Hugh Jackman & Wife Raising Their Kids To Have 'Responsibility' To 'Help Others'
Actor Hugh Jackman recognizes his privilege. He wants for nothing, and understands that with his privilege comes a weighty responsibility.
Jackman, 49, shares two children with his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, 62. The couple wants their children, 18-year-old Oscar and 12-year-old Ava, to understand their own privilege and to focus their efforts on helping others.
“My kids have so many advantages,” the star told PEOPLE. “And I want them to know that they have a responsibility to use those advantages to help others.”
“My kids are constantly reminded about how lucky we are in our family,” Jackman said.
“We’re ridiculously blessed. We live in a beautiful home in places that other people dream of.”
But the actor understands his children need a clear example of what it looks like to help others. And Jackman is happy to oblige.
“I want to lead my kids by example when it comes to charity,” Jackman said. The desire to help others, he said, comes from a heart that is broken by the many tragedies in our world.
“You have to feel something to fix it,” Jackman explained. “You can’t just talk about the world’s problems occasionally and think, ‘Oh, it would be good to help.’”
“To really change the world, you have to feel it,” he said. He hopes Oscar and Ava be inspired to help others, much like Jackman was inspired by his own parents as he grew up.
“I was brought up with parents who both did volunteer work and community work,” Jackman said. “They gave back.”
Jackman said that watching his parents made him believe it was normal to give back. And Jackman wants his kids to feel that giving back is normal, too.
Whether his children choose to give back locally or around the world, or even both, Jackman knows it will make the world a better place. He called himself “ridiculously blessed,” and is using his position to bless others.
“So if I can use whatever power I have now to share with others, that’s my hope,” the actor said. “And I want my kids to be with me every step of the way.”
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