The 41-year-old star has revealed that back when he was a student studying journalism at the University of Technology, Sydney, he struggled for money so began thinking of ways to raise cash. When a friend told him about a sperm bank which paid for donations, Hugh decided it was the easiest way to make money.

Just as he was about to arrange a visit to the fertility clinic, Hugh won a scholarship to the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts and went on to enjoy a successful career in Hollywood.

"I was 20, I was about to graduate and I was broke," he told the Kyle and Jackie O radio show. "My buddy went to the sperm bank and he told me he got 40 bucks per sample and you could do up to ten. I was like, `400 bucks, easy money.` So I rang up and I was just about to go in and fill in the forms when I graduated and I won a scholarship so I didn`t need the money.

"If not for that little scholarship there might have been ten more of me walking around somewhere!"

Hugh married actress Deborra-Lee Furness in 1996. After suffering a series of miscarriages and trying IVF, the couple went on to adopt two children - ten-year-old Oscar and four-year-old Ava.
sections: Celebrities