With more attention on the importance of mental health than ever before, star Hugh Jackman has recently opened up about his thoughts on mental health during an interview with the BBC (stated via The Hollywood Reporter). During his chat, Jackman opened up about his experience with mental health and how he was impacted while filming his movie The Son. The X-Men star revealed that while shooting The Son, the film’s producers had psychiatrists on set that were available for the cast and crew to speak with. Jackman said, “This was the first time I’d ever seen such a thing on a film. And people used it and it was necessary.”

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The Son, which was adapted from one of director Florian Zeller’s plays, explores the topic of depression in great detail. The movie follows 17-year-old Nicholas (played by Zen McGrath), whose mental health struggles have begun to seriously affect his father, Peter (played by Jackman), and his mother, Kate (played by Laura Dern). Unfortunately, things only get worse for the family as Nicholas blames his growing mental health struggles on his parent’s divorce and his father’s newborn with his new parent Beth (played by Vanessa Kirby).

During his interview, Jackman also told the BBC that intimacy coaches on film sets have become increasingly common. However, The Greatest Showman star added that mental health support should be a priority, especially for movies exploring tough topics. “There’s a little part of the old school part of my brain [that thinks], ‘Well, that’s up to you to work out.’ If you need to go to a doctor, for whatever reason, your foot, your mental health, you know, you work that out,” the Les Misérables actor said. “But I think it certainly would be a sign from an employer that we understand taking care of the whole person, not just paying them, but taking care of their well-being in all forms is really, really important.”

RELATED: Hugh Jackman Says His Role in The Son Changed His Approach to Parenting

Hugh Jackman Revealed That He Spoke With a Therapist While Filming The Son

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The actor also disclosed that he’d started speaking to a therapist while filming The Son for several reasons. One issue was the film’s difficult topic regarding mental health issues, but there was also Jackman’s anxiety following the pandemic lockdowns and his father’s death, which occurred during filming.

Ultimately Jackson hopes that The Son will provide insight into the importance of mental health issues. He said, “There is a real lack of knowledge and ignorance and shame around the subject and I think it’s something we need to confront, really, really quickly.”

Similarly, during a press conference for The Son, Dern stated that her new film was exploring an important topic during a time when many individuals were struggling with mental health due to the pandemic. She said, “It’s frightening. Even [when] you feel powerless, even when you feel alone in shame, guilt and blame, you can turn to so many who have been there before and may advise you. We all long to feel community in this larger conversation we must be having about mental health.”