Hugh Jackman asking old student grades shows a teacher never stops being a teacher

Today, Hugh Jackman is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, but before his rise to fame, he was just a physical education teacher at Uppingham School. In the fall of 2013, while navigating the green carpet at the Zurich Film Festival, Jackman had a surprising reunion with a former student, Rollo Ross, now an entertainment reporter. After their encounter, Rollo uploaded a short YouTube clip that has since garnered over 38 million views. In the video, Jackman playfully tests how his former student is doing with some witty remarks.

The clip begins with Jackman, dressed in a sharp black suit, posing for selfies with fans as bodyguards keep watch. After crossing the street, where cameras and reporters eagerly waited, Jackman made his way through the crowd to greet Rollo. “Hey Rollo! It’s good to see you.” Abashed, Rollo maintained his reporter role and started asking questions from Jackman. “You are getting an award tonight for your contribution to film and stage,” Rollo said, while Jackman kept saying, “Yeah.” Rollo asked, “How do you feel about that?” But Jackman had other thoughts running in his mind. He replied, “I am good, but Rollo, I am sorry man, we go way back.”

“I used to teach you at high school and now I want to know how your physical education is progressing. It’s very important to me,” Jackman continued while Rollo chuckled behind the camera. But once a teacher, always a teacher. Jackman wasn’t done yet with his test. He pulled Rollo in front of the camera. “This man I used to teach in a school in London,” Jackman said looking straight into the camera, while Rollo stood there, slightly nervous and smiling, with his cheeks blushing red.

It seemed the student couldn’t stand there any longer. Rollo moved away again behind the camera, screaming “Oh no!” But how could a teacher leave his student unattended so easily. Jackman kept asking him, “How’s your education going?” To this, Rollo said, “Oh it's going great,” as most students usually say. It was later in the caption of the video that he expressed his true emotion, “Hugh Jackman giving me a little bit of nice humiliation on the green carpet at the Zurich film festival after realizing he taught me at Uppingham School.”

But Jackman still wanted to confirm whether his former student was doing all good. When asked how he was able to portray the emotion of anger in his character of “Wolverine,” he answered, “You know what makes me angry, students who do not really listen. It’s the kind of student who doesn’t bring their kit; the kind of student who doesn’t jump in the pool when I tell them to jump in, that’s what makes me angry, Rollo. In fact, I am remembering you more and more.” Embarrassed, Rollo said, “Oh no! I have to pass out.” He titled the video footage of this interaction, “That awkward moment when Hugh Jackman remembers he taught you at school.”

The Australian actor who started his career on stage with 1995’s “Beauty and the Beast,” was honored with the Golden Icon Award at this particular film festival. In another footage of this evening that surfaced online, he can be heard saying, “I feel very blessed. I’m very appreciative of all the things that have come my way. Tonight is a humbling experience to get an award like this.” 

In a later press interview, also shown in this footage, he said, “As an actor, you constantly need to move forward. You’re trying different things you’re challenging yourself, you’re connecting with what is in front of you and not trying to live in the glory days or sense of history.” As it turns out, Jackman practices what he preaches. He is not just an actor, but also a singer, a dancer, and an epic musical stage performer. And with this encounter with Rollo, it is evident that he’s still a good “teacher.”