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.
Image Source: Hugh Jackman attends the "Deadpool & Wolverine" New York Premiere on July 22, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
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.”
Image Source: Hugh Jackman attends a live taping of Etalk Presents: "Deadpool & Wolverine" at Bell Media Headquarters on July 23, 2024, in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Mathew Tsang/Getty Images)
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.”
Image Source: Actor Hugh Jackman attends the 'Prisoners' Press Conference held at Baur au Lac on September 28, 2013, in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
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.”
Image Source: Actor Hugh Jackman attends the 'Prisoners' Press Conference held at Baur au Lac on September 28, 2013, in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
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.”
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Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.