Journey to 'Les Misérables': A Look at Hugh Jackman's Career Evolution (PHOTOS)

Posted December 25, 2012, 7:00 am   •   by Gabrielle Chung   •   2 comments

Hugh Jackman has come quite a long way.

Since starting out as a Communications student in Sydney, Australia, the actor has managed to turn what was just a drama course for additional credits to a full-blown, award-winning acting career.

Over the years, Jackman wowed spectators both on and off the theater stage with a variety of roles. Refusing to let genre hold him back, the 44-year-old has played almost everything from a disgruntled mutant to a magician and, yes, even an Australian in the outback.

Now, Jackman stars in director Tom Hooper's first musical film, Les Misérables. Though it may seem the actor -- who also won a Tony Award in 2004 for his work in Broadway's The Boy From Oz -- is back in his element with musical theater, he assures us that the task of taking onthe iconic role of Jean Valjean was all still very daunting.

"It takes a long time," he told Celebuzz of acting in a silver screen musical. "I have a background in theater and when I first got into a musical 20 years ago I was like, 'Whoa, this is not easy.'"

"The process I have to take is -- first of all, I take the lyrics off the music page and write them out as dialogue, so I have to approach that," he continued. "Then, I learn the song and then it takes a long time to put the two together to make them feel natural."

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Just how far has Jackman come in order to develop his craft?

Relive Jackman's entire acting journey in the gallery -- above.