Heartbreak might feel good in a place like this, but an on-the-spot $100,000 donation presumably feels even better.
Bonded by a box office bomb and their shared Aussie A-lister status, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman have been in each other’s lives for decades, but have only now reached a new level of friendship.
The “Big Little Lies” star attended a performance of “The Music Man” to support her former co-star on Saturday evening at the Winter Garden Theatre, when she shocked the crowd with a massive gift.
In a video shared from inside the theater, Kidman’s voice can be heard off-camera, as she offers to fork over $100,000 for a hat Jackman’s character wears in the show to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Her mere presence elicits uproarious applause and then a standing ovation from attendees before she walks to the stage to share a hug with a stunned Jackman.
“I love Broadway, I love what they do ― Broadway Cares, but I also want to say, the show is extraordinary,” she said before the actor handed over the pricey headgear.
Jackman then took the mic to celebrate Kidman on stage, as she returned to her seat.
“I’ve known Nic for almost 30 years. I’ve worked with her, I can tell you this is not a surprise,” he said. “She’s one of the most generous souls I know.”
Jackman echoed the same sentiment on Twitter, sharing a video of the on-stage moment, writing, “The generosity emanating from #NicoleKidman leaves me speechless! You ARE amazing. Thank you for your friendship and support!”
The “X-Men” actor is currently starring alongside Sutton Foster in the blockbuster Broadway revival, which is set to close next month.
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While Kidman and Jackman have only shared the screen once in director Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 misfire “Australia,” their behind the scenes friendship extends back decades.
The Oscar winner previously revealed that Jackman and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness helped her get a start in Hollywood, as she would often sleep on the latter’s couch after moving to Los Angeles.
“She was one of my best friends. [I slept on the couch] in the house that Deborra-Lee was renting, and she gave me the chance to stay there and we could go and audition,” Kidman said last year. “Both of them were so influential in helping me get started in the States.”
She also credited the longtime couple for helping her after her 2001 divorce from Tom Cruise, sharing back in 2019 that the two were “so much a part of my healing.”
Now, it’s only fair that Jackman donates the same amount to the charity of his choice next time he catches one of Kidman’s AMC commercials.
