Hugh Jackman has been a father for over 22 years now, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t stopped growing as a parent.
The Australian actor shares two adopted children Oscar, 22, and Ava, 17, with wife Deborra-Lee Furness, and it’s always been clear that being a father comes before any acting roles.
But finally the tables have turned, where an acting role has helped him in his parenting life.
The 54-year-old appeared on The Graham Norton Show to promote The Son, a powerful drama about fatherhood.
Hugh’s recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show saw him open up about his parenting style, and how it’s changed more recently.
(Credit: (Image: The Graham Norton Show))Hugh explained that this latest project had a profound impact on his parenting, as he found himself playing a father who’s son appears to be going through a mental health crisis, saying about the role, “It changed me as a parent.
“One beautiful line in the script is ‘Love isn’t always enough,’ which is one of the most difficult things for a parent to hear.
“I realised it is okay to say to my own children, ‘I don’t know’ and to be open and vulnerable. I used to think they wanted surety and strength from me, but I now share with them things I wouldn’t have before.
“Hopefully I’m not boring dad doing it and that they appreciate it.”
Hugh with his wife and two children in 2012, when the actor recieved a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
(Credit: (Image: Getty))Hugh and Deborra-Lee, who have been married for over 25 years, struggled to have their own family, with Deb going through several miscarriages and failed rounds of IVF.
After realising they wouldn’t be able to conceive naturally, they began looking to adopt within Australia but were forced to move their search to America as a result of complicated local adoption laws.
Speaking to the Herald Sun Hugh spoke of his unwavering love for the children he considers his own.
“I don’t think of them as adopted – they’re our children. We feel things happened the way they are meant to. Obviously, biologically wasn’t the way we were meant to have children.
“Now, as we go through life together, sure there are challenges, but everyone’s in the right place with the right people. It sounds airy-fairy, but it’s something we feel very deeply.”
