Hugh Jackman Jumped from Cliffs to Temper His Anger Problems

Hugh Jackman risked death as he battled to control his anger as a kid, because daredevil stunts were the only think that could curb his wild temper.

The Australian star was just eight years old when his parents separated and he blames the subsequent divorce, his absent mother and the attention of schoolyard bullies for violent rage, which once left his brother in hospital after a chair attack.

The actor explains, "I had some very dark periods as a child. I wanted Mum to come back. I desperately wanted to be normal. I got very mad and would take it out on the football field. High school was very tough - I was bullied and probably did some bullying myself."

Jackman's problems didn't end at school - and his strained relationship with elder brother, Ralph, led to one particularly violent incident.

He says, "It was survival of the fittest and I was the smallest. Ralph used to bully me and one day I chucked a chair at him. It smashed and I picked up the bottom of the chair and swung it at him. He was taunting me and I thought, 'I'm going to have to kill him, because if I just knock him out he's gonna wake up and then kill me.' I remember a feeling of complete powerlessness and frustration."

But Jackman eventually found a way to control his temper - using adrenaline-fuelled activities to cool his rage.

He adds, "I think there was a lot of pent-up anger and as a boy you have to let that out. I used to go to a place in Sydney and jump off an 80 foot cliff into the water. We'd also go roof-riding - a group of us would wind down the front windows, lie on top of the car and hold on. It was ridiculously dangerous, but I just thought it was normal fun."