'Worst 45 minutes of my life': Hugh Jackman's disastrous moment hosting Sydney NYE fireworks
New Year's Eve is an exciting time for so many, but 25 years ago it wasn't so exciting for a certain celebrity after he had a hilariously disastrous moment during a hosting job.
Back when Hugh Jackman wasn't yet known worldwide as, well, Hugh Jackman, he took a job hosting the 1998-1999 Sydney NYE fireworks display.
"The first thing I hosted, this is back when I would do anything for money, I was asked to host the Australian New Year's Eve firework special," he recalled on a 2012 episode of The Graham Norton Show, which has resurfaced this week on TikTok.
Watch the video above.
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Hugh Jackman recalls the moment he hosted the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks in 1999. YouTube/ BBC
Jackman accepted the job and spent the night introducing the different acts, including Kylie Minogue.
But then, of course, as midnight drew closer, "the centrepiece" of the evening was the fireworks display.
The actor had been warned by the show's producers that this would be "the most difficult" part of the show.
'You've got 45 minutes and you have to commentate the fireworks," Jackman says he was told by producers.
Jackman was worried as he knew nothing about fireworks, but his nerves were put at ease as the producers assured him there were "four pages of notes" for him to refer to.
The notes detailed some of the key details about the fireworks.
"You know, 'There's 120,000 tonnes of dynamite, there's five barges, you'll be fine, just go for it'," Jackman recalls being told.
Sounds simple enough, but when the moment came, Jackman was stitched up by some playful producers.
"We go through the show and all of a sudden Kylie pulls the detonator, the fireworks start and the producer goes, 'And go'," he remembers.
In a frantic hurry, Jackman asked the producers, "Where are the notes?"
To what would soon be Jackman's horror, he noticed one of the producers was holding them.
"I look over at the guy, and by the way the entire crew are drunk, everyone's drunk, they're not missing out on the fun," the Deadpool and Wolverine star continues.
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"He's got the notes and his lighter and he just... lights it... up in smoke," he says as he mimes the producer setting his notes aflame.
So with very little firework notes, and now no notes, Jackman had to jump into 45 minutes of ad lib firework commentating.
Jackman said he watched the fireworks in a monitor while coming up with commentary by the seat of his pants.
"The colours are extraordinary ... I can't believe this, the explosiveness," he recalls saying.
Jackman recalls cursing the producer who burned his notes, mouthing his frustration at him silently in between comments.
"[It was] the worst 45 minutes of my life," Jackman declares as host Graham Norton, the other guests and the audience burst into laughter.
Actor and comedian Billy Crystal, who sat next to him during the show, joked that "that's why [he] turned down" the Sydney New Year's Eve hosting show.
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Jackman and Billy Crystal reflected on the times they had hosted the Oscars. YouTube/ BBC
During the same episode, Norton reflected with his guests about their other hosting jobs.
Crystal at the time had hosted the Oscars nine times, while Jackman had done so once. While it was a little more highbrow than the Sydney Fireworks, he was still left to do a lot of ad lib.
"The worst thing about it," he explained.
"When I went for my first production meeting, they said, 'Great Hugh, we're very excited' and they gave me a one-sheet page to talk about the show."
Jackman - pictured on stage with Anne Hathaway - during his hosting gig at the 2009 Oscars. Getty
The page dictated that Jackman had a seven-to-eight-minute opening but no further details.
Jackman, concerned, asked what he was supposed to do in that time period and was told, "It's up to you".
"And I was like, you know, 'I'm not Billy Crystal', right," he joked.
But thankfully when he sorted out the first eight-minute opening, Jackman said he was able to enjoy the rest of the night of hosting.
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