The Graham Norton Show

Hi, everyone, I'm Hugh Jackman, it's New Year's Eve,

welcome to The Graham Norton Show!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Oh! Oh!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Oh-ho-ho! Too kind.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Welcome to the show and happy New Year's Eve!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Yay!

Yay!

Yay, it's really happening...

We've got a great sofa of guests

to ease you towards the midnight celebrations.

By the way, if you are planning to have

a fireworks demonstration tonight, please remember, never return to

a lit one as it can backfire on you,

like, I don't know, like a snap election.

That was fun!

Oh, I wonder if Theresa May got what she wanted for Christmas?

Hindsight. Yeah...

I do hope at home you've got a drink in hand.

Not so much to toast in the New Year -

more to help you forget the old one! Yeah!

2017, ladies and gentlemen - what a year!

In China, it was the Year of the Monkey. Yeah.

In America, Year of the Cock.

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

Donald...

Donald wasn't the only American in the news this year, no.

In November, an American won the lottery. Yeah.

"Yes! Yes!

"Stupid acting! Yes!"

In the UK, Theresa May started the Brexit process

by triggering Article 50.

Or, as it's now called, Article 50 billion.

This was David Davis in August,

insisting the UK will not give the EU a blank cheque,

and here he is in September...

..giving them a blank cheque!

This year, Tim Farron resigned as Lib Dem leader

because of his Christian views on gay sex.

To be fair to Tim, he did a very Christian thing when he resigned -

he gave up a seat to an elderly person.

Yeah. Awww! Vince, look at him!

Already talk of Vince Cable being replaced.

Mind you, it can't be the first time he's heard the words

"Do you think you'll survive the winter?"

LAUGHTER

Let's get some guests on! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Later, we'll be meeting Dr Foster star, Suranne Jones, will be here.

And we'll be chatting to one of our greatest actors, Gary Oldman.

CHEERING

Plus, we'll be seeing out the year with a great musical performance

by the Leading Ladies.

They will be performing One Night Only.

But first, three hot stars from the new musical extravaganza

The Greatest Showman,

starting with the all-singing, all-dancing Mr Zac Efron!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Yeah!

They thought I was lying! That's Zac Efron.

She's one of Hollywood's most influential young stars -

it's Zendaya!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So sparkly!

Hello, you're very welcome. Mwah and mwah!

Go and sit beside Zac there.

And he's not only The Greatest Showman,

he's one of our all-time favourite guests.

It is Mr Hugh Jackman!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE DROWNS OUT SPEECH

Oh! Lovely to see you all.

Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Come on.

You're good, you're good! Yes.

Thank you for joining us on this special evening.

It's just I'm Australian - I will be vomiting in 30 minutes.

Did you all have a nice Christmas? The best! Yeah?!

LAUGHTER Oh...

I don't know where to begin.

Zac, I don't want to pry.

What was your best present, Zac? What was your best present?

A-ha, ah, yeah...

This is a good game, isn't it?! Good game.

I still have yet to get it for myself. OK!

Zac gave me a car. A car! That's so nice! I heard that!

The Bugatti. It was amazing.

How did you like it? I just loved it.

The colour, not so much, but, you know...

Listen, we should say, Hugh Jackman, this year, this festive season,

you CAN enjoy yourself, you can pull the old ripcord... Yeah.

..cos you never have to be Wolverine again.

That's it. 17 years I've been on a diet.

You never need to look like...

But having said that, like, won't you miss looking like that?

Erm... WOLF WHISTLE FROM AUDIENCE

Now... Now, yes!

No. Like, people say to me,

"How do I get ripped? How do I get like that?"

And I'm, like, "Man, really,

"it's too much effort for what it's worth."

Like, it takes a lot, it's a lot of dedication, a lot of time,

a lot of pain, a lot of steamed chicken and not much fun.

Like, don't do it - it's not worth it.

Yeah, it sucks, man.

You can look seven and half out of ten and be so much happier.

My wife is, like, "Enough!

"Your job, as my husband, is to look like crap.

"That is your job."

Now, Zendaya, Zendaya, here's the thing -

how old were you when you kind of

started working professionally in the business?

I think I was 13 when I got my first Disney Channel gig.

Yeah. And now you're in your early 20s now. Yeah.

Was that your show, your first gig? Yeah, that was my first thing.

KC Undercover? It was Shake It Up, that was my first Disney show,

and that was, yeah, 13 years old. Wow. And it hasn't stopped.

Is that younger than you, Zac? Or you were younger than that?

I was... Yeah. You were 13 on Disney Channel?

I was 13 on Disney Channel.

Yeah, when I was 13, I was...

..I think I was auditioning for my first play,

like, local community theatre.

My parents tricked me into auditioning for my first play.

Told me we were going to Toys R Us.

You're kidding! They lied to you? Yeah.

And we've got a picture of you. Now, how old are you here?

I had to be, like, 13. Is your hair crimped there?

Yeah. It is, it is.

Do you kind of put it an elastic band before you go to bed?

How do you make your hair like that?

I went to a performing arts school, and I'd lied about my age

and said I was in high school when I wasn't.

And I... There were a lot of older girls there

that were just fun to hang out with, and they did that to me.

You were like their doll. Yeah! I guess I was.

We've got a picture of young Hugh Jackman.

Can you see the boy who really wants to perform?

Oh, no!

LAUGHTER

APPLAUSE

That's like...

Put me in, coach! Come on, coach, put me in!

I'm ready! That is amazing!

You are, like, totally focused on the camera.

"Team? What team?"

The opposition... The opposition were terrified.

They were intimidated. Wow.

The big movie you're here to tell us about is The Greatest Showman.

It's showing everywhere now, and it really is a festive treat.

It's a big musical extravaganza, telling the story of PT Barnum,

who sort of originated what we think of as a circus.

So, before we talk about it, here's a taste of what to expect.

This is not the life I promised you.

Not even close.

But I have everything I want.

Girls, I think I've had an idea.

I'm putting together a show.

It's a place where people can see things they've never seen before!

Who's that? And what is your act? I don't have an act.

Everyone's got an act.

No-one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You know, Hugh Jackman, you play PT Barnum,

and it's one of those things, where, like, the part and you,

it's such a great fit.

You seem to love being the showman.

I was, seven and a half years ago, approached by...

Yes, I do.

Can I show you a shot of me playing soccer when I was six...

I do kind of love it.

I'm a ham, I'm a ham from way back,

and somehow I feel really comfortable on a stage,

I always have, and I was involved from the very beginning.

So, if I'm not good in this part, I literally will never be good again,

because it was a dream for me, for all of us.

Well, Zac's done it four times before...

But to be in a movie musical is a dream,

and it doesn't come along all that often. Yeah.

And so we spent seven years, we wanted to do something original,

original music, and I think the music is phenomenal.

And we wanted to tell the story of

the guy who pretty much invented show business, so, this was it!

And I love that story that you were so gung ho.

Was it the first read-through, where you couldn't help yourself?

It was at... It was the final read-through.

So, we did four workshops over four years.

So, the final read-through, there were about 80 people,

and every single one of them with a cheque book in there.

So it was will this or will it not happen?

Based on this one performance.

We had an eight-piece orchestra, we had everyone there performing,

and the day before, I had had a skin cancer operation.

So, I've had three or four of them, and I had to get it done.

So I had 80 stitches in my nose and a plaster. I said,

"Great, I'm back to rehearsal, I'm going to sing tomorrow.

And the doctor's like, "No, no, no, you can't sing tomorrow."

You know, because the stitches may come apart.

And I said, "You don't understand - this is our make or break.

"I've got to sing." And he goes, "You can't sing tomorrow."

So I went in, made the announcement to everyone that I couldn't sing