Hugh Jackman: its stupid to tan, if you get color, you damage your skin
These are photos of Hugh Jackman taken on a beach in Hawaii on 4-29 that we never got around to publishing. I’m sorry! It’s just that Hugh is so consistently hot, and he’s always such a standup guy, that you guys don’t often comment on his posts. Maybe I don’t sell him hard enough either, because these photos are making my week. It’s Friday and I’m staring at photos of Hugh Jackman shirtless. It’s going to be a good day. (Bonus link to older shirtless photos of Jackman.)
Late last year, we heard that Hugh Jackman was treated for skin cancer for the third time in a year. It turns out that he’s had a whopping “four skin cancers in 18 months,” which he blames on his childhood on the beach in Australia. In a new interview with People, Jackman talks about his cancer scare and the importance of sunscreen. He’s promoting his new line of skincare for kids, Pure Defense, which features photos of popular superheroes and Disney characters. I’ve seen that at the store and it’s a great idea. Here’s more from handsome Hugh:
Did you wear sunscreen as a kid?
No. I spent my childhood outside on a beach in Australia, where we have a very thin layer of ozone. I played cricket outside and I’d forget my cap. My nose would get burned every weekend.
How do you monitor your skin now?
I got every three months for checkups. It’s the new normal for me – my doctor says I’ll likely have more, and if that’s your cross to bear in life, you should be so lucky. No one will die from it if you get checkups. In almost every case it’s treatable.
How has this changed you?
I used to think if I didn’t come back with a little bit of color, it’s not a real holiday. I know the reality now: It’s stupid. If you get color, you are going to damage your skin on some level. In the old days, sometimes they’d ask me to get tan for a role, but now I spray-tan if I need it.
As a former Sexiest Man Alive, any tips on making sunscreen, well, sexy?
I don’t think I can comment from the platform of Sexiest Man Alive – that was years ago. [Laughs] We joke about it, but for some kids, they might think it’s cool: “If Wolverine is wearing sunscreen, then I’ll wear it…”
Why have you been so public on social media about your skin cancer?
It’s not as scary as I first thought, as long as you take care of it. There are a lot of things that happen in life that are hard to avoid, but skin cancer is something you can avoid if you protect yourself. I’m heartened to see the idea that to be sexy and beautiful you have to be tan is gone. People like Nicole Kidman have done a great job. She was made fun of when she was a kid in Australia because she stayed in the shade. No one is making fun of her now.
[From People Magazine, print edition, May 18, 2015]
My gym is near a tanning salon and the ladies I see coming out of there… let’s just say they’re older ladies and it looks like they’ve been tanning for decades. Wolverine is right, it’s not really in fashion to get a deep tan anymore, but some people cling to it like they do to hairstyles from decades ago. I’m grateful to my mom for teaching me early to use sunscreen, not only due to skin cancer but because I’m getting older and have been able to avoid some wrinkles. The next time I put on my factor 70 I’ll think of Hugh Jackman. Shirtless and helping me apply it.
photo credit: FameFlynet WENN and PRPhotos
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