Hugh Jackman takes his morning routine seriously. The actor, who has spent decades maintaining the stamina required to play Wolverine and perform eight shows a week on Broadway, is an early riser, a devoted meditator and, apparently, not above breaking into song during a workout.
It’s a fitting premise for his latest campaign with AG1, the daily nutritional supplement brand that named Jackman its global ambassador earlier this year. In a new spot, the actor puts his musical theater chops to work, singing his way through a workout while touting the benefits of his daily greens. The partnership is more than a celebrity endorsement: Jackman has been using AG1 for more than five years, after it was recommended by his doctor, and has been a strategic investor in the company since 2021.
“I get offered a lot of things, and I just figured it’s got to be something that makes sense to me, that I really believe in, and that I actually use,” he says.
Below, Jackman talks to Variety about his daily wellness rituals, 30-year meditation practice, his upcoming role in Ridley Scott’s “Treasure Island” and, yes, Wolverine’s future in the MCU.
What does your morning routine look like — and what’s the first thing that tends to fall apart when you’re in the middle of a film shoot?
If I’m getting up very early, I will not meditate straight away when I get up. But I’ve been a meditator for 30 years. Sometimes I’ll wait, do it at lunchtime, but I’ve kind of learned my lesson. No matter what the call time is for filming, I still just get up a little bit earlier and get everything done.
It’s better. I mean, there’s not much difference between waking up at four a.m. and waking up at six. It’s kind of the same, ultimately.
So you’re one of those people that can survive off of not that much sleep?
Well, I still like seven, eight hours. Sometimes more if I can. But I was not a morning person until I had a job opening up a gym, which I opened up at six a.m. I slept in twice, and I basically was told, “You do not want to be late for the people who are turning up for that six a.m. workout.” No matter how nice you are, they will not give you too many tries. So then I used to set three alarms, and that sort of changed it. Really, from that moment on, I was a morning person.
How does your location affect your routine and lifestyle?
One of my favorite things, if I’m in Australia — I live right on the beach — I will always get up before the sun gets up because I can be in the water as the sun comes up. And I just think, ‘Why isn’t everyone on the planet doing this?’ You never feel better.
I do way more walking in New York than anywhere else. Even though it’s probably the most condensed city, I just walk everywhere, or I ride a bike everywhere. But I like to be active in the morning.
You’ve worked with AG1 for a long time and you clearly love it. What did you actually notice when you started taking it that made you stick with it for so long?
That I wasn’t getting sick. For me, getting a cold, particularly as I sing and I do concerts or being on stage, it’s got a little more weight to it.
If you get a cold, you go into the office, or even if you’re doing a play, you’re like, “Oh, sniffle.” But when you’re singing, it’s really important. My doctor just said, “Man, you’re a busy guy. It’s hard to get everything you need. It’s almost impossible to get everything you need just through nutrition with a busy lifestyle. Take this, and then you’re covered foundationally, like your gut health.” And so I just noticed that I was waking up a little faster, I was not getting sick, and I just felt better.
In the campaign video, you start singing during your workout. I know musicians sometimes run on the treadmill while they’re singing their sets to rehearse. Do you ever do that?
Absolutely. Particularly if you’re going to tap dance, or you’re dancing, or if you’re doing something like that, any song-and-dance number. I notice it’s the fittest I will ever be because singing — it’s one thing to just run fast and be out of breath and your heart rate’s going 170, but to be able to hold your breath, if you think about it, you’re singing a long phrase. You don’t want to be taking a breath every three seconds while you’re singing. So you have to be calm and still have lung capacity whilst your heart rate’s going 160. And every time I finish a show and I go for a run, I can run forever. So you have to practice singing whilst running, jumping rope or doing whatever.
I feel like Taylor Swift was the first person I saw doing that routine, and then I realized this is just a completely normal routine for singers.
The first person I heard about doing it, I remember when I was young, was Mick Jagger. He went on that world tour and he said, “In order to do what I do, I have to be running 10, 15 miles a day.” And when you’re traveling, being fit is key for sleep. I think sleep is the number one factor for me.
You did say you were going to play Wolverine until you were in your 90s, so—
To be clear, Ryan Reynolds said that.
Meditation is another one of your non-negotiables. How did you get into meditation?
I learned meditation originally through the School of Practical Philosophy, which I was introduced to by a friend when I was doing acting. You know when you’re around people and you feel they’ve got something about them, you can’t put your finger on it? I literally said that to him. I said, “There’s something about you, man.” His name was Warwick. I said, “Warwick, there’s something about you. I don’t know what it is, but I kind of feel like I want it, whatever that is.” And he goes, “Oh, I started meditating.” I’m like, “What? What is that?” And he goes, “It’s transcendental meditation” and it changed everything. And it did.
I was 22, 23, and it really changed everything. It gives me a place to, what I call, kind of coming home to myself twice a day, no matter what’s going on. So the surface of the water, which is our life — right now, for you and I, it’s pretty calm on the surface — but whatever’s happening on the surface, if you sink down to the bottom of the ocean, it’s always calm and peaceful. And that is what meditation represents to me. So it’s like a twice-a-day reminder of what is there under the surface.A
You’re set to star in Ridley Scott’s “Treasure Island.” How did Ridley sell you on this character that people already know so well?
Really, it was the script. I know Ridley and Ridley goes, “Dude.” He sent me the script, and I just read it. I had never read the book, had never seen the movie. I knew various things about it. I actually didn’t know how foundational it was — the idea of a treasure map, the pirate and the parrot and all. I was like, “Oh, they came from that.” And Jack Thorne, who famously wrote “Adolescence” and did “Harry Potter” for the stage show — this script was just undeniable. I was just like, “Oh, this is amazing.” That was it.
What was it about his take on the material that surprised you?
All I knew was I had no idea where it was going, and I was very surprised but satisfied at the end.
You’ve said you’re not going to be in “Doomsday” — but are you going to be in “Secret Wars”?
I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have no idea what you’re talking about.
I had to ask, but that was a very civilized answer.
I do have an internal chip, that is not metaphorical. There’s a literal chip, and if I say the wrong thing, I get shut down. I don’t know who controls that chip, but someone is controlling it.