9 Milestones in the Evolution of Hugh Jackman

Deception (2008)

After a busy four years at the box office -- where the actor appeared in X-Men: The Last Stand, Scoop, The Fountain, The Prestige, Flushed Away and Happy Feet and grossed over $550 million at the box office -- Jackman returned to the screen to produce his first project -- which coincidentally became the biggest box office and critical disappointment of his career, Deception. Although the cast and premise seemed promising -- Ewan McGregor stars as an accountant who is introduced to a mysterious sex club by a lawyer (Jackman) only to become the prime suspect in a woman's (Michelle Williams) disappearance -- it tanked with critics and audiences. Today, Deception rests at 14% on Rotten Tomatoes.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

After appearing in X-Men, X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, Jackman's stand-out Marvel superhero became the first mutant to get his own film with 2009's Gavin Hood-directed action feature. The film chronicled Logan's journey as he set out to avenge the death of his girlfriend after becoming Wolverine. Though the film wasn't loved by critics, it went on to earn $180 million at the box office and establish Jackman as a bonafide movie star whose average lifetime gross at the box office is" just south of $100 million":http://boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=hughjackman.htm.

81st Academy Awards (2009)

Having hosted the Tony Awards three times with great success, the film star was a natural choice to host the biggest movie event of the year, the Oscars. There, Jackman earned rave reviews for his opening number which poked fun at the Academy's budget setbacks by performing with "Craigslist dancers" and props that he "made in his garage" before carrying Anne Hathaway out of the audience and onto the stage for a Frost/Nixon duet. His hosting turn was so successful that he was asked the following year to return but could not because of a scheduling conflict.

(Jackman's Emmy-winning Oscar opening number cannot be embedded but can be viewed here.)

Real Steel (2011)

This weekend, after making another Wolverine cameo in X-Men: First Class, Jackman returns to the blockbuster landscape with the $80 million+ DreamWorks sports picture Real Steel where the actor isn't playing a dashing leading man or superhero but a grizzled ex-boxer who reluctantly bonds with his son for a robo-boxing payout. Where will Hugh Jackman go from here? Well, he has another Wolverine movie in the works as well as the starring role in Tom Hooper's Les Misérables screen adaptation.

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