Renowned Australian actor Hugh Jackman has been in the news recently for his heartwarming act toward Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. The $15 gift card in a steakhouse from Jackman was not actually an expression of gratitude but compensation for a good deed Feige had extended toward him over two decades ago. Let us find out more about this heartwarming story behind the peculiar gift and the special bonding shared between Jackman and Feige.
Hugh Jackman gives Kevin Feige a $15 giftcard to a steakhouse after Feige paid for Jackman’s steak meal during the first ‘X-MEN’ film when Hugh thought he failed the audition. PIC.TWITTER.COM/EMFGZISVMT
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) JULY 25, 2024
The story goes all the way back to 2000, when Hugh Jackman auditioned for his iconic role as Wolverine in “X-Men.” Kevin Feige was then a production assistant but is now quite known as the president of Marvel Studios. After the audition, which Jackman thought was a relative failure, Feige, being a gentleman, offered to drive him to the airport and insisted on buying him dinner—steak. That gesture—to be so kind during what had seemed to be a low point in his career—really touched him as an actor.
Fast forward to Jackman’s Walk of Fame ceremony in 2024, when he surprised Feige with a $15 present: a gift card to Maestro’s Steakhouse. The gift card mentioned in jest that the card was only redeemable on Tuesdays from 3 to 3:30 p.m. It was a sort of playful way to return the favor to Feige years after he had treated Jackman to a steak dinner. After all, little gestures really do go a long way.
The relationship between Jackman and Feige has only grown with the passing years, developing into a great friendship. Jackman often speaks highly of Feige as a kind and trustworthy man and shares how Feige really helped him get a better feel for Wolverine by slipping him comic books. And so, their friendship blossomed as they continued to run into each other in the succeeding decades, finally binding it into a lifetime friendship.
The surprise of Jackman didn’t get a pretty good response from the audience. Many Marvel actors, including Chris Evans and Ryan Reynolds, took to their social handles to praise that moment as touching and funny. Jackman had a speech full of emotion and jest that came to underline just close friendship these two industry figures share and turned into one of the lighter moments in the abiding Nobel recognition for Feige’s contribution to films.
The incredible journey of Kevin Feige into the cinematic arena and, more so, the one he crafted as a driving force behind MCU since 2007, was simply marvelous. Having created a vision for a shared universe and interlinked storytelling, he has molded immense success for the MCU: currently, worldwide box-office earnings of over $29.7 billion for all the films produced, setting him as the highest-grossing producer of all time.
That Hugh Jackman gifted Kevin Feige a $15 steakhouse gift card is not only a funny story but epitomizes their great friendship and respect towards each other. Just one act of simple bonafide on behalf of Feige during Jackman’s budding days left such a lifetime impression on the actor that it spawned a friendship spanning over two decades years. What a great story, reminding that small acts of kindness can make such a difference in people’s lives, transcending into time and success.
