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Heartthrob Jackman hurt by ‘sissy’ comment

Hollywood heartthrob Hugh Jackman has revealed how his stage career was almost derailed because he was hurt by name-calling.

One of the actor’s great regrets occurred when he was just 12. He dodged dancing lessons because someone called him a “sissy”.

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Jackman was speaking at Comic-Con in San Diego, where he was sitting alongside 12-year-old Australian Levi Miller _ his co-star in big budget Hollywood movie Pan.

Jackman explained how the name-calling had stuck with him and added: “I wish I could take back the decision when I was 12 to not go and do dancing lessons. I had a teacher at a school concert who pulled me aside and said, ‘There’s no dancing at this school but you have talent. You should go dance’. I won’t say who, but someone I know called me a sissy and I didn’t do it.”

Levi Miller, Garrett Hedlund and Hugh Jackman wow the fans at Comic-Con. Getty

Levi Miller, Garrett Hedlund and Hugh Jackman wow the fans at Comic-Con. Getty

He said it wasn’t until he was 19 and was watching the musical 42nd Street that the same person apologised and said, “You should be up on that stage”.

Jackman signed up for dance lessons the next day and went on to win a Tony Award for his singing, dancing performance as Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz. But he feels the comment hurt his ability to dance.

“In the world of dancing, ages 12 to 18 are key,” Jackman said.

While Jackman is a veteran of Comic-Con after visiting to promote his Wolverine and X-Men films, Sydney’s Miller was wide-eyed at the spectacle.

Pan, shot in London, was his first big film.

More than 130,000 comic book, anime and science-fiction fans packed the San Diego Convention Center. New clips of Pan were shown to 6,000 fans, many who camped overnight to get the best seats.

Jackman plays the pirate Blackbeard, while Miller won a global search by English director Joe Wright for the boy actor to play Peter Pan.

Miller said when he was five and at school in Australia he performed a monologue about Peter Pan.

“It’s a coincidence,” Miller said, earning a big smile from Jackman.

Pan will be released in cinemas in Australia in September.

– with AAP

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