A dream to make music together

HUGH JACKMAN AND KATE HUDSON BECOME EACH OTHER'S MISSING HALVES IN 'SONG SUNG BLUE,’ A STEALTH OSCAR CONTENDER BASED ON REAL-LIFE COUPLE

- BY MAUREEN LEE LENKER

Jackman and Hudson play performing duo Mike and Claire Sardina, above, in their first film together.

VICTORIA WILL For The Times

HUGH JACKMAN never thought he'd be a karaoke guy.

But then Neil Diamond happened. Starring opposite Kate Hudson in the Christmas Day release “Song Sung Blue,” the 57-year-old Australian actor portrays not the legendary Grammy winner and shaggy-haired sex symbol, but rather a Neil Diamond “interpreter,” the real-life Mike Sardina, who, with his wife and stage partner, Claire (Hudson), found unexpected success with a tribute band in mid-1990s Milwaukee. It was this film that recently brought the “Greatest Showman” star to Diamond’s Colorado ranch, where the two participated in a singing session that convinced Jackman to buy his own karaoke machine. “Normally, I'm like, 'I don’t want to do that,’ ” says Jackman, over Zoom from New York's Bowery Hotel, as if he’s confessing a mortal sin. “But I did karaoke with Neil, and I'm like, ‘All right, now I'm in.’”

What did they sing? Diamond soloed on “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Misérables,” paying tribute to Jackman’s musical theater bona fides, before the two duetted on Elvis Presley's “Can't Help Fall in Love” and, of course, Diamond’s own “Sweet Caroline.” The good times never seemed so good.

It was a hang session so epic that Hudson, joining the call, seems green with an envy that matches her sweater. “I can’t believe I missed this karaoke party,” she says. “I have a whole karaoke setup at my house with a microphone and everything. I feel very left out.”