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Among the leading men in Hollywood who have continued to entertain us across genres, roles and an incredible filmography, Hugh Jackman definitely gets a top spot. Whether he's shining in a musical, or impressing fans with his X-Men avatar, Jackman's performances are proof of his diverse range, and his ability to slip into characters.
As the actor turns fifty seven, he continues to be an amazing entertainer, and we are looking back at his filmography and the best parts of it. From musicals to crime thrillers to romantic dramas, here's a look into five of Hugh Jackman's best films where he played roles that have stayed with the audience for a long time.
Les Misérables
Les Misérables is Tom Hooper’s lavish, often raw screen version of the stage behemoth, a three-hour dive into poverty, revolution, and the small mercies that keep people alive. The film kept the musical’s operatic heart but filmed the singing live on set, which gave performances an urgent, breathy intimacy you don’t get in studio musicals.
At the center is Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, the hardened ex-con who becomes an unlikely moral lodestar. Jackman’s Valjean is physically grounded and emotionally exposed. He carries the movie’s moral weight and its biggest emotional pivots, from quiet tenderness to volcanic grief, and his decision to sing live paid off in scenes that feel immediate and lived in. Critics praised the intensity of his turn and his willingness to play Valjean as a man worn down but unbowed.
The film was a box office and awards success, racking up eight Oscar nominations and multiple wins for the cast and crew. Jackman earned major awards attention for Best Actor, and the movie’s production choices, including immersive sets and on-set vocals, made it a talking point in how to adapt stage musicals faithfully to film. If you want to study acting that balances stage muscle with cinematic subtlety, Jackman’s Valjean is a masterclass.
Available to watch on: Prime Video
The Greatest Showman
Another one of Hugh Jackman's best roles came with his role as P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman, which fictionalized the messy, ambitious and utterly performative life of a circus founder who built his legacy on outsiders and spectacle. Directed by Michael Gracey, the film rewrites Barnum into a crowd pleasing musical myth, and gives Jackman the perfect room to flex every part of his toolkit: singing, dancing, and giving the performance of his life.
Jackman also earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role, and the soundtrack became the real cultural engine. The anthem This Is Me won a Golden Globe and went on to become the film’s emotional signature.
What makes Jackman’s Barnum so memorable is his balance of razzle and ache. He sells the spectacle with a grin, then lets the cracks show when ambition costs him love. Watching him in this movie is watching an old-school triple threat remind you why charisma still matters in cinema. It's a performance that reminds you exactly why, Hugh Jackman is one of the greatest showman of Hollywood.
Available to watch on: Prime Video
The Prestige
Christopher Nolan's The Prestige is a slick, chilly story about obsession, sacrifice and the dangerous game of one-upmanship. Set in London, the film stages a brutal rivalry between two magicians. Hugh Jackman plays Robert Angier, a charismatic showman whose hunger for spectacle masks a fragile core. Christian Bale plays Alfred Borden, who is methodical and secretive. Two different men, vying for the same thing.
Jackman’s strength here is emotional precision. He makes Angier likable enough that you root for him and terrifying enough that you watch him make catastrophic choices. The film's non-linear plot really adds to that, with twists and turns that alter the story's direction. The film was well received by fans and critics, scooping up two Academy Award nominations and a $109 million at the box office.
Available to watch on: Prime Video
The Son
Switching gears from spectacle to sadness, Hugh Jackman's role in Florian Zeller's drama is of a successful but emotionally unsteady father, Peter Miller, whose comfortable life takes a sharp turn when his ex-wife brings their troubled 17-year Nicholas back into his life. It's a portrayal that is nuanced as Jackman is shown as a father who is trying to unsuccessfully fix things. And for Jackman, he plays that role with brittle charm and a lot of realism.
The film is adapted from Zeller's own stage play, and is a cinematic study of parental guilt, generational patterns, and adolescent depression. The narrative centers on Nicholas and his crippling despair, but gives Peter the stage to make him one of the focal points too. It is one of Hugh Jackman's best roles, and won him another nomination for a Golden Globe.
Available to watch on: Prime Video
Prisoners
Prisoners is a white-knuckled crime thriller from director Denis Villeneuve that traps you in moral quicksand from the first frame. The story centers on the disappearance of two young girls in suburban Pennsylvania and the frantic, often brutal lengths their families and the police go to for answers.
Hugh Jackman plays Keller Dover, a blue-collar father whose faith and fury collide after his daughter vanishes. Jackman strips away the star's buff to give a raw, sometimes terrifying performance as a man who moves from desperate prayer to vigilante action, including scenes where his moral code collapses under grief. Fans praised how Jackman made Keller’s anguish palpable and unsettling, a role that pushed him into darker, more complex territory than his previous work.
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The film balances Jackman’s emotional wreckage with Jake Gyllenhaal’s methodical Detective Loki, and together they turn the movie into an ethical puzzle about justice, punishment, and the costs of taking the law into your own hands. It's a role that strays away from Hugh Jackman's usual roles of large performances, trading the spectacle for a slow film that highlights the importance of families and the length a father would go to for their safety.
Available to watch on: Prime Video
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