Hugh Jackman spoke on 60 Minutes last Sunday about starring in the upcoming musical blockbuster Les Misérables. Jackman reflected on his role as Jean Valjean, saying it “demands everything of me, as a singer, as an actor,” adding, “It’s the role of a lifetime.” Jackman—renowned for playing tough characters like X-Men‘s Wolverine — surprised viewers when he got emotional while speaking about his mother leaving his family. Jackman was born in Sydney to English-born parents who immigrated to Australia in the 1960s. Hugh, the youngest of five, was brought to tears recalling the day his mother abandoned the family and reminisced that it “must have been the way she said goodbye…the next day there was a telegram from England,” saying that “Mom was there.” Jackman’s father raised Hugh and his five siblings as a single parent, and Jackman explained that while “Dad used to pray every night that Mom would come back,” it was from him “where I learned everything about loyalty, dependability, being there day in, day out, no matter what.” ~Brandon Bastaldo