Hugh Jackman has shaved off his lustrous locks for his role as pirate villain Blackbeard in Pan.

The X-Men star is often seen on the big screen sporting extra hair to play wolf mutant Wolverine, but in Joe Wright's retelling of JM Barrie's classic tale Peter Pan he will be sporting a bald head.

Hugh posted a picture of himself on Instagram in the barber's chair, which shows someone holding a razor next to him, with the actor's smooth pointed head looking more like Professor Charles Xavier than Wolverine.

He captioned the picture: "Blackbeard is born. #PAN."

The Australian hunk is still sporting a bushy moustache and pointed beard.

Hugh is about to beginning filming on the action adventure, along with Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily, Levi Miller as the the young Peter Pan and Amanda Seyfried has been cast as Mary.

Hugh said previously: "I am really excited about this movie. Joe Wright, the fabulous English director who did Atonement, Anna Karenina and others, is a brilliant visualist and a great storyteller.

"And this is the prequel to Peter Pan. This is the origin story so it is very smart, there's a lot of heart to it and of course, you're in Neverland. I play the villain Blackbeard, who is charming and who loves to hear the sound of his own voice. I'm really enjoying it."

Pan will be released in 2015.