Oh, bless Lipton for kicking it up a notch with their new face of the brand Hugh Jackman, prancing and twirling around after an amazing sip of Lipton ice tea. The Jackman effect has got the ladies in a tizzy waiting to get their sip of Lipton. Hugh joined the Lipton team not only for tea craze but also because he wanted to bust a move and the TV commercial seemed like the best place to do so.

Click here to see Hugh Jackman Lipton AD

Jackman says, “When you feel good about life, you dance, and in this commercial, I play someone who’s a little tired and run down, in a place where he doesn’t have anyone around him that he knows. He has a sip of the drink [Lipton Ice Tea] and inside he starts to feel alive and positive.” However not all dancers are coordinated, on the first day of shooting Jackman got a little too excited and thus, he had to start  jumping over railings and his foot went right through a luggage bag, thank god it only happened once!

Two-steps don’t come easy; Jackson worked with Michael Gracey and Ashley Wallen to choreograph smooth moves that embody energy. “What I love about this [TV commercial] is firstly the concept; the idea that dancing is a way of celebrating life and of feeling good. We have some of the best dancers in the world, great music and an amazing creative team, who were pushing me to be better than I really am and it’s just something I don’t really get to do very often. Normally I’m pulling out my claws and slicing and dicing and here I’m doing my best Justin Timberlake impersonation – its great fun.”

Hugh: When I saw the concept for the Tokyo Dancing Hotel TV commercial, I was so happy because, for me, when you’re celebrating the greatest moments you have in life, you dance. Even the butchest guy playing football will dance when they score a touchdown or a try. When you feel good about life, you dance, and in this commercial, I play someone who’s a little tired and run down, in a place where he doesn’t have anyone around him that he knows. He has a sip of the drink [Lipton Ice Tea] and inside he starts to feel alive and positive.

It’s not very often you get to asked to dance and when I saw this idea for this script, I thought it was really cool and fun. Beyond the product, people are going to think this is a great commercial. I’m really proud of it.

Hugh: The funniest moment for me was in the very first rehearsal [when] there’s a part where I get up off my chair and I’ve just drunk the tea. From being tired and lethargic at the end of a long day, I just get up and all I want to do is dance. I feel so good and I start to dance and before I know it, I run towards the stairs. I’m supposed to vault over some luggage up onto the railing and jump, and as I ran I put my foot straight through the luggage. That was the very first take and I thought, either I put on a lot of weight or this is going to be a long day. Luckily for me, it was the only time I put my foot through it. The art department were having conniptions, I can tell you.

Hugh: The hardest moments for me have been some of the choreography. What I actually wanted, which I loved, was very crisp, sharp, sometimes difficult movements.  You want to be pushed, particularly when you’re dancing, and the energy that we had to have, which embodied the spirit of the commercial and the drink, was positivity and energy. I must admit, doing that was tough at times. I woke up with soreness in my legs that I hadn’t had for a while and a few blisters.

The heat has been a little difficult as well, but who am I to complain - we’re in Rio dancing, I’m having the time of my life! There haven’t been any really hard moments. You ask an actor hard moments they’ll talk to you for hours and hours, so don’t ever ask them!

Hugh: My favourite scene from this commercial was up on the roof with the two Japanese girls. It’s tough because I love being down in the lobby with fifty dancers as you never get energy like that. I don’t care what nightclub you’ve been to anywhere in the world, you dance to great music, fifty dancers, some of the best dancers in the world that have been flown from Paris and London and all over America, that’s a high you will never get at any nightclub, so that was great. However, dancing up on the roof, where the brilliant art department created the Japanese garden and it was just beautiful. My highlight was dancing in the pool, the water splashing, these gorgeous girls, who I thought were hysterical, jumping into the water. That’s one of the moments I’ll never forget.

Hugh: I think one of the great things about this commercial was the creative team. We have probably the premier creative team, particularly for a commercial like this. Michael Gracey, who has done amazing things, and I’ve been a huge fan of his work. He’s astonishing. I can’t believe he’s not a dancer himself because his eye is so good; you cannot get away with anything, trust me, and he pushes everyone to give it their best.

Hugh: I love Ashley Wallen, the choreographer, because he’s pretty much what the TV commercial is all about, in that he’s always positive and upbeat. He’s a brilliant dancer, he’s one of the best dancers and choreographers in the world, and he’s taught me so much, so in his hands I feel very safe and perhaps I might look alright!

Hugh: We actually came to Rio and got off the plane and Ashley Wallen asked if I was going to relax and I said “no let’s rehearse!” We went to one of the ballrooms at the Copacabana Palace in Rio, which was pretty cool and we’ve been rehearsing. He’s [Ashley] has really taken me through it and he’s a brilliant choreographer and dancer. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do everything he wanted me to do so we had to adjust things a little bit.

Hugh: What I love about this [TV commercial] is firstly the concept; the idea that dancing is a way of celebrating life and of feeling good. We have some of the best dancers in the world, great music and an amazing creative team, who were pushing me to be better than I really am and it’s just something I don’t really get to do very often. Normally I’m pulling out my claws and slicing and dicing and here I’m doing my best Justin Timberlake impersonation – it’s great fun. My kids came to the set yesterday to check it out and for the first time my son, who’s nine, said “I actually think your job’s pretty cool.” Now he’s been on many sets and that’s the first time he’s said that, so this is a lot cooler than most sets!

Hope you enjoyed the interview:) xx