Hugh Jackman has splashed out 250 pounds on lottery scratchcards for the cast and crew of his latest movie.

The 43-year-old actor brightened up a rainy day of filming on 'Les Miserables' by running to the nearby newsagent in Berkshire, England, and buying everyone a potentially prize-winning card.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "Hugh said he needed to go to the shops then came back with a wad of scratchcards and handed them out to everyone.

"It's a nice gesture. No one won, however - or if they did they're not saying."

It is not the first time the father-of-two has turned to the lottery to cheer his co-workers up. On the set of 'Reel Steel' last year he made a weekly habit of purchasing 500 tickets for crew members.

Explaining his generosity, the Australian native said: "It's my way of paying taxes. The very first film I did in America, I was embarrassed to say two months in that I didn't know half of the crew's names.

"So I thought that on a Friday afternoon I'll whip by and buy lottery tickets for everyone and hand them out. I say it's an Australian tradition, but it's not."