Hugh Jackman: Real Steel

Hugh Jackman said it plainly: "When I saw the robots for the first time, me and Dakota looked like ten year olds. Those robots are phenomenal, and they…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

Based in part on the short story "Steel" by Richard Matheson, Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2,000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. Real Steel is directed by Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum franchise, Date Night) and opens in theaters everywhere Friday, October 7. Hugh Jackman spoke with Premier Guide Miami's Daedrian McNaughton.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: You seem to be this super cool guy. Are you always like this?

HUGH JACKMAN: Well, exactly what my wife said to me when they rang me and said, "Oh, you've been named People Magazine Sexiest Man Alive." And so I said, "Deb, you didn't know you were married to the sexiest man alive, did you?" She said, "What?" And I said, "Yeah, I've just been named Sexiest Man Alive." And she said, "Really?" I was like, "Babe, please. You don't need to say really." She said, "Not Brad Pitt?" And I was like, "No, they gave it to him twice already, alright." It was like she said, "Alright, well, take the garbage out, then come on, hurry up." It doesn't get me very far at home. One of my mates emailed me after that and said, "Mate, are you kidding me? I have camo boots sexier than you."

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Guys love their toys, so I can imagine it must have been a thrill for you the very first time you saw those robots?

HUGH JACKMAN: When I saw them for the first time there was a picture of us — me and Dakota — seeing them and both of us look like ten year olds. Those robots are phenomenal, and they're pretty expensive, too. It's amazing in this world where I'm used to a green screen and a stick with a tennis ball on it that Spielberg actually said that Shawn should really have real elements for it if you can. So in the movie I don't think any of you can actually tell which is real or not. It's done so well, but basically if they're not walking or fighting, that's a real robot.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Were robots a part of your childhood?

HUGH JACKMAN: Not really. I don't remember playing with robots as a kid. I used to have an American TV show I loved called Lost in Space. I was a sports fan as a kid. I was not really a comic book robot guy.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: It seems like you had good chemistry with Dakota from the start?

HUGH JACKMAN: I would say we got off to a really good start. Dakota's a very polite boy. He wanted to call me Mr. Jackman all the time. I said, "We're gonna have to really shake this up, because this is not gonna work. We're at each other's throats the whole movie." And if he's gonna feel like Mr. Jackman the adult — but Shawn really helped him to get through that. I hung out with him. I played a lot of practical jokes on him, 'cause he was always like, "Hi, how are you?" And I'll be like, "I think there's a little spider on you." He'll be like, "Ahhh!" — 'cause he's very freaky about germs and spiders and insects. So every day any minute I would try and shake up any kind of adult-child dynamic. I behaved like a big kid, a very irresponsible adult.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Dakota seems to be very smart. What was your relationship with him like and was it a delight to work with him?

HUGH JACKMAN: Without that relationship working, without that boy being that good, we don't have a movie. The movie exists on the strength of that relationship and the relationship with that discarded robot. That's the redemption tale — these three. The scene where I'm boxing and he's watching Atom and then he catches me out of the corner of his eye and a tear just drops down. Of course, I'm boxing on the side. He's watching me. And I look over and there are 20 people just flood to tears. So I go back there and I watch it, 'cause I'm boxing — I'm not even looking at him. And they played it for me in slow motion, and I started crying. This kid is phenomenal. He's funny. He's full of life.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Do you think he could become a major movie star?

HUGH JACKMAN: He's a brilliant actor, this kid, and the nicest kid imaginable. I have no doubt he's gonna become a huge star, and I'll be in the old person's home saying, "I was in his first movie."

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Would you consider him a natural?

HUGH JACKMAN: Without a doubt. Yes, he is a natural, but they're so young that if you have a bad experience at that age it can affect you for the rest of your life. Having a director like Shawn Levy is the difference between having a great career and not having one at all, because they're so impressionable. Shawn is really genius with young actors. And I saw him grow as an actor tremendously through this.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Which was your favorite moment in the movie?

HUGH JACKMAN: For example, when I say to the boy, "I'm doing my best. I don't know what do you want from me." And the boy says, "I want you to fight for me. That's all I've ever wanted." That was the line that he came up with, which, of course, even as the kid was saying it cuts me in half. It's a great line for this movie, fantastic.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What was the climax of the movie for you?

HUGH JACKMAN: I had to work very hard because Sugar Ray was pushing me like a mad man. He was like, "Man, my name is on this movie. I'm not gonna have you look bad like some actor." He may not have thrown all his punches, but he was always onto me about my left hook. It is the climax in a way in the movie, 'cause you see someone fully coming to life doing what they love to do and what they're really good at — they're not allowed to do anymore. It's like the world don't care about that anymore. And so I thought beyond just boxing you needed to see someone like a rebirth more than anything. The quarterback who was out for ten years, gets his shot, and the last second of the game throws the 90-yard touchdown. It's that moment and the great joy of actually doing it and being at your best.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Were you at all nervous or star struck having Sugar Ray as your coach?

HUGH JACKMAN: I was a little intimidated. I was definitely star struck when I met him. They said, "Listen, we're thinking about hiring Sugar Ray to work with the robots and about the choreography, and also to help you out with the boxing. You're cool with that?" I was like, "Can I just get this straight? Are you asking me if I'm okay to have one of the greatest boxers of all time as my personal trainer?" I've been lucky enough to meet a lot of very big movie stars and famous people, but deep down, if I was any better at it I would be a sportsman. Meeting someone like Sugar Ray I turned into a little kid. I told him — he's an idol of mine. This is a great man.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: So were you bruised by the champ? Did he actually punch you hard enough to connect?

HUGH JACKMAN: During a photo shoot. They brought Sugar Ray in — this is three or four months before we really started working on the film. So they thought, "This will be good, and while we got Sugar Ray here let's get a few shots." And so he's just showing me and he was into it, but we weren't really working it. So he's doing this boxing thing where they have an ability to punch you but just hit you. But I was still frightened — every time I was flinching. And then the behind-the-scenes camera came out. I thought, "This is great footage for the DVD." The red light went on and I just saw him out of the corner of his eye see that, and he just started whaling on me. Like he could not help himself — camera, Champ of the World, bang, bang. And I'm like, "Whoa." Of course, I'm the actor, so I see the red light and I'm like, "Oh, I'm fine," but I still have the bruises till this day.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: You worked with Shawn Levy on this project. Did you learn anything from him that you can use further on in your profession?

HUGH JACKMAN: Yeah. Shawn has done a lot of comedy. He understands a lot of things like how to adlib, how to set an environment where adlibbing works. Obviously, with me and Dakota we had to go off the script quite a lot to get that real rapport, that feeling of these two going at it. And Shawn has worked with probably the greatest adlibbers in the business — Ricky Gervais, who as he said hasn't ever said a line of dialogue once that has been written down. He's like, "Could you, please, once just say what's on the page?" And he never did ever. Carell, Ben Stiller — he's worked with some of the greatest actor comedians. And he was an actor himself, so he understands how to do that. He also understands and is not afraid as a man to wear his heart on his sleeve, which I think is great. He wrote several lines in this movie.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Will there be a sequel to Real Steel?

HUGH JACKMAN: I'm not talking about it. It's like asking someone before the Super Bowl, "Do you think you'll make the Super Bowl next year?" It's like, I don't wanna think about that. We got this one to worry about.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Any chance of you directing?

HUGH JACKMAN: No. I'm way too indecisive. I'll be terrible. I would be the worst.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: It is always a joy to see you shirtless. How did they manage to do that this time?

HUGH JACKMAN: We went through this whole boxing sequence. You see a hoodie on. I always have a t-shirt. There's nothing. And that one scene — in the big script it said, "Charlie changes. He drops bag, changes," because let's not forget he has one bag of clothing and he lives in a truck. So he just changes wherever he is. Then I thought, yeah, that's good, we show that. So I took my shirt off again.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Do you think actors become actors for the money and the fame or their passion for acting?

HUGH JACKMAN: I would say 99.9 percent of actors get into acting because they enjoy acting, and know all the other stuff comes afterwards. If you're lucky enough to get a role that you connect with and you find funny — I think most actors feel that way. I don't think it's about being rich and famous.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What was the best career advice you have received?

HUGH JACKMAN: My acting teacher said to me on the day I graduated, "If you ever get any work and you get any money at all, buy a house," he says, "because there's always someone who'll cook you a meal, but if you end up sleeping on someone's couch it's really gonna be annoying to them."

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Did you follow his advice?

HUGH JACKMAN: I did, and that was one of the first things I bought was a little apartment. So hopefully someone will cook me a meal somewhere.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: I know you are a fan of Eddie Murphy. And as a former host, what's your advice to him for the Oscars?

HUGH JACKMAN: The first 45 minutes are the best audience you're ever gonna get in your life, because all they're thinking is, "Thank God it's not me up there." And after that first 45 minutes there's more losers than winners in the room, so just hurry up and get to the end. I cannot wait to see him do it. I watch his standup tapes when I was a kid growing up. I think he's one of the funniest guys out there. He's a major movie star. I think a lot of people have probably waited, and the Oscars are always best when you really don't know what to expect.

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