Before he was Wolverine, Hugh Jackman made his name on the stage, including several musicals. Now, he's brought his talents from the stage to the screen with The Greatest Showman. The new movie inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum has numerous showstopping numbers, including several performed by Jackman himself. However, his favorite musical number is one performed by somebody else. Keala Settle plays the film's "bearded lady" Lettie Lutz and is responsible for performing the film's anthem, and Jackman's favorite song "This is Me." According to Jackman...
I really love all the songs. I love these guys, Justin and Ben, who wrote the music, did Dear Evan Hansen, which I can listen to every day. Their music to me just gets more complex, but if I had to pick one I would say 'This is Me.' That's the real anthem of this movie, and Keala's performance -- everything about that I think -- is the heartbeat of this musical.
Hugh Jackman sings, or shares, the lead in half of the songs in The Greatest Showman, but he admits to backstageOL that his favorite song is not one of his numbers. "This is Me" is a song performed by the circus performers, with the amazing Keala Settle in the lead. It's a song that focuses on the film's overall message, that people should be embraced, rather than rejected, for their differences. While one can certainly argue whether the real P.T. Barnum would agree with the sentiment, that's absolutely what the film is about. The song is about each of these unusual circus performers embracing who they are and not being ashamed of it.
It's pretty close to impossible to not enjoy the songs in The Greatest Showman, each number is big and bold but none are quite as impressive as "This is Me." Check out this performance of the song, from before the movie was greenlit, to see what I'm talking about. You can tell that Hugh Jackman loves the song because when you see him near the end of the video, holding Keala Settle's hand, his emotions are written on his face.
If you're looking for an accurate biopic on the life of P.T. Barnum, you should look someplace else. If, however, you're looking for a Broadway-style musical with all the magic that the big screen can provide, you really can't do better than The Greatest Showman.
