Hugh Jackman topped People magazine’s annual poll last year and although he was delighted by the honour, the actor admits he is ready to pass the title onto someone else so he can stop looking after himself.

He said: “The pressure’s off. I can be a slob again. I thought there were thousands of other guys that deserved it, but it’s been a great year.”

Despite his comments, Hugh insists he would happily accept the accolade if it were offered again.

He added to People magazine: “I want to be the first to have it back. That would be fantastic!”

Previous stars named Sexiest Man Alive include Matt Damon, George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Matthew McConaughey and Jude Law.

Although he is a pin-up for many women, Hugh is happily married to actress Deborra-Lee Furness, who he wed in 1996.

The ‘Australia’ star recently revealed he and Deborra always make time to just be with one another to keep the romance in their relationship alive.

He said: “Make sure you have a date night just the two of you together, without the kids.”

The 41-year-old actor has two adopted children, Oscar, nine, and Ava, four, with his wife, who he met on the set of Australian TV show ‘Correlli’.

The British actor is set to star in ‘Unbound Captives’ with the ‘X Men Origins: Wolverine’ star and revealed they bonded by seeing who could perform the best renditions of classic tracks by Swedish group Abba.

Robert said, “We met up in Japan and we went karaoke singing. We were singing Abba songs, it was pretty funny. It was sort of an Abba song sing-off, you know, last man standing.

“I think he won, only because he can drink more than me and still sing in tune. He’s a cool guy and I’m really looking forward to that film.”

Robert has previously shown his musical side by recording songs for the ‘Twilight’ soundtrack and despite also featuring in the music for sequel ‘Twilight Saga: New Moon’ says he felt like “a t****r” when the movie came out.

He told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, “When the first film came out I felt like a complete t****r. It looked like I was trying to be cool or something, like Eminem. You know, be in a movie and then do a
song for the soundtrack. But I didn’t look cool, I just looked ridiculous.”

Hugh Jackman was performing in “A Steady Rain” with Daniel Craig on Wednesday when an someone in the audience’s cell phone started to ring. He wasn’t pleased. Video below:

The $10,000 scholarship will allow one emerging Australian actor to pursue a career in the United States. Australians in Film board vice president Paula Paizes stated that “[AIF] received a staggering number of applications, and the caliber of applicants is extremely high. My fellow judges and I have our work cut out for us over the coming month.” 

Michelle Williams is also a benefactor of the fund, which was conceived to honor the memory of Heath Ledger. In addition to this notable dedication supported by colleagues and friends, Christian Bale honored Ledger while on the podium of the People’s Choice Awards just yesterday, saying “On behalf of all of the cast from the movie, thank you very much to the fans. Here’s to Heath.” The Dark Knight scooped up all five awards for which it was nominated, including Favorite Superhero, Favorite Onscreen Match-Up (Bale and Ledger), Favorite Cast, Favorite Movie, and Favorite Action Movie.

The Academy has announced its 2009 host for the 81st annual Academy Awards will be none other, than People Magazine’s sexist man of the year. Hugh Jackman

Academy telecast producers said “He also has style, elegance and a sense of occasion.”

“Hugh is the ideal choice to host a celebration of the year’s movies and to have fun doing it.”

The Academy is going completely fresh in 2009, with a new music director, new producers, a new set director and now a new host, who isn’t a comedian.

Jackman joins an elite group including Jon Stewart who hosted the ceremony in 2008 and 2006; Ellen DeGeneres the 2007 host. Chris Rock, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg have also hosted the show in recent years.

Showing what a great sense of humor Jackman actually has, he has promised he won’t be doing Bilyl Crystal impersonations. Thank Goodness.

With these sorts of thing you always feel they could go really well, or train wreck bad. Good luck Hugh.

Australian actor Hugh Jackman has been named the sexiest man alive by People Magazine, but interestingly it’s Jackman’s wife Deborra-Lee Furness that has been getting a lot of the attention.

Australian actress Deborra-Lee Furness is either 48 or 53 depending on which version of her date of birth you read (and oddly the exact date is usually not mentioned), making her significantly older than Jackman. Her history doesn’t narrow down the date either: according to some reports, she graduated from Methodist Ladies’ College in Melbourne in 1973, so either she left school at a very young age, or she was born in 1955, meaning she would have been 18 when she graduated (which is the usual age for Year 12 in Australia). She trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts New York and graduated in 1981, although her first television appearance was in 1975, and she appeared on the Australian series Prisoner (Cell Block H in the UK) in 1979.

Deborra-Lee Furness met Jackman on the set of the Australian series Correlli in 1995, and the couple married in February 1996. But here’s what makes her special, at least according to my wife, who I’m going to paraphrase

“Deborra-Lee Furness makes Hugh Jackman great, because he picked her for love, not looks. It shows that he’s not just another Hollywood star obsessed with the superficial. It proves that ordinary people have a chance.”

Do you agree?