two adopted children Oscar and Ava. Skilled at stunts and blessed with a hot body, 2008's Sexiest Man Alive became an instant action hero and leading man when he donned Wolverine's Adamantium claws for X-Men in 2000. The tortured tough guy act lead to two sequels (with more on the way) and an origin story film, Swordfish, playing vampire killer Van Helsing (2004) and boxing robots in family-friendly blockbuster Real Steel. He also proved a favorite hire of auteurs like Woody Allen (Scoop), Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain), Christopher Nolan (The Prestige) and Baz Luhrmann (Australia). But it has been his superstar abilities as a song-and-dance man that have earned him the most critical kudos. He nabbed an Olivier (the U.K.'s major theater honor) for playing the lead in Oklahoma! in 1998, a Tony for the 2003 Broadway musical The Boy From Oz and nominations for just about every award out there including a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Valjean vocalizing in Les Miserables. (It also comes in handy at weddings — he sang at frequent costar Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's nuptials — and award shows. He both cut a rug and belted out sweet sounds as host of the Tonys and the 81st Academy Awards.
