Hugh Jackman Awarded With Guinness World Record To Mark 16-Year Wolverine Career

Hugh Jackman is one of those blokes who's very easy to dislike, not because he's not a nice guy, but because he's so damn talented. He can act, sing, dance - and now he's got another award to plonk in his well-stocked trophy cabinet.

The Australian all-rounder was awarded a Guinness World Record in a surprise presentation on This Morning in recognition of his 16 year stint as Wolverine. The actual record for which he was recognised was 'the longest career as a live action Marvel superhero'.

Jackman shares the record with Sir Patrick Stewart, as they both made their first appearance as Marvel superheroes in X-Men (2000) and both made their most recent appearance in Logan (2017).

This means they have spent 16 years and 229 days (as of Wednesday) as Wolverine and Professor Charles Xavier respectively.

Jackman said he dreamt of breaking a Guinness World Record as a 10-year-old, originally setting his sights on the 'most coins snatched off the elbow' record (yes, that's a thing).

Guinness World Record

This turned out to be a little more taxing than he had accounted for, so he and his brother tried to scoop the 'longest marathon playing badminton, singles' record - but once again, their attempts were ill-fated.

The 50-year-old (seriously, how the fuck has he managed that?) said: "My brother and I thought - badminton, you don't have to play it hard, two nights without sleep - we can definitely do that.

"When I was a kid, the Guinness Book of Records was it."

Now, Jackman has achieved a childhood dream out of the blue, with Editor-in-Chief of Guinness World Records, Craig Glenday, presenting him with the award some 40 years on.

The Les Misérables star said: "That's it, I've made it. This is why I got into showbiz, thank you."

Glenday said it was a pleasure to present Jackman with the award, and even invited him and his brother to have another stab at the badminton record.

He said: "When I did make my surprise entrance, you could see that Hugh was genuinely thrilled to hear the news and receive the certificate.

"He was also extremely charming and, after the filming, he was more than happy to pose for photos and chat about his love of GWR. I'd read a few years ago that he and his brother were big fans of the book when growing up, so I knew he'd be excited to find out that he'll be appearing in the 2020 edition.

"I've met hundreds of record holders over my 16 years at GWR, and each time I get a kick out of being able to celebrate their achievements.

"So congratulations again, Hugh, and don't forget that you - and your brother - are welcome to pop into the office any time you want to try for another record.

"PS: the badminton marathon record is a 'mere' 25 hours... just saying."

Surely if anyone can do it, then it's Jackson. Or a professional badminton player.

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Hugh Jackman, record, US Entertainment, Guinness World Record

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey