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Scratchy Fridays: Hugh Jackman's lottery tradition with the movie crew

Let's make Scratchy Fridays a thing!

A picture of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the new Deadpool & Wolverine movie.
A picture of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the new Deadpool & Wolverine movie. Photograph credit to Disney UK.
Todd Betzold

Celebrities, they're just like us! And apparently Hugh Jackman, one of the stars of the hit Deadpool & Wolverine movie, likes to scratch instant lottery tickets!

A heartfelt gesture

In a recent Instagram post, Jackman shared that the film crew employees who worked on Deadpool & Wolverine “are the unsung heroes of filmmaking.”

How do you show your appreciation for them? Jackman believes the answer is starting a Scratchy Friday tradition and giving all of the crew instant tickets to scratch!

Jackman, 55, shared a video on Instagram showing himself mingling with crew members on the set of the recently released Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. As he is socializing, he also happens to be scratching off a lottery ticket while in the Wolverine costume.

In the caption to the post, Jackman talked about how he started giving out scratch-off lottery tickets to the crew members as a thank you to these below-the-line production employees for all their hard work on the movie.

During the video, Jackman joked, “Drinks on me,” while scratching one of the lottery tickets. He added, “Fiver — I'm taking it.”

How did the tradition get started?

So, how does movie superstar Hugh Jackman start buying instant lottery tickets for the crew? He went on to explain in his Instagram post.

Jackman wrote:

I can't remember the exact reason why I started giving out Scratchy's on Fridays. Maybe it's because I wanted the cool kids to like me. Or maybe it's because I wanted to make sure I said hello to each and every one of the people that work tirelessly to make the films. All of the humans whose names you see during the credit roll … they are the unsung heroes of filmmaking.

The tradition started, and it continues today, with Jackman saying he loves it. He said:

I love all of these people. I love the whole of us.

Winning at the box office too

While Jackman is winning the hearts of the crew members with this tiny gesture, he is also helping Deadpool & Wolverine win at the box office too. The movie was released to a record-breaking box office opening weekend of an estimated $205 million.

To promote the movie, Jackman has been sharing a lot of behind-the-scenes footage, as well as re-creating memes featuring the Wolverine character.

In one post featuring photos of himself with co-star Ryan Reynolds and their director Shawn Levy, Jackman wrote:

And so begins the purge of BTS photos & videos. There's no grand plan for any of it, just glimpses of one of the greatest times of my life. Much more to come.

While Jackman and Reynolds often give each other a hard time on social media, Jackman had nothing but praise for Ryan and his director, saying they are “two of the finest humans I know.”

In anticipation of the movie's release last weekend, Jackman and his co-stars made a surprise appearance at San Diego Comic-Con. Since then, they have been relishing the success of the film's debut.

On Monday, July 29, Jackman shared a photo on Instagram of himself lying down in costume while looking at a picture frame. The caption:

Wolverine and Deadpool is the #1 movie in the world. Thank you ALL!

If you haven't seen it yet, Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters now.

Enjoy playing with the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.

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