Hugh Jackman Shares Jerry Seinfeld Turned Down $100 Million and Gave Him Advice

There are few pieces of career advice that could be valued at nine figures, but Hugh Jackman seems to have received just that from an unexpected mentor.

This story has circulated in entertainment circles for years, but a recent appearance by Jackman on the Howard Stern Show has reignited the conversation, now with a clarified price tag attached.

Jackman is currently enjoying renewed appreciation following his acclaimed performance in ‘Song Sung Blue,’ the Netflix musical drama where he and Kate Hudson portray the real-life couple behind a Milwaukee-based Neil Diamond tribute act.

The film premiered on Christmas Day and features Jackman and Hudson singing live, a hybrid approach that Jackman described on The Howard Stern Show in December as drawing from his experiences in both ‘Les Misérables’ and ‘The Greatest Showman.’

This career move makes sense only if one has been carefully managing their creative reserves over the years. Interestingly, that is precisely the philosophy a certain famous comedian shared with him over dinner.

During his appearance on the Stern Show, Jackman recounted a conversation with Jerry Seinfeld that changed how he viewed his most iconic role.

According to Jackman, he asked Seinfeld how he knew it was time to walk away from the hit sitcom ‘Seinfeld’ while it was still at the peak of its cultural impact. Seinfeld’s response was straightforward and rooted in a philosophy of creative conservation. “He said, ‘I believe you leave. Leave when you’re not like I’m done. Because if you’re done, it will affect your next thing,’” Jackman recalled.

The figure at the heart of that decision is staggering. In a 2013 interview, Howard Stern asked Seinfeld to confirm reports about the offer he turned down to continue the show, and Seinfeld mentioned he could have received even more than what was reported, but he couldn’t allow the show’s connection with its audience to age and diminish.

Jackman revealed on the Stern Show that Seinfeld was offered $100 million to do another season, making the advice to walk away feel either like extraordinary wisdom or the most expensive dinner conversation in Hollywood history.

Not everyone in the room found this philosophy convincing. Stern immediately pushed back, telling Jackman that, with all due respect to Seinfeld, that was the worst advice he had ever heard. This is a reasonable counterpoint; turning down such a significant amount of money for a beloved show that was still thriving is not something most in the entertainment industry would do, requiring a unique confidence in one’s judgment to make that call and live with it.

For Jackman, however, the advice resonated differently. Over the years, he has mentioned the conversation with Seinfeld, which took place around 2015, explaining that by the time he got home that night, he had decided that ‘Logan’ would be his final Wolverine film.

The next morning, he also figured out how he wanted the character to conclude. The result was one of the most critically acclaimed superhero films ever made, a stripped-down, R-rated farewell that felt more like a proper send-off than a franchise obligation.

Ironically, Jackman stayed away from the Wolverine role for seven years before ultimately returning alongside Ryan Reynolds in the Marvel comedy ‘Deadpool and Wolverine.’ This means Seinfeld’s advice led not to a permanent retirement but to a strategically timed break that made the return feel genuinely exciting rather than tired. Whether this outcome validates or complicates the original counsel is open to interpretation.

What is indisputable is that the decision to step back when he did allowed Jackman to invest his creative energy into projects like ‘Song Sung Blue,’ which has broadened his reputation beyond the superhero realm and into awards conversations. Neil Diamond himself reportedly called Jackman after viewing an early cut of the film and was moved to tears, a significant reaction since Diamond had never previously given his catalog to any movie but granted carte blanche for this one.

It appears that the Seinfeld philosophy may have been worth every dollar it cost to overlook.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!