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Hugh Jackman attends The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2024 in New York City.© Getty Images

Hugh Jackman shares insight into parenting rarely-seen kids Oscar and Ava after split from Deborra-Lee Furness

The Deadpool & Wolverine star reunites with his close friend Ryan Reynolds, himself a Hollywood dad

Ahad Sanwari
Ahad Sanwari - New York
Senior WriterNew York
May 30, 2024
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Hugh Jackman may be one of the world's most recognizable stars, but often keeps his personal life under wraps, especially in the wake of his separation.

The 55-year-old announced last year that he and wife of 27 years Deborra-Lee Furness were getting a divorce, and he's since focused more on his professional endeavors.

In a new conversation with People, where he and Deadpool & Wolverine co-star and close friend Ryan Reynolds interviewed each other, they each shared some insight into their personal lives.

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While discussing their years-long friendship, their evolving careers, and being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe together, they also bonded over their shared status as immigrants.

Ryan is a Canadian actor, while Hugh is Australian, and both expressed how important it was for them to imbibe feelings of patriotism for their home countries.

The Deapool star asked Hugh what he missed most about Australia, and he reminisced: "Definitely the people. My family, I don't see my brothers who live there, nearly enough, my best mates. I miss the food, I miss the ocean."

Deborra-Lee Furness, actor Hugh Jackman and children Oscar and Ava participate in the Hugh Jackman Star ceremony at The Hollywood Walk Of Fame on December 13, 2012 in Hollywood, California.© Getty Images
Hugh and Deborra-Lee adopted two children during their time together

Ryan responded: "I find Canada to be incredibly restorative to me. I don't really hide the fact that Canada's just so ingrained in my DNA. I mean, the country seems like an additional parent to me." He emphasized that he would've probably been "eaten alive by show business early in my career" had he not experienced a Canadian upbringing.

The Wolverine actor added that it was important for him that his two children with Deborra-Lee, 24-year-old Oscar and 18-year-old Ava, also felt part Australian. "And I'm really proud of that."

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"I think if you ask them, they'll say, 'Oh I'm Australian. I'm American too, but I'm Australian,'" he shared, and Ryan, a dad-of-four with Blake Lively, affirmed that he felt the same and so did his kids.

In this handout photo provided by Disneyland, Actor Hugh Jackman, his wife Deborra Lee Furness, and children Oscar Jackman and Ava Jackman pose with Mickey Mouse outside Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland on April 23, in Anaheim, Calif.© Getty Images
"I think if you ask them, they'll say, 'Oh I'm Australian. I'm American too, but I'm Australian.'"

Ryan and Blake share daughters Betty, four, Inez, seven, and James, nine, plus a fourth child whose name and gender they have not yet revealed, born in late 2022.

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"My kids are very much [the same], they have their Canadian passports as well and they feel a real connection to that, it's a point of pride of theirs. They've also spent huge amounts of their formative years in Canada, and particularly Vancouver, we shot Deadpool 1 and Deadpool 2 over there."

HOLLYWOOD, CA - DECEMBER 15:  Actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively with daughters James Reynolds and Ines Reynolds attend the ceremony honoring Ryan Reynolds with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 15, 2016 in Hollywood, California.  (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) Actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively with daughters James Reynolds and Ines Reynolds attend the ceremony honoring Ryan Reynolds with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 15, 2016 in Hollywood, California.© Getty Images
Ryan shares four children with his wife Blake Lively

"They love being from Canada, they tell people, 'Oh, I'm half-Canadian, half-American.'"

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In a previous interview with People, Deborra-Lee revealed that Oscar and Ava, who were adopted by the former couple, both had different cultural roots. "When my son was younger, he found out he was part Bosnian, so we went and got this Croatian/Bosnian cookbook and he was very proud to carry that around when he was seven years old."

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively with their children at Wrexham© Getty Images
"They love being from Canada, they tell people, 'Oh, I'm half-Canadian, half-American.'"

"My daughter has a Mexican lineage, so we've been to Mexico," the actress said. "We completely embrace the ancestors and the extended family; they're family to us. And it's in there, even though it's generational. It may be subtle, but it's in there."

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