From the Archives: Jude Law
The tattoos. The black jeans. The black tank with a rip by the side. He may have been a rock star in another lifetime or perhaps he is one masquerading as an actor in this one.
Jude Law. He of the sensual lips and the pale blue eyes which don't so much stare as lock. You may not know the name (yet) but you should know the performances. Five years ago, he made his Broadway debut in Jean Cocteau's Les Parents Terribles (renamed Indiscretions for the States). Reprising his London success as Michael, an innocent caught in an incestuous tangle with Kathleen Turner, he had theater audiences rapt with his kineticism and the much-talked about full-frontal at the beginning of Act Two.
He's been making a splash ever since. Though Miramax barely released I Love You, I Love You Not, Law at least performed with the likes of Jeanne Moreau and Claire Danes. His appearance in the futuristic Gattaca, where society is populated with genetically perfected humans, showcased his ability to transform childish imperialism to bitter melancholy. He managed to find an ounce of humanity in the hateful Bosie, the cossetted aristocrat who was Oscar Wilde's lover and downfall in Wilde. For Clint Eastwood, he was Kevin Spacey's white trash lover turned murder victim in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
In England, he's bigger. His lauded stage work has encompassed roles for both Britain's National Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Then there's his membership in the Brit Pack -- comprised of Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting's Jonny Lee Miller, Noel and Liam Gallagher of the band Oasis, Patsy Kensit, Anna Friel (currently gracing Broadway in Closer), Sean Pertwee, and various others -- which has made him and wife, actress Sadie Frost (the Bram Stoker's Dracula showstopper whom he met while they were filming Shopping), a permanent fixture in the British tabloids.
His visibility in America increases this year with roles in two high-profile films. First up is a starring role opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh in David Cronenberg's eXistenZ. Then there's his pivotal role in Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley. Law costars with Oscar winners Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow.
At 26, he's been called the next big thing enough to laugh it off when the subject is broached, but not so jaded that he's without a trace of hopeful anticipation. "If being the next big thing opens doors to doing good parts, then I'm delighted to be the next big thing," he laughs. Law's jocularity is slightly betrayed by the wariness -- or is it fear? -- that creeps into his eyes. As any hardworking actor knows, fame is a precarious perch to stand on and the media is more than happy to shake you off.
Working with Damon and Paltrow -- both young celebrities who have had their personal lives relentlessly chronicled by the press -- has afforded Law a first-hand view of the American media crush. "If anything, [fame] just kind of got in the way for poor Matt," Law relates. "He was so embarassed that paparazzi would follow him around." The only time Damon -- whom Law describes as "a real gentleman, really sweet and down to earth" -- ever lost his cool was when the paparazzi's antics threatened to interrupt filming. Damon and Law were filming an intense scene in the middle of the ocean when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by paparazzi-filled boats. "It was like, ‘Come on, we're doing work now,'" he says of the intrusive incident.
It's funny, then, that Law should find Britain a haven from the pitfalls of living in the celebrity spotlight. The British rags are known to be more lethal than their American counterparts. "I'm talking about the spotlight of being the new big thing," he explains. "Unless you go for it in England, they won't make you the next big thing. But they'll take pleasure in knocking you down if you claim to be -- great pleasure. They'll take photos, too," he laughs.
The Brits also tend to view acting as a craft -- "Actors in England are slightly more akin to bricklayers," Law says, not sarcastically -- and success as. . .how shall I put it?. . .the Antichrist. In America, we may ponder the mystery of why Keanu Reeves didn't capitalize on Speed's success with an equally commercial venture. In England, they may be suspicious of why Ewan McGregor has accepted such a prominent part in The Phantom Menace, the first installment of George Lucas' prequel trilogy. McGregor will no doubt reach stratostrophic levels of fame though, with his solid reputation as a versatile, indie player, he'll have more longevity than Mark Hamill did.
Law clearly treasures McGregor and gives a groan of recognition at hearing an anecdote concerning his friend's other talent: holding his liquor. "He's a Scotsman. It's like moving mountains," he responds when asked if McGregor will ever tone down the drinking. "It'll never happen. Whiskey chasers. God, he drinks me under the table." All laughter aside, Law admits he and McGregor haven't spoken of the imminent fame about to be bestowed upon McGregor. "He's one of my best friends but it's quite hard to approach the subject. You don't necessarily want to bring it up and put the fear of God into him. I think there's a side of him that can't wait, but I think there's also a side of him that's kind of fearful because you lose a lot of your privacy. But we haven't talked about it. We probably need to. He needs to probably hear that from a friend because it's quite intimidating."
Enough of Law's mates and back to Law and his role as Ted Pikul in eXistenZ, Cronenberg's existentialist layering of realities upon realities. In the film's society, people escape from their realities by losing themselves in virtual reality games downloaded from lifelike pods that plug into a bioport that is situated at the base of the human spine. Law and Leigh were allowed to take their pods home to help them with their characterizations. "[David]," Law notes, "considers them leads in his films, which they are in a way. Our relationship with them was quite key to believing the world we were in."
Law also prepared by reading the entire works of Dostoevsky, Camus and Kierkegaard. "And a play by [Jean-Paul] Sartre!" he adds. Why not just take Laurence Olivier's advice: just act? "I use it as an excuse for myself really. I left school early and it's not a hangup of mine, but I feel better if I know more about the world and I can relax and I feel like I understand [the character] and operate within [his world] comfortably. There's still an element of just acting, seriously, because I'm not a great believer in becoming the part and staying in the part."
Law enjoyed working with Cronenberg, whose script he found "so clean and actually quite straightforward" despite the film's reality-tripping plot. He also praises the director for staying true to his vision, not just in eXistenZ but in all of his works. "He's a director who's never gone from his desire to make films the way he wants to make them."
Law has tried his hand at directing -- a short called Bird in the Hand which will be a part of Tube Tales, Britain's version of HBO's Subway Stories -- but his primary focus, besides acting and fatherhood (he and Frost have two sons; one is from Frost's first marriage), is Natural Nylon, the production company he formed with Frost, McGregor, Miller and others. Natural Nylon had a hand in bringing eXistenZ to the screen. "We figured it would be a really good way of oiling the cogs in our company before we go into production on our first full feature." That would be Nora starring McGregor and Susan Lynch. Other projects in the pipeline include The Hellfire Club, a true document of 18th century government debaucheries, which will star the ubiquitous McGregor, Law and Frost; and a biopic of Beatles manager Briam Epstein whom Law will portray.
On top of balancing all that, Law is planning a return to the stage. Perhaps he's been inspired by the successes of Nicole Kidman and Kevin Spacey -- The Blue Room and The Iceman Cometh were both transferred to Broadway after being London triumphs -- as well as the spate of London-originated productions: David Hare's Amy's View with Oscar winner Judi Dench, Patrick Marber's Closer headlined by Tony winner Natasha Richardson and Conor McPherson's The Weir.
"I've definitely got plans to go back onstage," he enthuses. "It's where I started. For years, I didn't even think about being in films. It was really weird. I'd done one [Shopping] but I'd always thought theater is what you did if you were an actor. Suddenly I thought -- movies! I'd like to mix and match, really -- I think they'd be quite healthy for each other."
Originally published April 23, 1999
