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<\/span> <\/p>\nHugh Jackman never thought he\u2019d be a karaoke guy. But then Neil Diamond happened.<\/p>\n
Starring opposite Kate Hudson in the Christmas Day release \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d the 57-year-old Australian actor portrays not the legendary Grammy winner and shaggy-haired sex symbol<\/a>, but rather a Neil Diamond \u201cinterpreter,\u201d the real-life Mike Sardina, who, with his wife and stage partner, Claire (Hudson), found unexpected success with a tribute band in mid-1990s Milwaukee.<\/p>\n It was this film that recently brought the \u201cGreatest Showman\u201d star to Diamond\u2019s Colorado ranch, where the two participated in a singing session that convinced Jackman to buy his own karaoke machine.<\/p>\n The only guide you need for holiday entertainment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n \u201cNormally, I\u2019m like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to do that,\u2019\u201d says Jackman, over Zoom from a New York hotel room, as if he\u2019s confessing a mortal sin. \u201cBut I did karaoke with Neil, and I\u2019m like, \u2018All right, now I\u2019m in.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n What did they sing? Diamond soloed on \u201cI Dreamed a Dream\u201d from \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables,<\/i>\u201d<\/a> paying tribute to Jackman\u2019s musical theater bona fides, <\/i>before the two duetted on Elvis Presley\u2019s \u201cCan\u2019t Help Falling in Love\u201d and, of course, Diamond\u2019s own \u201cSweet Caroline.\u201d The good times never seemed so good.<\/p>\n It was a hang session so epic that Hudson, joining the call, seems green with an envy that matches her sweater. \u201cI can\u2019t believe I missed this karaoke party,\u201d she says. \u201cI have a whole karaoke setup at my house with a microphone and everything. I feel very left out.\u201d<\/p>\n Thankfully, when it came to making \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d it didn\u2019t seem so lonely for her. Based on Greg Kohs\u2019 2008 documentary of the same name, the film is as much Claire\u2019s tale as it is Mike\u2019s, following the real couple\u2019s love story set to the tune of Diamond\u2019s extensive songbook. At the height of their success, which included playing with Pearl Jam at Eddie Vedder\u2019s request, the Sardinas became local celebrities, billed as the duo \u201cLightning & Thunder.\u201d<\/p>\n Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson in the movie \u201cSong Sung Blue.\u201d<\/p>\n (Focus Features)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n A Vietnam vet and mechanic with a dream of entertaining, Sardina seems a role tailor-made for Jackman, who can go from Wolverine to Broadway in a single season. \u201cSong Sung Blue\u201d writer-director Craig Brewer, who first saw the documentary at a small film festival in Memphis, Tenn., never envisioned anyone but Jackman as the insatiable Wisconsinite.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was always Hugh because there\u2019s not anybody else out there who could understand the wild showmanship that Mike Sardina had,\u201d says Brewer, calling from his Memphis home. \u201cHe\u2019s doing two layers of a character. He\u2019s playing this working-class guy that loves to entertain any way he can. If he\u2019s got to wear sequined shirts, he\u2019s going to. He\u2019s going to give you everything he has.\u201d<\/p>\n The role presented a puzzle for Jackman, despite having played career impresarios like pop idol Peter Allen and P.T. Barnum. \u201cI had to lose Hugh Jackman to be Mike,\u201d says the actor, relaxed in an umber-colored button-down shirt. \u201cHow does Mike find himself within his love of Neil? It took me a second to find him and lose my shtick, because I\u2019m a performer too.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, the solution wasn\u2019t his Neil Diamond impersonation, though Brewer encouraged Jackman to make a meal of that. \u201cYou can lay a little bit more butter on it,\u201d the director remembers telling him.<\/p>\n Instead, Jackman\u2019s breakthrough came via deep self-identification.<\/p>\n \u201cHis dream was always huge but this was not how he thought it was going to go,\u201d Jackman says. \u201cIt was that \u2018one plus one equals three\u2019 thing where, all of a sudden, they found themselves being the next big thing.\u201d Similarly, Jackman never intended to become a movie star synonymous with musical theater. He\u2019d never even sung before a post-university audition changed the course of his life.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the hardest things to do is fake chemistry,\u201d Kate Hudson says. \u201cYou can\u2019t do that. You have to actually fall in love with each other and find the chemical connection.\u201d<\/p>\n (Victoria Will \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n Hudson is a less-obvious casting choice. Though she\u2019s made a career playing rom-com heroines, with \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d she\u2019s already generating awards buzz for her turn as a guileless Midwestern mom miles away from the glittering women Hudson typically portrays, and one with her fair share of trauma. She has to go to some dark places, channeling Claire\u2019s depression, addiction to painkillers and more \u2014 but despite her penchant for playing more carefree women, Hudson says she wasn\u2019t intimidated by the role\u2019s meatier aspects.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you grow up with storytellers,\u201d she says, referencing her actor parents Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, \u201cyou forget the camera\u2019s there. You\u2019re not thinking about anything glamorous. You\u2019re looking at the role and what it needs. It\u2019s what you long for as a performer. It allows you to almost leave your body.\u201d<\/p>\n For Hudson, the opportunity also dovetailed with a new act in her own life as a recording artist. Even though she released her debut album \u201cGlorious\u201d<\/a> only last year, Hudson has long identified as a singer-songwriter. \u201cI was always so scared of it,\u201d she confesses of her fear of going public about her songwriting. \u201cBut the studio is where I\u2019m very happy. I\u2019ve been in the studio since I was 19, but I just never shared my music because I was too scared to put it out.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a discovery Jackman made while they were recording their vocal tracks for the film. \u201cI said, \u2018You\u2019re a musician<\/i>,\u2019\u201d he recalls, Hudson beaming at him. \u201cYou were so relaxed and in your home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always had a lot of cheerleaders for me to do music,\u201d Hudson replies, sheepishly.<\/p>\n Some might see it as a full circle moment for Hudson, who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the groupie Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe\u2019s 2000 rock memoir \u201cAlmost Famous.\u201d<\/a> It was such a formative experience that Hudson still remains close with Crowe. She tells me she\u2019s reading his new book, \u201cThe Uncool,\u201d<\/a> to prepare to interview him on his tour.<\/p>\n But no matter how much Penny Lane has shaped her life, Hudson doesn\u2019t see a through line from her to Claire. Instead, she draws a line between fandom and musicianship, specifically the distinction between those who chase the high of being in the room or backstage living the lifestyle, and those who have a song they have a visceral need to share.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Claire, it needs to come out,\u201d she continues. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter where or what we\u2019re doing or how we\u2019re doing it \u2014 we just need to do it. That is also how I feel about music.\u201d<\/p>\n The real-life Claire Sardina and her two children (played by Ella Anderson and Hudson Hensley on-screen) threw their full support behind \u201cSong Sung Blue.\u201d But Hudson\u2019s instinct was to build her own version of Claire without too much outside influence. \u201cYou want to make a choice in a film because it\u2019s the right choice for the character, not because you\u2019re trying to mimic something,\u201d says Hudson.<\/p>\n Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson in the movie \u201cSong Sung Blue.\u201d<\/p>\n (Focus Features)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n That need to avoid mimicry and feel the moment was particularly crucial for the film\u2019s heartbreaking second act, in which Claire is hit by a car in her front yard and loses a leg, plunging into self-loathing, depression, body dysmorphia and addiction. Hudson had to do extensive physical work to prepare to authentically represent Claire\u2019s lived experience. \u201cMovement is a huge part of what actors do,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s the emotional part but the physicality is like rebalancing your brain.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to watching YouTube videos of amputees and speaking with those in the disabled community, Hudson got useful advice from another screen legend \u2014 her dad.<\/p>\n \u201cKurt said that Claire is like Rocky,\u201d she says, referring to the iconic character\u2019s grit and determination to go the distance. \u201cThe part that really got my dad emotional was that she just wanted to figure out how to get on her feet.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackman marvels at the bravery and skill of Hudson\u2019s performance, noting that she even captured something the real Claire told him off-camera.<\/p>\n \u201cClaire said, \u2018The thing is Mike was a leg guy,\u2019\u201d he remembers. \u201cKate played that so well. That feeling of shame about: Is my partner attracted to me anymore? I found that incredibly moving.\u201d<\/p>\n Hudson welcomed the challenge, but she did worry about one thing outside her control. For \u201cSong Sung Blue\u201d to work, the actors playing Claire and Mike need to be in perfect alignment: one the words, the other the tune.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the hardest things to do is fake chemistry,\u201d Hudson says. \u201cYou can\u2019t do that. You have to actually fall in love with each other and find the chemical connection. That was my biggest anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackman shared this concern. \u201cI remember the first day after our table reading, you said, \u2018This movie works if we work,\u2019\u201d he reminds her.<\/p>\n They needn\u2019t have worried. \u201cThey were a net for each other as the other one was up on a tightrope,\u201d Brewer says. \u201cIt was incredibly inspiring for the crew to see that kinship and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n Their mutual generosity is evident in the way Jackman checks in with Hudson after each anecdote during our interview, confirming she has nothing to add or correct. Though this is their first film together, their repartee is so easy and warm it\u2019s hard to believe they haven\u2019t co-starred in at least a dozen movies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt easy to just inhabit these characters,\u201d Jackman says. \u201cThe word that comes to me is trust. All of the scenes, particularly in that darker period, we could just live in that \u2014 the frustration, the paranoia, the anger, the loss, the fear. Every take felt really very different. I felt very free.\u201d<\/p>\n Hudson agrees, adding with a giggle, \u201cI told Hugh, \u2018I\u2019m really tactile. Just tell me if I make you uncomfortable. I\u2019m going to kiss you all the time.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n It helps that Hudson and Jackman are naturally sunny, curious people, celebrities who\u2019ve never cared for the sound of being alone. \u201cWe like to connect with people,\u201d Hudson says. \u201cThere\u2019s no internal process that removes us. We\u2019re both community people. We like to be in the circus. When we\u2019re on set, we sit on set. There\u2019s no separation of crew and cast. It\u2019s very rare that you work with someone who is like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, that openness allowed Hudson and Jackman to approach Claire and Mike with honesty, essential for a film that\u2019s a fullhearted paean to dreamers at their highest and lowest.<\/p>\n \u201cEddie Vedder told me something that moved me so much,\u201d Jackman says, a note of emotion in his voice. \u201cHe goes, \u2018Some might say these people led small lives. Their dreams were so huge and perhaps, naive. But dreams are so powerful that 30 years later, it\u2019s come true.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n From playing Milwaukee dive bars to becoming the subjects of a major motion picture, the Sardinas have far exceeded even their own expectations. To quote another beloved Diamond tune, it\u2019s enough to make anyone a believer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hugh Jackman never thought he\u2019d be a karaoke guy. But then Neil Diamond happened. Starring opposite Kate Hudson in the Christmas Day release \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d the 57-year-old Australian actor portrays not the legendary Grammy winner and shaggy-haired sex symbol, but rather a Neil Diamond \u201cinterpreter,\u201d the real-life Mike Sardina, who, with his wife and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2166288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2166287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Hugh-Jackman-and-Kate-Hudson-chase-a-dream-in-Song.com2F1b2Fdc2F2656f6c1455aaed376fae773.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2166287"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2166289,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166287\/revisions\/2166289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2166288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2166287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2166287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2166287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"2025](\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/101ceb7\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3750x1184+0+33\/resize\/510x161!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1b%2Fdc%2F2656f6c1455aaed376fae773c4d2%2F2025-holiday-preview-infobox.jpg\")
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