Birthdays to share this week : 12th - 18th October 2014.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week? 

Hugh Jackman does, on 12th October  - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer or Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 12th October

• Hugh Jackman : Born 1968, turns 46 - Actor | Producer | Singer

Monday 13th October

• Sacha Baron Cohen - Born 1971, turns 43 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Kelly Preston - Born 1962, turns 52 - Actress
• Chris Carter - Born 1956, turns 58 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Paul Simon - Born 1941, turns 73 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Actor

Tuesday 14th October

• Mia Wasikowska - Born 1989, turns 25 - Actress
• Ben Wishaw - Born 1980, turns 34 - Actor
• Steve Coogan - Born 1965, turns 49 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Roger Moore - Born 1927, turns 87 - Actor
• Lori Petty - Born 1963, turns 51 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Cliff Richard - Born 1940, turns 74 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor

Wednesday 15th October

• Michael Caton-Jones - Born 1957, turns 57 - Director | Producer | Actor

Thursday 16th October

• Tim Robbins - Born 1958, turns 56 - Actor | Director | Producer | Writer
• Angela Lansbury - Born 1925, turns 89 - Actress | Singer
• David Zucker - Born 1947, turns 67 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | Songwriter
• Gary Kemp - Born 1959, turns 55 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter

Friday 17th October

• Margot Kidder - Born 1948, turns 66 - Actress
• Lawrence Bender - Born 1957, turns 57 - Producer | Actor
• Eminem - Born 1972, turns 42 - Singer | Songwriter | Producer | Actor

Saturday 18th October

• Zac Efron - Born 1987, turns 27 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Jean-Claude Van Damme - Born 1960, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Bob Weinstein - Born 1954, turns 60 - Producer

Hugh Michael Jackman was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia to Grace McNeil and Christopher John Jackman. Both English, he is the youngest of five children. His parents moved to Australia just before his birth in 1968, as part of the 'Ten Pound Pom' programme. When he was eight years of age his parents divorced and his mother returned to England to live with his two sisters, leaving him, his two brothers and his Accountant Father in Australia.

Jackman attended Pymble Public School and then Knox Grammar School where he starred in the 1985 production of 'My Fair Lady', and in 1986 he became the School Captain. After graduating from school he spent a gap year working at Uppingham School in England, and following his return he attended the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and graduated from there in 1991 with a BA Degree in Communications. In his last year at UTS he took drama classes to earn extra credits, and after finishing there he spent a year at the Actors Centre in Sydney completing 'The Journey'. This lead to an offer to star in the popular TV Series 'Neighbours' which he turned down to attend the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts at Edith Cowan University in Perth - from which he graduated in 1994.

His first major role came in a ten part drama series for the ABC in 1995, 'Correlli' - which ended after its first season. From there though he gained more TV work starring in 'Blue Heelers', 'The Man from Snowy River' and 'Halifax f.p.' but it was 1999 that gave him his breakout film roles in 'Erskineville Kings' and 'Paperback Hero'. In the meantime Jackman had been treading the boards and gaining a following for his lead role in the West End stage production of 'Oklahoma'. As the century drew to a close, he was cast in a film in 1999 that would cement his big screen career forever - Bryan Singer's 'X-Men' released in 2000 as brooding, angry, tormented and clawed Wolverine. He would go on to reprise this role another six times to date in 'X2', 'X-Men : The Last Stand', 'X-Men Origins : Wolverine', 'X-Men : First Class', 'The Wolverine' and most recently 'X-Men : Days of Future Past'.

2001 gave him three roles - in 'Kate & Leopold' with Meg Ryan, 'Someone Like You' with Ashley Judd and 'Swordfish' with John Travolta. Following 'X2' in 2003 he appeared as monster slayer Gabriel Van Helsing in 'Van Helsing' to mixed reviews, but his rapidly rising star status brought 'The Prestige' in 2006 with Christian Bale, Michael Caine, David Bowie and Scarlett Johansson. That same year also saw 'The Fountain' with Rachel Weisz, the Woody Allen offering of that year 'Scoop' with Scarlett Johansson again and 'X-Men : The Last Stand'. In closing out 2006 he also lent his voice talents to animated feature films 'Happy Feet' and 'Flushed Away'.

2008 brought in 'Deception' and then Baz Luhrmann's epic historical period drama 'Australia' with Nicole Kidman. Leading on from this 'X-Men Origins : Wolverine' came out in 2009 and 'X-Men : First Class' in 2011 with 'Les Miserables', 'The Wolverine', 'Prisoners' and 'X-Men : Days of Future Past' bringing us up to date. For future release there is 'Chappie' and 'Pan' both currently in post-production for a 2015 release, 'Broadway 4D' currently filming, 'X-Men : Apocalypse' in pre-production for a 2016 release and recently announced 'The Greatest Showman on Earth' and another as yet untitled Wolverine sequel for 2017.

He has 48 acting credits to his name, and has garnered so far 18 award wins and 55 nominations for his stage and screen performances. These include an Academy Award nomination for 'Les Miserables'; a Golden Globe win for 'Les Miserables' and a nomination for 'Kate & Leopold'; a BAFTA nomination for 'Les Miserables'; a Primetime Emmy win for his hosting of the '58th Annual Tony Awards' and two other nominations; and two Tony Awards for 'The Boy from Oz' and a special award granted in 2012.

Whilst making films he has also enjoyed a reasonably successful stage career too with 2002's 'Carousel', 'The Boy from Oz' in 2003, 2004 and 2006, 'A Steady Rain' in 2009, 'Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway' in 2011 and 'The River' in 2014. He hosted the Tony Awards four times, Saturday Night Live and the Academy Awards. In 2005 he formed his own Production Company - Seed Productions with good friend John Palermo and wife Deborah-Lee Furness - based in Sydney their intention is to make modest budget films harnessing local Australian talent.

Off stage and screen Jackman is a long time advocate of 'microcredit'; a Global Advisor of the 'Global Poverty Project'; a 'World Vision' ambassador; a patron of the 'Bone Marrow Institute of Australia' and in 2009 he used his Twitter account to donate AU$100K to 'Charity : Water' and 'Operation of Hope'. Also that year he and 'A Steady Rain' co-star Daniel Craig raised US$1.55M from curtain call donations in support of 'Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS'.

Jackman is a long time supporter of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles NRL Team, he plays the piano, can swing a golf club, has been known to windsurf and practises yoga and transcendental meditation. He married Deborah-Lee Furness in 1996 and they have two adopted children - Oscar Maximillian and Ava Eliot.

Hugh Jackman - multi-talened showman of stage and screen, song & dance man, true-blue ocker Aussie at heart, handsome, charming and superhero-esque, Happy Birthday to you, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-