These are photos of Hugh Jackman at the Les Miserables premiere in New York last night. (Kaiser covered the ladies’ awful fashion here.) He was there with his wife of 16 years, Deborra-Lee Furness, aka “that lucky bitch.” I love these two together and hope we never hear a whiff of scandal about them.

Hugh was interviewed on 60 Minutes this Sunday, and it’s an understatement to say that I enjoyed it. I loved seeing that interview, and although I’m already a fan I came away with more respect and adoration for Hugh than ever. Hugh’s Les Mis co-star Anne Hathaway may be blanketing us with her Oscar campaign, but I think Hugh just cinched it in this single, focused segment.

A lot of outlets are focusing on Hugh breaking down crying when he describes how his mother abandoned his family, including his father and Hugh’s two brothers and two sisters, when he was just eight. (Hugh has since reconnected with his mother, and did see her about once a year after she left.) Hugh has discussed this before, and it’s not exactly when he started crying in the interview. Hugh started crying when talking about how his father, who raised him and his siblings as a single parent, tells him to value his family above all else. It wasn’t a put on from Hugh and you could tell that he was genuinely affected.

That wasn’t the part of Hugh’s interview that got me choked up, though. I got choked up seeing segments of his performance in Les Mis. If just a clip from the film is that powerful, imagine how incredible the whole movie is going to be. I want this Oscar for Hugh. Here are some highlights from his interview, and the video is in full below.

On singing live while filming Les Mis instead of recording it in the studio
You get an emotional truth. For example, there’s one song and it’s, literally, written like this: “What have I done, sweet Jesus? What have I done? Become a thief in the night, become a dog on the run. Have I fallen so far and is the hour so late that nothing remains but the cry of my hate?” That’s how it’s written… I could mix it up, I could take a pause. If I was emotional, I could be emotional.

On his mom leaving his family in Australia to return to her native England
Yeah. I don’t think she thought for a second it would be forever when she went. I think she thought it was, “I just need to get away, and I’ll come back.” Dad used to pray every night that mum would come back.

On if he worried his dad would leave too
Never, in a million years, could I imagine, my father is a rock. My father is my rock. It’s where I learned everything about loyalty, dependability, about being there day-in, day-out, no matter what.

On meeting his future wife during his first acting job
I just had an absolute certainty that she was the person I was gonna be with for the rest of my life. Even when Deb tried to break up with me, which she did. I said– “Don’t worry, I get it. I’m your worst nightmare. A young actor in his first job, but don’t worry. We’re gonna be together. This is it.”

On the advice his dad gives him now (this is when he starts to cry)
It’s always about the family. Ah, ah, it’s all– sorry, mate. It’s always, “How’s Deb?” It’s not about work. And I think that’s him living with, probably, some of his regrets and feelings of maybe he– you know, at the wrong time, put too much into his career. And he doesn’t want me to make that mistake. And so, in his gentle way, he always reminds me this is the most important thing.

On preparing his body for his roles
Well this is your tool as much as your voice, as much as your emotions, and so I’ve always taken that very seriously and I love playing Wolverine. It’s a great character, but I want it to be better than the last time. I want to be physically in better shape, otherwise, there’s no point doing it.

On if he thought it would limit his career to playing gay songwriter Peter Allen on Broadway
Never thought it for a second. What sexuality you are is not the most interesting thing about you. It’s the kind of person you are. And that role, just, had, first of all, it was naughty.

I would never give myself permission to do the things I did as Peter Allen. And his sexuality, for me, w– is another costume. It’s a personality trait, it’s not who you really are. However, when I was doing Peter Allen, there’s a scene where I kiss my boyfriend, who’s dying of AIDS. And I go in for the kiss, and I heard this, “Don’t do it, Wolverine.”

[From 60 Minutes]

This is why I love Hugh. He comes across as so dedicated to his wife and kids and incredibly honed to his craft. There’s something so real and so heartfelt about Hugh. He’s rare among leading men and his talent is undeniable.

Also, we may see Hugh out with his children in his everyday life, but it’s very interesting to me that they weren’t shown on 60 Minutes. He could have easily filmed a quick scene outdoors playing with them, but he didn’t. He decided to keep them off camera when he could have used them to bolster his family man image.

Here’s the interview, in full, from 60 Minutes. There’s an amazing performance from Hugh, in Les Mis, around 4:00. He talks about his mother leaving at around 5:00. Hugh’s wife is interviewed around 8:30. At 9:10 Hugh starts crying. The highlight, though, is when he works out at 10:40! Holy crap look at his arms.

My advice to Deborra-Lee – work on your shoe game, girl. You already won the man lottery.

Hugh looks so good with that Wolverine beard!

Premiere photos credit: Joseph Marzullo/WENN.com