Hugh Jackman is "heartbroken" by the Bondi Beach terror attack

He told Fox 5 DC: "It's just devastating, it's my home so it hits close. This is something we are seeing all over the world, my heart is breaking about it.

"I just feel for particularly for those families, those closely affected and the community because it's my community.

"I went to bed reading about Brown University and woke up reading about Bondi, I just feel heartbroken."

Hugh bought his low-rise apartment in Bondi a decade ago for $5.9 million, and he splits his time between there and the US.

It's said he retained the property during his divorce from wife Deborra-Lee Furness, which was finalised earlier this year.

Back in 2017, Hugh took friend and co-star Zac Efron to visit the area.

He told TheFIX: "There's nothing like being at home. There's nothing like swimming at Bondi Beach on Christmas morning.

"I took Zac out this morning to train. We went to Bondi Beach. I told him where to go for dinner. They went to Icebergs. You gotta go to Bondi. You gotta see the view.

"I'm so proud. This is my hometown, so I love showing it off to anybody but particularly my friends."

The previous year, the Greatest Showman actor was praised for helping his own children and other swimmers who got caught in a rip current at Bondi Beach.

Footage at the time showed him and another swimmer pulling his daughter Ava from the water, with lifeguards helping the star's son Oscar.

The North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club said at the time: "The beach had to be closed due to dangerous conditions, multiple rescues happening all at once and limited resources.

"@thehughjackman was also spotted assisting with rescues! Thanks Hugh."

Meanwhile, lifeguard Trent Falson told Australia's Nine News that Hugh thanked him for doing an "amazing job" saving his son.

And swimmer Peter Adam said: "He wasn't rescuing me, I was assisting him to get his daughter up to the sandbar.

"He then grabbed my hand to get us up. He then went to get his son."