Beloved Australian Hugh Jackman has just received a Companion of the Order of Australia medal, the nation’s most prestigious award for outstanding achievement and service.

The medal was handed over by Australian Governor-General David Hurley during an Investiture Ceremony at Government House. According to the governor-general's secretary, Paul Singer, Jackman’s services to the performing arts and his poverty eradication efforts are “deserving of [Australia’s] highest praise.”

The actor, singer, and producer has starred as Wolverine in the X-Men series and had leading roles in The Boy From OZ, The Greatest Showman, and Les Miserables. Over the past year, Jackman also toured his own stage show The Man. The Music. The Show.

While possibly less well known, Jackman’s contribution to eradicating extreme poverty is just as considerable.

Jackman launched Laughing Man Coffee Company in 2011. The company is a fair trade brand that sees coffee farmers from developing nations paid appropriately for their work and given the opportunity to sell their goods to customers in the United States.

All profits go to Jackman’s Laughing Man Foundation, which supports worldwide education and community programs.

On this occasion, I’m reminded that I share this honor with my parents, siblings, friends and, especially w Deb, Oscar & Ava. There are countless teachers, coaches and mentors who’ve taught and inspired me along the way. I will forever be in their debt. Thank you Governor General pic.twitter.com/Y9syilF1mx

— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) September 13, 2019

Jackman is also a dedicated Global Citizen Adviser and has hosted various Global Citizen festivals. 

Jackman features prominently in the new six-part documentary series ACTIVATE: The Global Citizen Movement, which was developed by National Geographic and Procter & Gamble and co-produced by Global Citizen and RadicalMedia. 

In the first episode of the series, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Becky G, and Jackman join Global Citizen to rally global decision-makers to enact policies to eradicate extreme poverty — which is defined as living on less than $1.90 USD per day.

Jackman is shown throughout the episode getting ready to host the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in New York’s Central Park. 

"I was lucky enough to be born into a situation with the basic necessities of life. Food, shelter, clothing, education … freely available to me. Nothing I did, I just happened to get it,” Jackman states in the episode. “And then there’s a billion people on the planet, nothing they did, and they don’t get it.”

"It seems to me that there is absolutely no reason why these essential basics of life aren't available to everyone on the planet,” he states.



Jackman took to Twitter after the award ceremony to thank all those who helped him along the way. 

"There are countless teachers, coaches, and mentors who’ve taught and inspired me along the way,” he said. “I will forever be in their debt.”