The Hugh Jackman Interview on the Tim Ferriss podcast

Yesterday morning I was trying to spice things up a bit by changing my morning routine. We are in strict quarantine here in Bogotá, Colombia, and my sector will be in it until the 18th of January. We have been in a quarantine of sorts since the Pandemic started so confined to our homes is nothing new. Perhaps many of you can relate to that.

Anyhows, the following video of Hugh Jackman interview appeared in my feed and Tim Ferriss the interviewer praised it highly and I thought what the hell, may be I can learn something. I hadn’t watched any of Jackman’s XMEN movies or his most recent Greatest Show on Earth. I enjoyed and admired seeing him present the Oscars. I thought at that time although his movies don’t do it for me, this guy obviously has talent.

Straight after the interview I messaged my brother in Australia that he should do himself a favour and watch it, although he is much more Hugh than me! I found Jackman’s insights about his past, family and career utterly fascinating. I wanted to jot down his pointers about how he has invigorated not only his marriage, but his career and personal well-being. Perhaps the most illuminating part was how he learnt to incorporate from his strict religious upbringing the profound messages of his father who became born-again because of a Billy Graham event.

Although it seems apparent Jackman isn’t a traditionally religious person now, his illuminating comments about how the stories and archetypes from the Bible have paved the way for him to strive and enact on the messages to become a better person are profound to say the least. I can relate to it, because my Grandmother (photo inset) Dorothy Walton was traditionally religious and played piano at church gatherings and participated more in Church than what one might consider healthy these days in secular-vile. She remains one if not my greatest inspiration because of how she ‘acted’ and not what she said and Jackman’s reflections about his father seem to align with this.

This way of living seems to reflect also with what Jordan Peterson said when he was posed countless times about his belief in God. He said, ‘I act as God exists’ and I wrote a post on this. The irony is Jesus was just as elusive in the gospels when asked similar questions about his divinity by mainly those wanting to trap him. I think Peterson’s answer is deftly nuanced and is in harmony with his Logos interpretation. I think the conversation with Jackman here testifies to that ‘whole’ narrative.