Hugh Jackman’s First Major Role Was As A Prison Convict Who Falls In Love With The Staff
Before he soared in big-screen musicals like The Greatest Showman and Les Miserables or sliced his way through the X-Men franchise as Wolverine, Hugh Jackman got his start on a series called Correlli. As detailed by Australian Screen, this Australian series follows actress Deborra-Lee Furness as a prison psychologist who falls in love with an inmate played by Jackman.
Hugh Jackman’s first role was in Correlli, an Australian drama series about a prison psychologist.
Hugh Jackman’s character, Kevin Jones, arrives at the fictional Blackstream prison beaten, bruised, and lightly brain damaged. Furness’s title character, Louisa Correlli, falls for Kevin as she attempts to help him recover the memory of how he was injured.
This 10-episode series aired on ABC TV in Australia from July to September 1995. The series kicked off with a 90-minute premiere, anchored by Furness, who was an established star in Australia. The series offered the first major role for Hugh Jackman, whose career exploded only five years later with the release of 2000’s X-Men.
While Kevin Jones and Louisa Correlli began a romantic relationship on-screen, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness fell in love off-screen. The couple married in 1996; they remain together today and share two children.
The set of Correlli, however, was far from romantic. The series shot much of its material at HM Prison Pentridge, a prison in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg in Victoria, Australia.
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness fell in love off-screen, marrying in 1996 and remaining together ever since.
Pentridge officially closed in 1997, and it was in the process of emptying during the production of Correlli, offering the show space to shoot. Hugh Jackman was hired to play an inmate, but many background extras were actual guards and inmates of Pentridge.
Both Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness were praised for their performances in the series. Jackman comes to the role with his special balance of ruggedness and tenderness, capturing in his gruff face and body a boyish fear brought on by his memory loss and confusion.
Furness has an even meatier role in the series. As its star, she anchors the show and threads her character’s arc through several key relationships over the 10 episodes. Her character begins as a woman who, in the wake of a failed marriage, must return to her psychology career to support the children who prompted her to step away from work in the first place.
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have come a long way since their days on Correlli. Both have had significant film careers that continue today. Furness is set to appear this summer in the Australian-produced film Force of Nature: The Dry 2, a mystery/thriller starring Eric Bana and Anna Torv.
Hugh Jackman came from humble beginnings on Correlli to one of the most recognizable stars of stage and screen today.
Hugh Jackman, along with all Hollywood actors, is on strike with SAG-AFTRA. When the strike ends, he will return to work with Ryan Reynolds on Deadpool 3. In that film, he will resurrect his once-retired role as the X-Men’s Wolverine to get the claws out one last time.
Even the biggest of stars have humble beginnings, and Hugh Jackman is no exception. His movie star career and blossoming family life can all be traced back to one 90s Australian television show. Correlli may be obscure now, but it paved the way for the world to experience Hugh Jackman, and we owe it a debt of gratitude.
