Hugh Jackman's sex life was helped by playing Blackbeard in 'Pan'.

The 46-year-old actor - who stars as Peter Pan's nemesis in the prequel to JM Barrie's classic novel - has revealed his actress wife, Deborra-lee Furness, was turned on by his distinctive-looking pirate outfit.

Asked about his family's reaction to his appearance as Blackbeard, Hugh said: ''The kids really don't talk about it much. I think when I get home they just like me to be dad, but from my wife's perspective she said, 'This is one of the sexiest characters you've played.'

''It was a good summer last year! In the UK, they talk about the summer of 1976. I talk about the summer of 2014!''

Meanwhile, Hugh also revealed the movie reminded him the importance of retaining a sense of child-like innocence.

He said: ''Joe [Wright, the director] and I were just talking how somewhere around the age of adolescence we decide to be cool and start looking at what others think or feel about things. Young people don't have that.

''That's the danger - that's what makes you start to grow old. But that sense of possibility and hope, which is what Peter Pan and Neverland are about, it's about staying young, having that glint in your eye. See possibilities, see hope.

''Life is an adventure and it can be fantastic. That's our choice, really. The truth is I'm lucky, I'm an actor. My job is to be a kid and I probably, maturity-wise, stopped around eight or nine. And I'm happy to say that.''