Last week, at a New York bar called Old Mates, Australian icon Hugh Jackman sang a few songs by an American icon, Neil Diamond. He's been doing a lot of this lately.

His new film, "Song Sung Blue," is based on the real-life story of Mike and Claire Sardina, celebrity impersonators who teamed up to form a Neil Diamond tribute act by the name of Lightning & Thunder. Jackman was cast early on as Mike, and director Craig Brewer was still looking for someone to play Claire, when Jackman got an idea from watching TV: "Yeah. It's this little-known show, 'CBS Sunday Morning,'" he said. 

In April 2024, "Sunday Morning" aired a profile of Kate Hudson and her blossoming music career.

Jackman was contacted by a friend and assistant, Michelle: "She texts me: 'Are you watching "CBS Sunday Morning"?' I said, 'I'm not.' Normally I am, by the way – that sounded sucky, but it's true! I normally am! And I wasn't – I turned it on, and there was Kate promoting her debut solo album. I texted Craig Brewer, the writer-director, and I said, 'Kate Hudson is Claire. Claire is Kate.' And he said, 'Oh my God, perfect.'"

"Perfect" might be the right word: Hudson's turn as Claire Sardina has already earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

Jackman said, "As much as i could see it and feel it, nothing prepared me from day one of rehearsal through to the end, 'til I saw the movie, of Kate's performance. Because it was like, I could feel – you know, you just know, like, 'Ah, she's gonna be perfect,' 'cause she's amazing, and I love her, and I love her as an actress. But when there's somehow an alchemy of a part to an actress at that time, when that all comes together? Magic."

The performances are magical, but what happened to the Sardinas off stage was anything but: between gigs, they endured poverty, addiction, and some incredibly bad luck.

"They go through so much," Hudson said. "And if it wasn't a true story, it would almost be – you wouldn't believe it, you know?"

The film is at its heart a love story, and you could say the two lead actors have chemistry to burn. Yet, Jackman and Hudson did not know each other well before the project began. "It's become a bit of a joke," said Jackman. "Because I remember when we first met, but she has no recollection. That's the impression I made!"

And now?  "Oh, well, very well," said Hudson. "Except consummating. Beyond that, pretty, pretty much everything!"

Hudson was apprehensive when Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell watched the film: "Everyone loved the movie. My big thing was thinking, I was watching my mom watching it. I was like, 'God …' because I'm so, I guess, not the glamorous version of myself – or even honestly my version. You know, I was a bit heavier and didn't see my skin person for a while, you know. I was like, 'God, it must be so interesting for my mom to see her middle-aged daughter on the screen.' She must have been like, 'Oh my God, she's middle-aged!'"

Still, it seems middle age has been good to Kate Hudson, even in a year that would put the gray in anyone's hair. Last January, a wind-driven firestorm incinerated the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles, where Hudson has lived for most of her life. Her home is one of the few still standing, but her neighborhood is full of vacant lots where her friends' houses used to be – and some of the places she treasured the most went up in smoke.

She showed us around what was left of the neighborhood: "Every time I drive by here, taking the kids from, like, baseball or soccer, you know, I drive by and I go, 'Oh, that's where mommy had her first kiss.' And now you're like … it's not there. And that's what I mean by, like, nothing lasts."

But in the end, home is where you feel loved. For Hudson, it's still her community in Los Angeles. And for Jackman, it's his pub in Manhattan: "I come in here, I get a lot of, 'Ah, Hughie, come over and have a beer, mate.' I said, 'Ah, I gotta go.' 'Ah, come on mate, don't be a ****. Let's go. Let's have a beer. Buy me a beer. You can afford it!' A lot of that."

I asked, "Can you show up someplace and kind of be a regular dude?"

"Oh yeah," he replied.

"You can show up here and be a regular dude?"

"Yeah, except I just have to be prepared for them to make fun of me!" Jackman said, "which is a sign of affection!"

Jackman was prepping for a little Neil Diamond tribute at Old Mates later that night, and just like in the movie, Jackman and Hudson did what Neil Diamond himself would've done: raise the roof.

Watch Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson perform "Sweet Caroline" at Old Mates:

One final note: Neil Diamond himself is not in the film, but Jackman says he loved it – and gave him the ultimate stamp of approval: "He put his arm around me like that, and I sort of leant, and he just kissed me on the forehead. And he said, 'You did good, kid!'"

To watch a trailer for "Song Sung Blue" click on the video player below:

For more info:

• "Song Sung Blue" (Focus Features) opens in theaters December 25
• Old Mates Pub, New York City

      
Story produced by John D'Amelio. Editor: Remington Korper.

See more:

• From 2022: Hugh Jackman: The return of "The Music Man" ("Sunday Morning")
• From 2020: Kate Hudson on being a World Food Programme ambassador ("Sunday Morning")
• From 2016: Hugh Jackman: Changing lives, one cup of coffee at a time ("Sunday Morning")