Hugh Jackman has revealed he is “finally” in therapy to address his tumultuous relationship with his mother, Grace McNeil.
The actor, 54, has previously discussed how his mother “abandoned” her family in Australia and returned to the UK when he was just eight years old, leaving her husband, Christopher Jackman, to raise the actor and his siblings alone.
After the couple divorced, Jackman’s sisters, Zoe and Sonya, went to live with McNeil in the UK while Jackman and his brothers, Ian and Ralph, stayed in Sydney with their father, who passed away in 2021 aged 84.
The Aussie star revealed he started to see a therapist while shooting his latest movie The Son, in which he plays the father of a suicidal teen.
Jackman explained that sessions were offered to all cast members due to the film’s dark subject matter, and he felt it was time to unpack his traumatic childhood – having previously said he didn’t believe in therapy.
Reflecting on his sessions, he told The Sun: “It’s helped me a lot. With therapy, it either works for you or it doesn’t.”
The Broadway star, who is currently living in New York, continued: “You need a friend that you can unload with everything. You need that in all sorts of ways, from all sorts of people.
“Having someone really smart, who’s actually a little bit removed from your world can be really helpful. I’ve found it really helpful.”
The Hollywood actor has previously described his mother’s sudden departure as “traumatic”, but has since made amends with her and said that therapy had helped him understand how his past informs his unconscious thinking.
He added: “Most importantly, it is helping me to be more relational with the people I love in my life, really understanding and living in their shoes and being clear enough to be able to see them.”
