Patrick Stewart boasts almost 60 years of experience on both the stage and screen, so when the veteran actor offers up some sage words of wisdom, it’d be the sensible option to take them on board. That’s exactly what Hugh Jackman did, after revealing he goes out of his way to ensure that he doesn’t ever become too consumed by his work after his longtime friend and regular X-Men collaborator gave him some pointers.
Jackman has been firmly established as an A-list star for a long time now, but it must have been jarring at first for the relative unknown to rocket to international fame following the success of Bryan Singer’s X-Men in 2000. That sort of instant rise in profile often leads to the talent in question striking while the iron is at its hottest, leaving very little time for rest and relaxation.
In a new interview, Jackman explained how his esteemed co-star made that same mistake earlier in his career, and it opened the Wolverine icon’s eyes to the process of having at least a little bit of time to yourself before diving headfirst into the weird and wonderful world of show business.
“I’ve learned so much from Patrick. The greatest tip he gave me about life itself, not so much about acting, he said, ‘I learned when I was about 60, and I wished I had learned it when I was younger, I give myself time of day at the beginning’. So if he has a 5 am wake-up call for a film, he wakes up a 4 am, he goes and gets a cup of tea, he comes back to bed with his favorite book.
He says, ‘I don’t read the paper, it makes me angry. I don’t read emails, that stresses me. I don’t read a script, I get nervous. I just read a book, like a novel. So I know that no matter what happens for the rest of the day, I’ve had a half hour’. So I’ve done that. My wife and I wake up every morning and we get a cup of tea, coffee for me, and we sit in bed and we just read.
With his status on the upper rungs of the Hollywood ladder having been secured a long time ago, largely due to his two-decade tenure as the mutton-chopped mutant, Hugh Jackman hasn’t been as prolific in front of the camera as he once was, with next month’s sci-fi thriller Reminiscence marking just his fourth major live-action role since hanging up the claws in Logan. Even when he finds his schedule jam-packed, though, the 52 year-old will always have Stewart’s advice ringing in his ears to ensure he unwinds, if even for a short spell.
