(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Hugh Jackman has joked that he buys 500 lottery tickets for crew every week in order to "pay [his] taxes".

The Australian actor is currently starring in the Shawn Levy-directed drama Real Steel which tells the story of Charlie Kenton, a washedup boxer in the nearfuture who is forced to hustle as a smalltime robot fight promoter.

Hugh has a generous way of bonding with the crew on a movie a method he has used for a number of years.

Don Murphy, a producer on the action film, revealed Hugh's unusual secret to forming friendships.

"I've been doing this for 19 years and usually someone's a d**k on the movie. This guy [Hugh] would show up every Friday with 500 lottery tickets and just give them out to the crew. The nicest actor I've ever worked with. This was really the best, most fun collaboration in 19 years," he said, before Hugh explained it further.

"It's my way of paying taxes," he joked.

"The very first film I did, I was embarrassed to say, two months in, I didn't know half of the crews' names. It was such a huge crew, I come from Australian films where there's no stand-in, you kind of bring your sandwiches and eat with everybody, and everybody knows everybody. There's no star system. In America a lot of people don't talk. They're told not to talk to you, so you have to go out of your way.

"I didn't wanna appear like a d**khead, like a politician, like Hi, how are you, it's nice to meet you, how's everything going?' So I thought, I know what I'm going to do, on a Friday afternoon I'll whip by and I'll say Hey mate, this is an Australian tradition,' which it's not!"

Hugh has regretted his decision from the initial get-go.

The 42-year-old star has teased that his decision to buy lottery tickets for everyone on a regular basis has intensified his filming schedules.

"I buried myself because from that moment on, I've never had a Friday off from filming. If I'm not called, they find a reason to call me in. They're terrified that if I don't turn up that half the crew won't turn up either," he joked in an interview with Cover Media.

"I can tell you right now, do not buy lottery tickets. I've been doing this now for ten, 12 years and the most anybody has ever won is $110.

"It's a great way of paying taxes, not to get rich."

Real Steel will be released in theatres on October 14. (C) Cover Media