Hugh Jackman in Talks to Buy Stake in Norwich City
Hugh Jackman is in talks to buy a stake in Norwich City – and he insists this is the season the Canaries go up.
The Wolverine star, a lifelong Norwich fan through his Norfolk-born mother, revealed live on TalkSport that he is negotiating with the club’s hierarchy over purchasing shares.
"I'm very, very interested – and talking about it right now," he said. "You're the first one to know that. There's a little exclusive. Good on Ryan, you do your thing, I'm all about the Canaries."
From FA Cup nights to Carrow Road dreams
Jackman’s connection to Norwich runs back to childhood. Born in Australia to English parents, he grew up on grainy late-night broadcasts of the FA Cup, dragged out of bed in the early hours to watch the drama from the other side of the world.
"When I was in Australia, growing up, I had English parents who emigrated to Australia," he explained. "We used to watch the FA Cup. It was the only thing we were allowed to stay up for, 3 o'clock in the morning. We had to go to bed first, and we were woken up to watch it.
"So I was seeing all these teams, Arsenal and all these teams, and I was like, I've got to pick a team. I said, 'Mum, where are you from?' She went, 'Norwich'. I went, 'Is there a football team in Norwich?' She went, 'Yep'. I said, 'That's my team'.
That choice has stuck. His mother still lives in the city, and Jackman has visited Carrow Road several times, including a formative trip when he was 16. The bond has only deepened with age.
“I went to Carrow Road a couple of times, and I love the Canaries, and this is the year we’re going to get promoted. That’s my prediction," the 57-year-old said at the launch of his new film, *The Death of Robin Hood*.
Second time lucky for investment?
This is not the first time Norwich have tried to bring Jackman on board. Back in 2011, when Delia Smith was still the majority shareholder, the club reached out to the Hollywood star with an offer to become a minor celebrity investor.
"I got a letter about a year ago saying, 'Being such a huge Norwich City fan would I like to be a celebrity investor?', like a small part-owner," he recalled at the time. "I said, 'I think that's a little stretched; I've been to Carrow Road once, my mum took me', so I decided not to invest."
The mood has changed. Jackman is now said to be worth around £100m and talks with the club have been ongoing for some time. Crucially, any deal under discussion would involve direct investment into Norwich City, not into the Norfolk Holdings group that controls the club.
Norfolk Holdings, led by American businessman Mark Attanasio, took the reins from Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones in a phased handover completed in 2024. The group increased its shareholding in March last year and now owns around 85% of the club.
Smith and Wynn-Jones, the celebrity fans who fronted Norwich for 28 years, still hold about 10%. The remaining shares sit with a collection of independent supporters and private investors.
Attanasio, who also runs Major League Baseball franchise Milwaukee Brewers, would be adding another high-profile name to an already American-flavoured ownership structure if Jackman comes in.
Hollywood, waffles and the Milk Cup
Jackman’s affection for Norwich isn’t just a convenient narrative. He has admitted to owning a replica of the 1984 Milk Cup commemorative shirt, a nod to one of the club’s greatest days.
He also turns up in the city away from the cameras. In 2023, he was spotted at the Waffle House on St Giles Street, a long-standing local favourite. Staff later said he told them he makes a point of visiting every time he is in Norwich.
For supporters, the image of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in a retro Canaries shirt, tucking into waffles in the city centre, sums up the curious charm of this potential deal.
Part of football’s American celebrity wave
If Jackman does buy in, Norwich will join a growing list of English clubs with star names from across the Atlantic on the shareholder register.
His close friend Ryan Reynolds, along with Rob McElhenney, has transformed Wrexham into a global story, and the Welsh club now sit in the same division as Norwich. The two actors could soon find themselves on opposite sides of a Championship rivalry.
NFL legend Tom Brady holds a minority stake in Birmingham City. JJ Watt has invested in Burnley. Will Ferrell is part of the 49ers-led group at Leeds United. Snoop Dogg owns a slice of Swansea City.
The American celebrity invasion is no longer a novelty. It’s a pattern.
The difference with Jackman is the depth of the personal story: a boy in Australia, woken in the dark to watch the FA Cup, picking Norwich because that’s where his mum was from. Now, decades later, he is trying to buy a piece of the club he chose in the middle of the night.
If his prediction is right and this is the year Norwich go up, the promotion party at Carrow Road might just have a new leading man.
