HE’S the world’s sexiest man and his next role will be as the world’s greatest escape artist.

Hugh Jackman is set to make his return to Broadway playing Harry Houdini in a musical about the escapologist’s life.

Jackman has already begun work on the show’s magic routines, reports Fox News.

He is seeking advice from sleight-of-hand expert Ricky Jay, who appeared in Jackman’s movie, The Prestige, about two feuding magicians, in 2006. The producers may also consult David Blaine and Cirque du Soleil.

Danny Elfman, once the leader of pop group Oingo Boingo and now often a composer of movie scores, is writing the music, while Kurt Andersen, a former magazine editor and radio host in New York, is said to be working on the script.

The show, set to hit the stage in 2010, would include Jackman replicating big Houdini tricks on stage.

Jackman is riding high at the moment after being named People magazine’s sexiest man alive. He is currently on the publicity trail for the Baz Luhrmann epic Australia and wll next be seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The movie is due next year and also stars Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds and Dominic Monaghan.

In 2004, Jackman won a Tony Award for his Broadway portrayal of Australian songwriter and performer Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz.