Hugh Jackman, the Australian actor, rescued his son and another man when they got caught in strong currents on Sydney's Bondi Beach on Saturday.

Jackman, who starred in the X-Men films as Wolverine, became a real-life hero when he pulled the pair to safety, then beckoned other swimmers to shore, away from a rip current flowing out to sea.

Television footage broadcast by the Nine Network shows Jackman linking hands with a man and pulling him from a fast-flowing channel on to a sandbar, where the water is shallow.