Hollywood wood star Hugh Jackman has thrown his full support behind his co star from the upcoming film, Song Sung Blue, actor Kate Hudson’s bid for an Academy Award, making a strong case for why he believes she deserves to finally take home the golden statuette. Standing beside her at the 35th annual Gotham Awards in New York City on Monday, the 58-year-old actor publicly championed Kate as a frontrunner this awards season.
“Kate Hudson is not only one of the great stars of our business, she is a consummate actor. I believe this time she is going to get an Oscar,” Hugh said from the stage at Cipriani Wall Street, as the pair accepted the inaugural Musical Tribute honor.
The Gotham Awards, which spotlight excellence in independent filmmaking, marked one of the earliest major stops on the film-industry awards circuit, ahead of the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and SAG Awards. The ceremony also marked the official campaign kickoff for Song Sung Blue, the upcoming musical biopic centered on Mike and Claire Sardina, the couple behind the Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder.
Kate, has not been nominated for an Oscar since her breakout role in Almost Famous earned her a Best Supporting Actress nod in 2001. In the years since, she has headlined a slate of popular films including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Fool’s Gold (2008), The Killer Inside Me (2010) and Deepwater Horizon (2016). Though Song Sung Blue has yet to open in theaters, early screenings at the American Film Institute Festival sparked strong awards buzz.
Speaking about the reaction during the Academy and Chanel Women’s Luncheon earlier this fall, Kate remained grounded, saying, “You never know with these things. I’ve been around now long enough to know just to enjoy that people are really loving the movie,” she said with a laugh. “And just, you know, show up to where they tell me to go.”
During the Gotham ceremony, Hugh also looked back at Kate’s journey since Almost Famous, adding with humor, “There is a difference, a very important difference, I can tell you, between Kate Hudson in Almost Famous, which was just three years ago … and Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue.”
Meanwhile, Kate, in return, praised Hugh, who playfully lifted their awards like dumbbells beside her. She said that “harmonizing and performing” with the Deadpool & Wolverine star has been one of the “great joys” of her career.
