Stepping into the shoes of a real-life Neil Diamond tribute performer meant that Hugh Jackman donned a lot of sequins — and sometimes even less.

“I had 51 costumes,” the star of Song Sung Blue, which just hit theaters, tells Yahoo. “I’ve never had so many costumes in my life.”

For our conversation, Jackman is understated in a white T-shirt layered with a black button-down — a far cry from the glittering, larger-than-life persona he embodies onscreen as Mike Sardina, a Milwaukee singer who found fame performing in a Diamond tribute duo with his wife, Claire Sardina, played by Kate Hudson.

Directed by Craig Brewer, the film is a music-driven love story adapted from Greg Kohs’s 2008 documentary of the same name. It follows the down-on-their-luck couple — a working-class mechanic and hairstylist performing as Lightning & Thunder — as they carve out a following on the local circuit, from dive bars to the Wisconsin State Fair.

Despite facing serious challenges and misfortune — health crises, financial strain and addiction — the couple continue to chase their dreams with an unwavering spirit.

“Mike has zero embarrassment about anything in life,” says Jackman, whose costumes include an American-flag-inspired vest that he rocked with a wig. “I do, but he doesn’t.”

That’s especially true when Jackman’s Mike is recording a video in his kitchen, wearing his underwear and telling his stepson to shoot from the waist up as he casually strums his guitar.

“When you watch [Mike] in the documentary, he’s unapologetic about every part of him,” says Jackman of the real-life Lightning, a Vietnam vet. “He’s in the tighty-whities a lot. He’s just happy with who he is, doing his best, and he’s just not going to do anything that anyone else tells him to do. It’s only if he wants to do it. I love that about him.”

Hudson, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, was able to spend time with the real-life Claire. She tells Yahoo that the couple lived in their art — and “they loved that about each other.”

“They lean into their sparkle, their fabulous clothes and the things that make them feel shiny,” Hudson says. “At the same time, they’re struggling to keep the heat on. In the documentary, Mike’s lighting the stove to heat their [home]. I think that struggle is very real for [a lot of people], and something that, unfortunately, is very relatable for [many].”

Jackman says playing Mike reminded him how “lucky” he has been in his own career. Many artists chase their dreams, but few get to live off them. He likes to think that had he not soared to stardom in films like the X-Men franchise and The Greatest Showman, he’d be out there still grinding just like Mike did.

“Both [Kate and I] have got fame and opportunity, and we get to work with amazing people,” he says. “Incredible things have happened. But both of us would be like Michael. We would still be doing it. I’d be at some community theater [as] a teacher or something. I’d be doing it.”

Had she not found stardom or grown up as Hollywood royalty, Hudson says she would be singing somewhere anyway — “all night long” alongside the person playing “the Casio keyboard” at a nondescript venue.

“We’re so lucky that we get to exercise the art ... [and] actually make a living doing it,” she says. “And when you honor people like Mike and Claire, you really think about all of the people out there who are so talented that don’t get the same opportunities.”

The Song Sung Blue press tour has turned into a mini music tour, with Jackman and Hudson singing Diamond’s sports anthem “Sweet Caroline” at many stops along the way.

“She’s so cool,” Jackson says of his costar, who previously showed off her singing chops in Almost Famous and Nine and released a studio album in 2024. “We’re just like: ‘Should we go down to a pub?’ We just went down and sang a few songs.”

He adds, “And that’s the essence of this story.”

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