Hugh Jackman was left red faced during a stage stint as Gaston in "Beauty & The Beast" when he peed himself in front of a packed house.

The Aussie actor started guzzling water before performances, to fight dehydration headaches, but it left him desperate for a pee during the show. And one night, he just couldn't hold it in.

He tells Playboy magazine, "I thought, 'I'll be all right.' The number featured (character) Belle and me; I chased her around the stage, lifting her up, dragging her, singing the whole time. Then I realized, 'No way!'

"I was sucking in air, trying to sing and dance. I picked her up and realized I peed my pants a little. The very last note is a big time F sharp... (and) you have to release certain muscles to hit it, the same ones that allow you to hold on when you have to go to the bathroom.

"I thought, 'S**t, if I sing this note, I'm going to pee my pants; if I don't, I'm going to look humiliated. The actor in me took over."

Jackman thought he'd got away with it when he looked down and saw no trace he'd relieved himself onstage: "I thought, 'These red tights must be waterproof'. I was laughing as if I'd gotten away with it. But the audience was looking at me funny. It had seeped through and my pants were completely wet."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)