HUGH JACKMAN - HUGH JACKMAN: WIFE COULDN'T BELIEVE I WON SEXIEST MAN

HUGH JACKMAN: WIFE COULDN'T BELIEVE I WON SEXIEST MAN

When People magazine named Hugh Jackman the Sexiest Man Alive this year, the actor's wife was less convinced he deserved the honour, he has revealed.

The Australia star followed in the footsteps of Matt Damon and George Clooney in taking the annual accolade, with the celebrity magazine paying tribute to his multitude of talents.

"He's a triple threat: a star who can sing, dance and wield a weapon," People explained in naming Jackman the Sexiest Man Alive.

But speaking at a press conference ahead of his new film with Nicole Kidman, the Australian revealed his wife Deborra-Lee Furness was incredulous at his triumph.

"The very first things Debs said was: 'I knew it! I knew I'd marry the sexiest man alive!'" he explained.

"The second was a genuine asking of the process, and how it's chosen. 'Is it readers, is it votes, is the editors?' she asked. I said: 'I think it's the editors and a thinktank, and they get together, throw up photos and work out whose publicist they're on good terms with, and they decide!'"

He went on: "And she said: 'So anyone could get it?' I replied that they could. And she said: 'And Brad Pitt didn't get it?!'

X-Men star Jackman can next be seen in Australia, Baz Luhrmann's new period drama about an English aristocrat (Kidman) who forms an unlikely partnership with a stoic cattle drover (Jackman) to save her sprawling Outback ranch.

Australia is released on Boxing Day.