VIDEO: Hugh Jackman on the Highly Anticipated ‘Song Sung Blue,’ His Return as Wolverine, and Howard’s Great Advice

Emmy? Check. Grammy? Same. Tony? Of course. At this point, it’s just the coveted Oscar that has evaded actor Hugh Jackman, leaving him just one step away from the esteemed and exclusive EGOT club. But in Howard’s mind, that could soon be coming to an end thanks to his performance in “Song Sung Blue” — the upcoming film about a real-life couple who fronted the Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder.

“You’re so close — I can taste it,” Howard told Jackman, who returned to the Stern Show on Wednesday morning for the first time since 2018.

“I don’t think that’s in the cards, which is totally okay,” the star responded. “But I’m really proud of it … and when I look at the screen and I see my performance, I’m like, ‘That’s one of the better things I’ve done.’”

That doesn’t mean he hasn’t at least thought about the prospect. “I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t come to mind occasionally — it would be awesome,” Hugh admitted before referencing his 2013 Razzie nomination — an award that honors cinematic misses. “If you’re really trying to look at the all-rounder of show business, it should be a REGOT – you should have a Razzie in there as well,” the movie star said with a laugh.

One person he feels certain will get an Academy Award nomination is his “Song Sung Blue” co-star, Kate Hudson. “[This performance is] like everything she can do in one, and she’s so good,” Jackman remarked. “She’s definitely getting nominated and she could win it. It’s all the things you love about her, but then at times she’s so raw … She’s phenomenal.”

It was actually Jackman who helped get Hudson involved in the project after a close associate told him to tune in to “CBS Sunday Morning,” which the actress was promoting her debut solo album on. “Kate is just being super honest about herself. You see her singing live, she sings in the interview … She’s got an incredible voice and her spirit,” he remembered. “I immediately text [director] Craig Brewer and I said, ‘Kate Hudson is Claire. Claire is Kate.’ … Within two days it was done. There was no audition — no need for that.”

Jackman’s instincts proved further correct when Hudson approached him after an emotional table read. “She goes, ‘Hugh, you know this movie only works if we work as a couple,’” he recalled for Howard, adding, “It’s a beautiful love story.”

The Return of Wolverine

The actor became a household name while playing Wolverine in some of the most popular comic book movies of all time. During his 2018 appearance, Hugh confirmed to Howard and co-host Robin Quivers that he was hanging up his claws for good. Thankfully for Wolverine fans, he would later change his mind. After seeing Ryan Reynolds in the blockbuster comic book adaptation of “Deadpool,” Jackman thought a Deadpool-Wolverine collaboration could be special. But he was initially resistant. “I remember thinking, ‘Nope, you already said ‘no.’ Put it out of your head,” he told Howard before recalling a soul-searching drive that changed everything. “I just went, ‘I want to play Wolverine, and I want to do Deadpool-Wolverine. And then … I stopped to pee somewhere, and I got out of the car, and I rang Ryan.”

Reynolds, who happened to be meeting Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige that very day about a third “Deadpool” installment, was evidently more than happy to alter his pitch to include Hugh’s iconic character. “I hung up the phone, and I felt so good about it,” Jackman said. “It felt so easy.”

Howard’s Advice

Hugh considers Howard a friend, despite the fact the two haven’t spoken much the past few years. “That’s why you’re my best friend,” Howard joked before the two reminisced about a weekend at Howard’s house.

“You gave me some really good advice,” Jackman noted. “The reason you’re so good at your job is you’re genuinely curious about yourself and about other people, and you’ve done a lot of work on yourself. And I remember you pulling me aside [and you said], ‘Dude, you need some therapy. Like, no, serious therapy.’”

Jackman took Howard’s advice. “It changed my life,” the star admitted before explaining that he had been taught being an actor is to know thyself, but it wasn’t until therapy that his journey of self-discovery really began. “I couldn’t have been more wrong,” Hugh said of his prior notions.

Bouts With Cancer

Growing up in Australia, being in the sun was just a way of life for Jackman. “If you didn’t have a tan, like everyone would just make fun of you,” he explained to Howard.

It was likely that approach that led to the star’s multiple bouts with skin cancer, specifically basal cell carcinoma. “It’s a cancer, and it grows, and if you don’t take it out it will get in your bones,” Hugh warned. “Everyone should get it checked — it’s the most preventable cancer I think that is around.”

The Greatest REAL-LIFE Showmen

When Jackman, the star of “The Greatest Showman,” was asked about some of his favorite real-life showmen, he didn’t hold back. In addition to Men at Work’s Colin Hay, Justin Timberlake, and Richard Marx, the actor brought up the time he saw Michael Jackson in concert. “There’s one point where he started to cry and I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s crying’ — and then I realized I’m sure he does this every night,” he said before adding that Jackson’s promoter later confirmed his suspicions. “But it didn’t feel like that,” he continued. “It’s this respect for the audience. It’s the night they waited for their entire life, and he’s going to give it to you. He’s going to show up.”

Also high on Jackman’s list is Bruce Springsteen, who he first became a fan of in his youth thanks to his then-girlfriend. “She was obsessed,” he remembered. “I was just this gangly, skinny kid from Sydney, and it was Bruce — how can you compete? So, I didn’t. I just got on board.”

To Pee or Not to Pee?

These days when Hugh takes the stage, there’s rarely a dry eye in the house. But when the actor was first getting started in musical theater he managed to wet something else — his own pants. As Hugh explained it to Howard, he was playing Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast.” Things were going great until a doctor told him he was dehydrated and needed to drink two liters of water daily. “That first day I drank two gallons … The first song I sing … it was so hard to get through,” he admitted. “As I picked Belle up, a little bit of piss came out — and I’m wearing red tights.”

The star was at a crossroads. “I either sing it and piss my pants, or I don’t sing it and humiliate myself. So, I sang it and it was just going,” he said. “As I walk offstage my dresser is in the wings, and all she’s doing is looking at my crotch. I look down … and it’s just completely wet,” Jackman continued, adding, “Nothing can embarrass you after that.”

“Song Sung Blue” opens in theaters on Dec. 25.