Hugh Jackman Defies Cancer Doctor’s Orders— Can’t Hold Back During Emotional Song.

Sometimes you’ve just gotta go your own way — even if that means flying in the face of the doctor’s orders.

Possibly one of the most challenging aspects of any film production is coordinating everyone’s schedules so they can all be at the same place at the same time. So it took almost an entire year of coordination before a date and place were set for a final read-through of the 2017 musical drama, “The Greatest Showman,”in New York City.

Instagram

The Producers, Fox Executives, and of course, Hugh Jackman had to all be present for the movie to get the green light for production.

Wikipedia

Jackman was the movie’s star. He played the part of P.T. Barnum, the mastermind behind the Barnum & Bailey Circus, on whom the film is based.

But just before he was set to fly out, Hugh had an operation to remove a skin cancer from his nose. His doctor knew full well about the final read-through, but told him in no uncertain terms that he would not and could not sing; if he did, the 80 stitches he’d just put in could tear and would have to be resewn.

Twitter

So Hugh did as he was told, standing up and acting out all the scenes, and when it came time for him to sing, a stand-in did the honors.

But only until they got to the final song.

When the chorus started singing “From Now On,”he “was so taken up by the moment”and so in love with the song that he just couldn’t stop himself from joining in.

YouTube

I thought, ‘I’ll just sing the first line. I’ll sing the second line, it’s quiet.’ And then I was off, you know.

YouTube

I’m a big ham. So, I started singing, finished the number. It was a good showbiz moment. And then all of a sudden, I felt this trickle of blood.

Yeah, he definitely paid the price for that little act of defiance. But what’s 80 more stitches in the grand scheme of things, right?

Instagram

When I finished it was a good showbiz moment and everyone was happy but there was blood trickling down my face and I had to be re-stitched. But, it was so worth it!

You can listen to director Michael Gracey and Hugh tell the story in their own words and watch footage from the read-through in the clip below. Share if you agree with Hugh’s assessment that it was totally worth it!