Hollywood superstar Hugh Jackman has told teachers that they are the real superheroes.

The actor, who taught PE at Uppingham School in Rutland during a previous career as a teacher, spoke in a video where he announced the 10 finalists for this year's Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize.

He said: "When I was a kid there were lots of superheroes that I wanted to be. But I can tell you right now, from where I stand, with all my experience, the real superheroes are teachers – they’re the ones that change the world.

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“My favourite uncle was a teacher, my sister’s a teacher, my brother’s a teacher, and I have always felt the most important job in the world is teachers. My hope for every single person on the planet is that you have at least one.

“I think of Lisle Jones who was the most influential acting teacher I ever had. Prior to Lisle I could only get to a certain point. He used to say to me things like, “You’re standing outside the character.” He said, “You’re good. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine, it’s OK. But what you need to do is to let go and trust.”

“As someone like me who did quite like to control things, that was transformative. And there was a moment for me about 18 months into my course – so this is the patience of a teacher – for 18 months he had to watch me being OK, maybe.

“And I remember this one monologue that I had to give and all of a sudden for me it felt completely different. I felt inside the character. And halfway through – it was a big audience, it was in a theatre – that teacher and his big booming voice, he stood up, and in the dark I just heard this 'YES! Finally!'  

“All of us go through insecurity and doubt, trepidation, along this journey of life, and those teachers that see the best in us and are patient enough to allow us to grow into that, they are like gold.”