Hugh Jackman, who has been recently named as one of Forbes' Highest Paid Actors, is still basking in the success of his latest superhero film, The Wolverine. For his next feature, the actor will shed his tough superhero persona to become a desperate dad searching for his kidnapped daughter in Prisoners.

Jackman plays the role of a small time carpenter who begins to lose himself as he gets more distraught at finding his daughter who was kidnapped by an unknown kidnapper. He teams up with Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays as Detective Loki, and finds the lead to the suspect who is Paul Dano.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, The Aussie actor said that he did his research to prepare for the role, which is "something difficult to play" and "also very human".

"It is honestly one of the most difficult things that could happen to a person, to a family," he said. Prisoners is directed by Oscar-nominated director Denis Villeneuve. His film, Incendies, was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2010 Oscar Awards.

Prisoners also star Terrence Howard, Maria Bello, Viola Davis and Melissa Leo. Mark Wahlberg serves as the executive producer of the film.

Forbes Magazine released its annual list of Hollywood's Highest Paid Actors last Tuesday and Jackman's earnings in the past 12 months was estimated to be $55 million ($A60.67 million).

Prisoners open in September worldwide. The Australian release date has yet to be confirmed. Meanwhile, The Wolverine hits Australian theatres on July 25, 2013.

Watch the trailer for Prisoners below:

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