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Hugh Jackman helps church

Jan 17, 2013, 9:01 GMT

Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman helped pay for heating at a church.

The charitable 44-year-old actor was struck by the plight of St Mary the Virgin church in Ewelme, Oxon, where he filmed scenes for Tom Hooper's new musical drama 'Les Miserables', and organised for producers to pay £10,000 to fund the building's new heating system.

The Rev Jonathan Meyer told The Daily Star newspaper: 'The spiritual message of the film brought everyone together.'

Generous Hugh also impressed his co-stars - who included Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried - with his kind-hearted nature because he kept everyone's spirits up on set during the gruelling shoot by treating them to fun gifts.

'Les Miserables' star Eddie Redmayne recently said: 'Hugh was the leader. He would keep all our spirits up and every Friday he would buy all the cast and crew a lottery ticket because by that time we were on our knees. His capacity for generosity of spirit was extraordinary.'

However, Hugh - who had to shed a massive 30 pounds to play emaciated ex-convict Jean Valjean - revealed he almost quit the blockbuster production due to stress and a catastrophic rehearsal.

He admitted on stage at the Golden Globes while accepting his best Actor prize: 'I really thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew. My wife talked me off that cliff, like she talks me most days.'