Hugh Jackman has been #feelingnuts lately. The Wolverine star decided to extend his claws, err, support to a campaign that aims at raising awareness for testicular cancer. The Oscar nominee was happy to ‘grab’ the opportunity to support yet another cause out of that many he supports enthusiastically. A quick look at Hugh Jackman’s Twitter and Instagram handles and you will know that this star uses all his social media platforms to promote and support causes ranging from ending poverty, trees & wildlife protection, Pediatric AIDS, socially conscious living, adoption awareness, conscious parenting, and the list goes on.
The 46 year old Australian actor has won international recognition for his roles in major films, including Wolverine in the X-Men series, as well as for his leads in Kate & Leopold, Van Helsing, The Prestige, Australia, and Prisoners. His work in Les Misérables earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and his first Golden Globe Award in 2013. He is also a singer, dancer, and actor in stage musicals, and won a Tony Award for his role in The Boy from Oz.
As a philanthropist, Jackman has been a long time supporter of microcredit – the extension of very small loans to prospective entrepreneurs in impoverished countries. Jackman is also a global advisor of the Global Poverty Project, for which he narrated a documentary and visited the UN for the cause in 2009. Global Poverty Project is an international education and advocacy organization working towards the end of extreme poverty by 2030. The actor also received a thumbs up and a ‘special thanks’ from the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who gave a speech commending the work being done by the star and his team during the Global Citizen Concert held in New York recently.
He is also a World Vision ambassador and participated in the climate week NYC ceremony on 21 September 2009. Jackman supports The Art of Elysium and the MPTV Fund Foundation. He and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness are patrons of the Bone Marrow Institute in Australia. Jackman also narrated the 2008 documentary about global warming, The Burning Season.
Hugh Jackman and the James Bond star Daniel Craig made a unique place for themselves in the history of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising 8 December 2009, when it was announced that they had raised $1,549,953 in the 21st annual Gypsy of the Year competition, from six weeks of curtain appeals at their hit Broadway drama, A Steady Rain. Jackman also opened the Laughing Man charity coffee shop in New York in 2011. All profits go to charity initiatives.
Earlier this year Hugh announced the Jackman Furness Foundation for the Performing Arts (JFFPA) to support art education in Western Australia. Hugh and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness have created the foundation along with actor Jack Thompson with the aim of raising $10 million in private finance over the next four years. Hugh graduated from the WAAPA in 1994 and was offered a role in Correlli, the show where he would meet Deb, on the very evening he graduated.
Follow Hugh Jackman and his inspirational philanthropy work on: Twitter & Instagram
