Hugh Jackman / Bad Education
Hugh Jackman is the ultimate entertainer. He can sing, dance, and act at the highest level and has made his mark on both stage and screen. Not only has the handsome Aussie won legions of fans playing Wolverine in the X-Men films, but he’s gained just as many admirers amongst those who have marvelled at his musical gifts in Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman.
Now Jackman is about to be seen starring in a much more down-to-earth project in BAD EDUCATION, a drama based on the true story of Frank Tassone (Jackman), a highly successful New York district school superintendent whose world fell apart after he was discovered to have embezzled $11.2 million in government funds for his private use. Directed by Cory Finley, the film co-stars Allison Janney and Ray Romano and begins streaming via HBO on April 25th.
“For Frank, appearance was very important,” Jackman said while promoting the streaming release of Bad Education via phone interview from his home in New York City. “He was quite open about that. He said he’s representing the school. One of the things that came out was that he spent $30,000 a year on dry cleaning, which he defended right up to the end.”
For Jackman, the toughest aspect of taking on the role of Tassone was mastering the distinctive Long Island accent: “Jess Platt, my dialect coach…was on set with me yelling and screaming, and he’s originally from Brooklyn, so he’s around the area and knows it well.. I haven’t done a film without him and [even though] I’m someone who can get to 80 percent of an accent sort of easily, [Jess helped me] get that final 20 percent that really makes a difference.”
Last year Hugh completed his wildly successful “The Man. The Music. The Show.” world tour which included sold-out performances in Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 arena…