On May 2nd actor Hugh Jackman gave the commencement speech at Ball State University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an article by Katherine Hill in the Ball State Daily News on May 2, 2026 titled ‘You are living your own life; no one can take that away from you’: Hugh Jackman addresses Ball State graduates. Another article by Ella Chakarian in Fast Company on May 4, 2026 is titled Hugh Jackman tells new grads the most ‘painful lesson’ he’s learned. She presented some quotes:

 

“ ‘My life has not gone the way I thought it would,’ Jackman said. ‘A lot of the best things that have ever happened to me have been mistakes or failures or random classes I joined to get me across the finish line.’

 At the end of his speech, Jackman told the graduating class to ‘throw away perfect’ and to ‘embrace that even the mistakes may turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to us.’

 ‘Our minds, our brains, they want a plan,’ he said. ‘They have all sorts of good reasons to follow a path because it makes sense. But if we’re listening, if we open our hearts, that voice inside is trying to show us something a little more magical, a little more mysterious [and] surprising.’ “ 

You can watch the entire 19-minute speech posted at C-SPAN on May 3, 2026 and titled Hugh Jackman Commencement Address.

 

A cartoon of Mr. Jackman as The Wolverine came from OpenClipArt.