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 year 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."

Jackman, close friends with Ryan Reynolds – co-owner of Norwich’s Championship rivals Wrexham – made clear his allegiance lies at Carrow Road, not with his Hollywood pal’s project.

From FA Cup nights to Carrow Road

The 57-year-old traced his Norwich story back to bleary-eyed mornings in Australia, where he grew up with English parents who refused to let him miss the FA Cup.

"When I was in Australia, growing up, I had English parents who emigrated to Australia," he said. "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 stuck. His mother still lives in Norwich, and Jackman has spoken before about visiting her as a child and making a pilgrimage to Carrow Road at 16. He has been back several times since.

"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," he said at the launch of his new film, *The Death of Robin Hood*.

He has even admitted to owning a replica of the 1984 Milk Cup commemorative shirt – a totem of Norwich’s glory days.

Second time at the table

This is not the first time the club has tried to bring Jackman into the boardroom.

Back in 2011, he revealed that then-majority shareholder Delia Smith had invited him to become a small 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. "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 between him and the club have been ongoing for some time. Any deal would involve investment directly into Norwich City, not into the holding company that controls it.

Inside the Norwich ownership

Norwich are currently controlled by Norfolk Holdings group, led by American businessman Mark Attanasio, who also runs Major League Baseball side Milwaukee Brewers.

Norfolk Holdings increased its stake in March last year, taking control from Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones after their 28-year spell of active leadership ended in 2024. The group now owns around 85% of the club’s shares.

Smith and Wynn-Jones retain a 10% stake, while a collection of independent fans and individual investors hold the remainder.

Jackman’s potential arrival would add a heavyweight celebrity backer to that structure, sitting alongside the American-led majority ownership rather than replacing it.

Hollywood, waffles and the Championship

Jackman’s bond with the city goes beyond the stadium. In 2023 he was photographed at the Waffle House on St Giles Street, a popular local haunt. Staff there were told he makes a point of visiting every time he comes to Norwich.

It all feeds into a picture of a star who does not just drop the club’s name in interviews but keeps coming back to the place itself.

And he would not be alone in blending Hollywood profile with English football investment.

Reynolds, alongside Rob McElhenney, has transformed Wrexham into one of the Championship’s most watched stories. 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 ownership at Leeds United, while Snoop Dogg owns a slice of Swansea City.

Norwich, then, could be the next club to lean into the American – and Hollywood – wave sweeping across the English game.

Jackman has nailed his colours to the mast: this is his team, this is their promotion year, and now he wants a piece of the club itself. The question is no longer whether he loves Norwich City. It is how much of it he is about to own.