Hugh Jackman Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Childhood

51-year-old actor Hugh Jackman opened up and shared with the public a very dark period of his childhood: when he was abandoned by his mother.

His parents immigrated to Australia from England with three children while his mother was pregnant at the time with her fourth child. The Wolverine star was born in Sydney, Australia and is the youngest of his parents' five children. He also has a younger half-sister from his mother's subsequent marriage.

He told the Hollywood Reporter that his mother decided to leave them behind to go back to England.

‘My mother left us to go back to England. I was traumatized by her leaving, but it was more embarrassing to have to face others. Divorce wasn’t as common as it is today. Well, it wasn’t so unusual, but the fact that it was my mother who left her husband and children, that was the unusual thing for other people. I remember the feeling and it changed me, it’s contributed a lot to the man I am today.’

Childhood trauma

Understandably, the Greatest Showman star was heartbroken by the abandonment by his mother and he only wanted one thing - for her to come back, for good. While she did come back to her family, it wasn't on a permanent basis; she only went back to see her family once a year. It wasn't until he was 12 years old that he realised that he'd never have his mother back in his life for good.

‘I realised that life isn’t like a Disney movie. That there weren’t always happy endings,’ he shared with the Hollywood Reporter. He claims that these events even helped him; the ferocity of his portrayal of X-Men character Wolverine comes from the rage stemming from these events.

Hugh has since forgiven his mother for leaving him when he was a child, and the pair now see each other three or four times a year.

You can catch Hugh Jackman on tour now with his show The Man. The Music. The Show. Take a look at the video above for more from Hugh!