‘Prisoners’: Hugh Jackman Draws Inspiration From His Children

Hugh Jackman’s new drama Prisoners, hits close to home. As a father of two, the handsome Aussie actor didn’t have to look far to draw inspiration to perform his role in the abduction story, his kids were as close as he went when researching for the film.

The gut-wrenching drama, which has been hailed as one of the best upcoming movies of 2013, is the story of the abduction of two little girls on Thanksgiving day and how their parents react to the unthinkable event.

Hugh Jackman (The Wolverine, X Men: First Class) plays Keller Dover, the father of one of the girls, who takes matters into his own hands in the desperate search to find his daughter.

As a father, the fear of something happening to his kids, is not something Jackman is unfamiliar with. He and wife Deborra-LeeFurness have two adopted children, Oscar, 13, and Ava, 8.

The fear of a kidnapping is a parent’s worst nightmare and Hugh Jackman had to look no farther than his two kids to help him get in character as the disgruntled father in Prisoners.

“I want [my children] to go out into the world thinking things will be OK. The harsh reality is that things don’t always turn out OK,” Jackman told MTV while promoting the drama.

One line that my character has, which I used to think was a little bit of a glib line when I first read it but keeps resonating with me, is ‘Pray for the best, but prepare for the worst.’ So on some level, be ready. I’m more ready now than I was. That stays with me on a daily basis.

While researching for the film, Jackman found that child abductions are an almost daily ocurrence and he watched press conferences of parents’ of abducted children as part of his preparation for Prisoners.

The 44-year-old actor says the more he watched the videos, the more he realized this is happening now, all the time.

“This stuff goes on. Not that I expect people who have been through this to watch the movie – I felt a responsibility to not sensationalize that story, not just do a classic revenge torture thriller, but actually to delve into the realities of it.”

Prisoners is directed by Denis Villeneuve and stars Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, and Paul Dano.