AS many people may connect the enjoyment of jigsaw puzzles with the very young and the very old, the news that film star Hugh Jackman – famous for his role as Wolverine – is a huge fan may come as something of a surprise.

Not only is Hugh Jackman (dubbed Sexiest Man Alive in 2008) a jigsaw puzzle enthusiast – he particularly loves Wentworth Wooden Puzzles, which are made by the small company tucked away in the heart of the north Wiltshire countryside.

The star of the X-Men movies, and more recently The Greatest Showman, shares aspects of his life on social media and he revealed on Twitter and Instagram that he has been putting together a mighty 1500-piece Wentworth puzzle, depicting Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpiece, Starry Night.

He posted updates of his progress with photographs, and warned his followers he would livestream the placing of the final piece.

The following day, in a live film, he completed the puzzle and then a moment later, totally destroyed the finished puzzle with a wild laugh.

He calls it his “pleasure and pain.”

"These are no ordinary puzzles, Wentworth Puzzles are the best, literally really hard," Hugh is heard saying while holding up the Wentworth Puzzle box and shortly before completing and destroying the puzzle.

It took him four months to complete, which could be considered a long time. But as Sarah Watson, Marketing Director at Wentworth Puzzles explains, Wentworth Puzzles are very different to most jigsaw puzzles.

"Our puzzles are not only made of wood, but we spend a great deal of time and dedication on getting each and every puzzle cut right. Rarely will you find two identical pieces in a Wentworth Puzzle.

"Plus we have straight edges within the puzzle and dissected corners. Then of course there is our trademark whimsy pieces, shaped puzzle pieces following the theme of the image.”

This is the second time Hugh Jackman has shared completing and then destroying a Wentworth Puzzle - the previous one was of a painting called The Dance Class by Degas.

He seems to get more views, comments and likes for his posts about jigsaw puzzles than anything else and it appears Wentworth Wooden Puzzles are his favourite.

The company is based in Pinkney Park, near Malmesbury and it was set up by Kevin Wentworth Preston in 1994.

His elderly mother wanted an old-fashioned wooden puzzle like the ones she had enjoyed as a child, but he couldn’t find any that met the brief - most modern puzzles are made of card and the wooden ones were very expensive.

He developed the process the company still uses today, using computer software to design the cuts. The pictures are printed onto reconstituted wood and the puzzle pieces are laser cut and include a selection of whimsy pieces – shaped to represent aspects of the picture.

Wentworth, which employs around 30 people, sells around 300 designs in various sizes and numbers of pieces and they create seasonal designs every year: a recent new addition is a jigsaw puzzle featuring a photograph of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

These days, the company has customers all over the world though around half their sales are in the United States.

About 65 per cent of their sales are made online, but the company also make puzzles for art galleries and the National Trust.

You can even get a personalised puzzle made, if you have a favourite picture to upload, which can be printed onto the wooden puzzle base, and these make popular gifts.

Wentworth’s designs include plenty of fine art, pictures of iconic destinations, chocolate box cottage scenes, animals and nature, and the Royal Family.

The number of pieces ranges from 30 for micro puzzles, right up to the mind-boggling complexity of the 1500-piece jigsaw monster that kept Hugh Jackman fascinated and frustrated for so long.

If you are an art fan and admire the work of Van Gogh and the impressionists, Renaissance masterpieces by artists such as Pieter Brueghel the Younger, or appreciate Hokusai’s famous Japanese painting of the Great Wave of Kanagawa, the puzzles give you a chance to focus on and engage with the pictures in a whole new way.

The 250-piece puzzles are the most popular and cost under £30. Hugh Jackman, however, is evidently not one to shirk a challenge – he completed the 1500-piece version of Starry Night which sells for a hefty £175.

Only 26 units of this specific puzzle have been sold. Sarah admitted they had been wondering which one had made it into the Jackman household, but they couldn’t work out who had bought it for him.

“Patrick Stewart has mentioned them in an article, so maybe he introduced them to Hugh?” Sarah speculated, a thought that raises the pleasing possibility that during their downtime, Professor Charles Xavier and Wolverine like to play with jigsaw puzzles.

Hugh’s love of Wentworth’s puzzles came to light for the company because employees Ben Smith is a fan and follows Hugh on social media.

He shared the news with his colleagues and they were delighted to see the video.

“We saw the original video, with the Degas design, and we couldn’t see the brand but when we looked closely we thought it was probably one of ours,” Sarah said. “Then he gave advance warning of the next one, and everyone here was blown away!

“Jigsaws might be seen as a bit of a boring past-time – but the fact is, they’re fun, a challenge, and good for mindfulness.

“Hugh’s made it into something that can be a talking point. He’s given them a social media presence and given them some kudos.”

Such a celebrity endorsement from a star with global reach has been a real boost for the company.

“We looked at our website visits two or three days after, and there were seven times as many as normal,” she said. “Our Facebook reach had gone from 3000 to 30,000.”

While this has not translated into sales yet, Sarah was confident that come winter and Christmas, they might see the Hugh Jackman effect.

In the meantime, the company wants to let him know how much they appreciate his support – they are sending a thank you letter, via his agent.

You can see the whole video here https://youtu.be/tpLkdJL_eHA and you can check out Wentworth’s jigsaw puzzles at wentworthpuzzles.com.