RISE OF THE GUARDIANS

HUGH JACKMAN (E. Aster Bunnymund, aka The Easter Bunny) made his first major U.S. film appearance as Wolverine in the first installment of the "X-Men" franchise, a role he reprised in the enormously successful "X2" and "X-Men: The Last Stand" in 2006. Most recently in the franchise, he played Wolverine in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which serves as a prequel to the popular series and grossed $85 million domestically in its first weekend of release in May 2009. Audiences will see Jackman in the role again in the next "X-Men" chapter, "The Wolverine," which is currently filming in Australia.

Jackman recently wrapped production on the much-anticipated film adaptation of the musical "Les Miserables," directed by Academy Award-winning director Tom Hooper, and co-starring Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe. The film is slated for a December 25, 2012 release.

Last year, Jackman was seen on the big screen in the DreamWorks action film "Real Steel," for director Shawn Levy, which led the boxoffice two weeks in a row in Fall 2011.

In October 2011, Jackman, a Broadway veteran, made his return to the Big White Way in his one-man show "Hugh Jackman - Back on Broadway." Backed by an 18-piece orchestra, the revue, which previously opened to rave reviews during its limited engagements in San Francisco and Toronto earlier that year, was comprised of both Broadway hits and a selection of some of Jackman's personal favorite standards. Although the show ran only until the end of the year, Jackman's continued dedication to the Broadway community was feted at the 2012 Tony Awards, where he received a Special Award from the Tony Awards Administration Committee, recognizing his accomplishments both as a performer as well as a humanitarian.

On February 22, 2009, Jackman hosted the 81st Annual Academy Awards. Live from the former Kodak (now Dolby) Theater in Hollywood, he wowed those in attendance and helped ABC score a 13% increase in viewership from the previous year. This wasn't, however, Jackman's first foray into Awards show hosting. Previously, Jackman served as host of the Tony Awards three years in a row from 2003-2005, earning an Emmy Award for his 2004 duties at the 58th Annual ceremony, and an Emmy nomination for his 2005 appearance at the 59th Annual ceremony.

In late 2008, Jackman starred opposite Nicole Kidman in 20th Century Fox's romantic action-adventure epic "Australia," directed by Baz Luhrmann. In the film, set in pre-WWII northern Australia, Jackman portrayed a rugged cattle driver who assists an English aristocrat in driving a herd of 2,000 cattle across hundreds of miles of rough terrain where they also face the Japanese bombing of Darwin, Australia.

Additionally, Jackman has starred in Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain," Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige," and Woody Allen's "Scoop." He has also lent his voice to the animated features "Happy Feet" and "Flushed Away." Other credits include leading roles in "Deception," "Someone Like You," "Swordfish," "Van Helsing" and "Kate and Leopold," for which he received a 2002 Golden Globe nomination.

In Fall 2009, Jackman appeared on Broadway in the Keith Huff-penned "A Steady Rain." Co-starring Daniel Craig, the play told the story of two Chicago cops who are lifelong friends and whose differing accounts of a few traumatic days change their lives forever.

For his portrayal of the 1970s singer-songwriter Peter Allen in "The Boy From Oz," Jackman received the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor in a musical as well as Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World awards.

Previous theater credits include "Carousel" at Carnegie Hall, "Oklahoma!" at the National Theater in London (Olivier Award nomination), "Sunset Boulevard" (receiving a MO Award, Australia's Tony Award) and Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" (MO Award nomination).

Jackman's career began in Australia in the independent films "Paperback Hero" and "Erskineville Kings."

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