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 roots, revealed live on TalkSport that he is negotiating with the club’s board to purchase 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."
The nod to Ryan is no accident. Jackman is close friends with Ryan Reynolds, co-owner of Norwich’s Championship rivals Wrexham, and now looks set to follow his Hollywood counterpart into the English game.
From Carrow Road teen to potential investor
Jackman’s bond with Norwich runs back decades. His mother is from the city and still lives there, and he first visited Carrow Road as a teenager.
“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.
Born in Australia to English parents who emigrated Down Under, Jackman grew up on late-night English football.
"When I was in Australia, growing up, I had English parents who emigrated to Australia," he recalled. "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. Jackman owns a replica of the 1984 Milk Cup commemorative shirt and, away from the cameras, he’s been spotted around the city. In 2023 he was photographed at the Waffle House on St Giles Street, telling staff he drops in whenever he’s in Norwich.
Second time Norwich came calling
This is not the first time the club has tried to bring him on board.
Back in 2011, when Delia Smith was still the majority shareholder, Jackman received an invitation to become a small “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 said 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 clearly changed. Jackman, now an established global star said to be worth around £100m, is in active discussions with the club hierarchy.
The talks, it is understood, are about investing directly into Norwich City, not into the Norfolk Holdings group that controls the club.
Inside the Norwich boardroom
Norwich are currently owned by Norfolk Holdings, headed by American businessman Mark Attanasio. The group increased its shareholding in March last year, taking control from Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones.
Norfolk Holdings now holds around 85% of the club’s shares. Attanasio also runs the Milwaukee Brewers in Major League Baseball, underlining the American influence already in the Carrow Road boardroom.
Smith and Wynn-Jones, the celebrity fans who fronted 28 years of hands-on leadership, retain a 10% stake following their step back in 2024. The remaining shares sit with a collection of independent supporters and individual investors.
Jackman’s potential arrival would add another famous face to that mix, but with a distinctly personal twist: a Hollywood A-lister whose attachment to the club was forged in childhood, not in a boardroom.
Part of football’s American celebrity wave
Norwich would be joining a growing list of English clubs with star names from across the Atlantic on the shareholder register.
Reynolds’ involvement at Wrexham, alongside Rob McElhenney, has transformed the Welsh club into a global story and now a direct rival to Norwich in the Championship.
NFL legend Tom Brady holds a minority stake in Birmingham City. JJ Watt, another American football great, has invested in Burnley. Will Ferrell is part of the 49ers-led ownership at Leeds United. Snoop Dogg has a slice of Swansea City.
Jackman, speaking at the release of his new film “The Death of Robin Hood”, made it clear where his loyalties lie in this new celebrity arms race.
He is not chasing a project. He is backing his club.
And with promotion on his mind and negotiations under way, the next time he walks out at Carrow Road, it might not just be as a fan in a 1984 shirt – but as a shareholder with skin in the game.
