Actor Hugh Jackman says he "lived like a monk" to prepare for his role as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables.

The 44-year-old takes on the role of Jean Valjean, a convict who manages to turn his life around in Tom Hooper's big-screen adaptation of the hit musical.

"The director told me 'I need you to get to where your friends stop you and ask, 'Are you OK? Are you sick?'. Until you get to that point you haven't gone far enough'. It took me to places I've never been before, vocally, physically, emotionally,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted Jackman as saying.

"I told my wife, 'This may be too much for me'. She replied, 'It will probably demand more of you than anything you've done so it should feel frightening and uncomfortable'. She told me, 'Use the fear. Work harder. Get in there.' I shaved my head, had to lose more than two stone in weight and lived like a monk, nursing my vocal cords with a portable steam machine and avoiding dairy products,” he added.