The Greatest Showman Facts: Story, Awards, Cast And Much More

The renowned movie that was a successful hit in 2017 brought back the charm of the musical film on the big screen.

'The Greatest Showman' was the directorial debut of Michael Gracey that became a landmark in his career. This movie has an incredible cast featuring Hugh Jackman as the lead.

Movies tend to be more interesting if they are inspired by real-life incidents and 'The Greatest Showman' is no different. This movie is based on the life of a prominent American Showman, Phineas Taylor Barnum.

Besides being a Showman, he was in show business, politics, and was the founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus. The movie was written by Bill Condon and Jenny Bicks and the cast comprised the Australian actor Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and also Zendaya, who played the fictional character of Anne Wheeler, a trapeze artist.

This movie is set in the late 1800s when the circus business was becoming popular. 'The Greatest Showman' received various recognitions and awards.

To know more, continue reading this article. 

The Storyline Of 'The Greatest Showman'

'The Greatest Showman' was a challenging movie for actor Hugh Jackman for various reasons. As this movie was based on a true event, the main purpose of the film was to keep it as close to the real story as possible. The entire plot is depicted through a musical that revolves around the success and failure of P.T. Barnum. 

P.T. Barnum was an orphan growing up in the late 1800s.

He was penniless but extremely ambitious from the start, and he was shown selling lottery tickets at the age of 12. He worked for a trading company but soon lost his job due to bankruptcy.

However, he was driven towards innovation and was thirsty for power. Soon he decided to start a business so he received a loan to open a museum, which did not do well.

Thus, Barnum began to search for people with peculiarities who were very unique, be it a bearded woman, an obese man, a very tall man, or a hair-covered man. Barnum managed to bring them together to create his circus.

Barnum became very successful, however fate had something else planned for him as everything was burnt down to ashes and flame consumed his entire building. However, after the disaster, when Barnum was on the verge of giving up, he met Phillip, who helped him to recover with a deal of 50% of the shares.

Barnum started all over again and soon gained popularity. The story ends with Barnum and Charity watching ballet, and he realizes the wholesomeness of his life.

Awards And Nominations

This movie was released in 2017, and 'The Greatest Showman' soon became a huge success at the box office. This movie made a whopping $434.9 million and is considered one of the best films in the career of Hugh Jackman. 'The Greatest Showman' received several nominations for prestigious movie awards and won many. 

'The Greatest Showman' managed to bag a nomination at the Academy Awards for Best Orginal Song, and the credit goes to Justin Paul and Benj Pasek.

This duo had already won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for 'La La Land' in 2016. The movie was also nominated for the Broadcast Film Critics Associaton Awards, the Costume Designer Guild Awards, the Faro Island Film Festival, GALECA, the Gold Derby Awards, the Golden Globes, the Golden Trailer, and more.

It won the AARP award, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Award, the ASCAP Award, the Casting Society of America Award, and the most significant: a Grammy Award.

Cast And Characters

'The Greatest Showman' is packed with a star cast. Each actor in this movie brilliantly performed the role for which they were appointed. Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Keala Settle were carefully chosen for their respective roles. No matter how many extraordinary aspects this movie has, the cast and characters are an integral part. 

The lead role is played by Hugh Jackman. P.T.

Barnum is shown to be a person with an intense hunger for success and a natural charisma, but his biggest flaw is his possessiveness towards his work. Zac Efron plays the role of Phillip Carlyle, who is portrayed as arrogant due to the circumstances of his background but is also very kind.

Anne Wheeler is an important trapeze artist in the circus and a lead performer.

The character of Jenny Lind is perhaps not very much liked because of her behavior, and she almost jeopardizes Barnum's marriage. Some other significant characters include James Gordon Bennet, the Lord of Leeds, Charles Stratton, Lettie Lutz, and others.

Did you know?

'The Greatest Showman' is an incredible movie to watch, but did you know these intriguing facts?

The character of Jenny Lind was originally written keeping Anne Hathaway in mind.

Most of the costumes that the circus cast wore in the movie were taken from the original Barnum Circus.

'The Greatest Showman' has a phenomenal cast, out of which seven of the lead characters in the movie have appeared on Broadway. 

Although actress Rebecca Ferguson is a singer, she decided to lip-sync as she wanted to focus on her acting. 

'The Greatest Showman' project was initially announced in 2009, but it took seven years to start filming.

Hugh Jackman was diagnosed with skin cancer and went through treatments the day before he met the production executives. 

The scenes that show a fire breaking out did happen in reality, and burnt down the set.

Huge Jackman is known to be a methodical actor, hence he read almost 37 books so that he could identify himself better with the character.

One of the most remarkable characters of this movie was Tomb Thumb who never grew more than 3.3 ft (103 cm) in real life. 

While Tom Thumb and Barnum met Queen Victoria in the film, others characters couldn't meet her. 

FAQs

Is 'The Greatest Showman' based on fact?

Yes, 'The Greatest Showman' is based on a real-life story. There was a real man named P.T. Barnum and he was in show business. However, some characters are fictional, like Zac Efron and his love interest the trapeze artist. 

What did 'The Greatest Showman' get wrong?

Although this movie is inspired by true events, there are certain flaws and some parts are even exaggerated. The character of Jenny Lind is portrayed one-dimensionally, but in real life, she was a very successful singer of her age.

Also, the film shows that Barnum's wife belongs to a wealthy family but in reality, she was a tailoress when Barnum first met her.

Do the kids in 'The Greatest Showman' sing?

Ziv Zaifman voiced the song that young Barnum sang.

Is 'The Greatest Showman' a true story?

Yes, it is. 

Who plays the bearded lady in 'The Greatest Showman'?

The bearded lady is played by singer and actress Keala Settle. Moreover, Keala has a thriving career in musical theater and was a part of the musical versions of 'Hairspray' and 'Les Miserables.' 

Who does Zac Efron play in 'The Greatest Showman'? 

Zac Efron played the fictional character of Phillip Carlyle. He is portrayed as the working partner of P.T. Barnum. 

Who sang in 'The Greatest Showman'?

Almost everyone in the cast did sing their part in the movie as it is a musical, except for Rebecca Ferguson. 

Who played Jenny Lind in 'The Greatest Showman'?

The character of Jenny Lind was played by Rebecca Ferguson, who is a Swedish actress who has starred in other movies such as 'Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,' 'Reminiscence,' and 'Dune.' 

Where is 'The Greatest Showman' streaming?

'The Greatest Showman' is a 20th Century Fox film, and currently it is streaming on Apple TV. 

When was 'The Greatest Showman' released?

'The Greatest Showman' was released worldwide on December 29, 2017.