Best Known As: The lanky, sexy British star of Cold Mountain
Movie star Jude Law is a leading man known for his matinee-idol looks and for his performance as a wounded Civil War soldier in the 2003 film Cold Mountain. Law was on the British TV soap opera Families early in the 1990s, then was nominated for a Tony Award for the 1995 Broadway run of Indiscretions (with Cynthia Nixon). By the late 1990s he was on the big screen, earning female fans with his smouldering gaze and critical praise for his roles opposite Ethan Hawke in the cerebral sci-fi film Gattaca (1997) and Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). Law appeared with Ed Harris in Enemy at the Gates (2001), and starred in Steven Spielberg's A. I. Artificial Intelligence. Law was nominated for a best actor Oscar for Cold Mountain (Sean Penn won instead for his role in Mystic River). Since proving himself as a leading man, Law has cranked out the feature films at an impressive pace. His movies include: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004, with Gwyneth Paltrow); the remake of Alfie (2004, with Law in the Michael Caine role); I Heart Huckabees (2004, with Dustin Hoffman); Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004, with Law as charming rogue Errol Flynn); Closer (2004, with Julia Roberts; All the King's Men (2006, co-starring Kate Winslet); and the lovey-dovey cult hit The Holiday (2006, opposite Cameron Diaz). Law starred as Hamlet onstage in both London and New York in 2009. That same year he appeared in the films The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus and Sherlock Holmes (with Law as Holmes's sidekick, Dr. Watson).
Law was married to English actress Sadie Frost from 1997 until their divorce in 2003. They had three children together: sons Rafferty (b. 1996) and Rudy (b. 2002) and daughter Iris (b. 2000)... Law and model Samantha Burke have a daughter, Sophia, born in 2009 after their brief relationship in late 2008... Law was engaged to actress Sienna Miller in 2005 when his children's former nanny, Daisy Wright, told London newspapers of having an affair with Law. Law and Miller ended their relationship in 2006.
Career Highlights: The Talented Mr. Ripley, Wilde, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
First Major Screen Credit: Shopping (1994)
Biography
Although he first appeared as just one of the latest crop of golden-skinned English imports to caress the hormones of American filmgoers, Jude Law is steadily proving that his talents lie beyond his ability to smolder seductively in front of the camera. Since 1995, when Law made the transition from British soap opera to Broadway via Sean Mathias' Indiscretions (in which he co-starred with Kathleen Turner), his work has increasingly garnered favorable notice from critics and moviegoers alike.
Born in London on December 29, 1972, Law started acting as a teenager. Before Indiscretions, his most notable role was in Shopping (1994), a British production that gave him both initial recognition and an introduction to his future wife, actress Sadie Frost (the couple has two children). After the critical and commercial success of Indiscretions, Law began finding more work in film, starring as Claire Danes' boyfriend in I Love You, I Love You Not (1997) and as the genetically privileged man who sells his identity to Ethan Hawke in Gattaca (1997). Also in 1997, Law took on the plum role of Alfred Lord Douglas (or Bosie), Oscar Wilde's volatile lover in Wilde. Although none of these films received unanimously positive critical (or box-office) attention, they did help to further establish Law as an actor to be taken seriously. Law followed them with a small part in Bent (1997) and the more pivotal role of Billy, Jim Williams' hotheaded and ill-fated lover in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997). Following that film, Law went on to make a few smaller films, including Music From Another Room (also starring a still unknown Gretchen Mol) and The Final Cut, in which he played a sinister, deceased version of himself.
In 1999, Law appeared in David Cronenberg's cyberific eXistenZ and completed filming Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, and Cate Blanchett. The film earned widespread acclaim upon its release, much of which was lavished on Law's portrayal of the serially charming and devastatingly superficial Dickie Greenleaf. Law garnered both a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, further cementing his reputation as one of the more promising up-and-coming actors on either side of the ocean.
After a turn as a Russian marksman facing off against a Nazi sniper in Enemy at the Gates (2001), Law returned to sci-fi with his role as love machine Gigolo Joe in Steven Spielberg's eagerly anticipated A.I.
After appearing in only two films in as many years, Law was virtually unavoidable in the last third of 2004, with substantial roles in a grand total of six films. First up, he played the title role in the blue-screened sci-fi action flick Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, starring alongside the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, and a "resurrected" Laurence Olivier. A month later, he could be found starring in the remake of Alfie as well as in the ensemble cast of David O. Russell's comedy I Heart Huckabees. And before the close of the year, audiences could catch him in Mike Nichols' romantic drama Closer, as Errol Flynn in Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, and providing the voice of the title character in the big-screen adaptation of Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events. Produced on an elephantine, effects-heavy budget by the wunderkind, billon-dollar powerhouse Scott Rudin (The Firm, Sister Act) and starring Jim Carrey, the film opened in December 2004 and received average to positive notices; such commentators as Newsweek's Sean Smith, The Washington Post's Desson Thomson, and others championed it (one referred to it as "a Tim Burton movie without the weird shafts of adolescent pain"); others were nonplussed. Roger Ebert complained, "It's odd, how the movie's gloom and doom are amusing at first, and then dampen down the humor. Although many Unfortunate Events do indeed occur in "Lemony Snicket," they cannot be called exciting because everyone is rather depressed by them." The picture nevertheless did excellent box office. Alfie - a remake of the 1966 Michael Caine vehicle, with Law taking over the Caine role - didn't fare so well with critics but performed adequately at the box.
Law ducked out of films for a year or so between 2004 and 2005, which led Variety to ask, "Where in the world is Jude Law?" The actor apparently needed a vacation, but his absence was short lived: Law ended his sabbatical after a year or so, and triumphantly returns to cinemas in 2006. In All the King's Men, Law plays second-string fiddle to an over-the-top Sean Penn. A political tale adapted from Robert Penn Warren's novel by Schindler's List scribe Steven Zaillian (who also directs), the movie weaves the tale of a Huey Long-like southern demagogue (Penn). The film will hit cinemas across the U.S. in September '06. Law is also re-teaming with his Cold Mountain collaborator, Anthony Minghella, in Breaking & Entering. Slated for release in late 2006, shot on-location in London, and co-starring Juliette Binoche (The Unbearable Lightness of Being) and She's So Lovely's Robin Wright Penn, this hotly-anticipated Miramax release explores the dynamics of a relationship between an architect and a thief. Variety describes it as "a drama... about the eternal conundrum of how to make long-term relationships work." ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
In May 2009, Law returned to the London stage to portray the title role in Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Donmar Warehouse West End season at Wyndham's Theatre. The BBC reported "a fine and solid performance" but included other reviews of Law's interpretation that were mixed.[22] There was a further run of the production at Elsinore Castle in Denmark from 25-30 August 2009.[23] In September 2009 the production transferred to the Broadhurst Theatre in New York. Again, the critics failed to agree on the merit of Law's interpretation: London's Daily Mail found only positive reviews,[24] but The Washington Post felt that the much-anticipated performance was "highly disappointing".[25]
Other projects
Advertising
Law is the face of the male perfume of Dior, Dior Homme Sport.[26][27][28] Since 2005, he has represented Dunhill as an "apparel ambassador" in Asia.[29] In 2008, he became the international face of Dunhill and appears in the worldwide advertising campaigns.[30]
In spring 2007 Jude Law shot the Jason Martin-directed short film "Realtime Movie Trailer" at Borough Market, South London. Instead of promoting a film, this "trailer", which appeared among regular trailers in selected cinemas across London starting 19 November 2007, advertised a live event, Realtime Movie, by Polish artist Pawel Althamer. Hundreds turned up for this – unfilmed – re-enactment in real time of the sequence of events shown in "Realtime Movie Trailer" by the same actors, including Althamer as a Polish laborer, held at Borough Market on 30 November 2007. The performance was commissioned by Tate Modern as part of its "The World as a Stage" exhibition which explored the boundaries between arts and reality.[32][33][34][35]
Charity activities
In 2004, Law launched a campaign to raise £2.5 million towards the Young Vic Theatre's £12.5 million redevelopment project.[36][37] He is currently Chair of the Young Vic committee and has said that he is proud to help make the Young Vic "a nurturing bed" for young directors.[38] He is an enthusiastic football fan and a supporter of the English football club Tottenham Hotspur.[39] In 2006, he joined Robbie Williams in the "Soccer Aid" celebrity football match to benefit UNICEF.[40]
In 2006, he starred in an anthology of Samuel Beckett readings and performances directed by director Anthony Minghella. With the Beckett Gala Evening at the Reading Town Hall, more than £22,000 was donated for the Macmillan Cancer Support.[41] Also in 2006, Frost and Law directed a Shakespeare play in a South African orphanage. He travelled to Durban with Frost and their children in order to help children who have lost their parents to AIDS. In July 2007, as patron of the charity, he helped kick off the month-long tour of the AIDS-themed musical Thula Sizwe by The Young Zulu Warriors.[42] Also in 2007, he encouraged the Friends of the Earth/The Big Ask campaign, asking British Government to take action against climate change.[43][44][45]
Stars including Dame Judi Dench and Jude Law have helped save St Stephen's Church in Hampstead. The celebrities supported the campaign, which raised £4.5 million to refurbish the Victorian church in north London. The building reopened in March 2009 as an arts and community centre.[57][58]
Peace activities
In July 2007, Jude Law and Jeremy Gilley were in Afghanistan over a period of 10 days to document peace commitments and activities there for an upcoming film and for marking the UNInternational Day of Peace.[59][60] Accompanied by UNICEF Representative Catherine Mbengue, they travelled and filmed in treacherous areas of eastern Afghanistan with a film crew, interviewing children, government ministers, community leaders and UN officials.[61][62] They also filmed at schools and visited various UNICEF-supported programmes inside and outside the capital Kabul.[63][64] The efforts of Peace One Day are coordinated in celebration of the annual International Day of Peace, on 21 September.[65][66] The film, named The Day After Peace, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.[67][68][69] On 21 September 2008, the film was shown at a gala screening at the Royal Albert Hall.[70]
On 30 August 2008, Law and Gilley returned to Afghanistan to help keep a momentum around Peace Day. They met PresidentHamid Karzai, top NATO and UN officials, and members of the aid community. They also screened the new documentary about the efforts in support of peace. The documentary features activities that took place throughout Afghanistan in 2007. It also highlights support from UNICEF and the WHO for the peaceful immunization of 1.4 million children against polio in insecure areas.[71][72][73][74]
Law met Sadie Frost while working on the film Shopping. They married on 2 September 1997 and divorced on 29 October 2003. He is the father of a stepson, Finlay Munro (born 20 September 1990), and three biological children with Frost: son Rafferty (born 6 October 1996), daughter Iris (born 25 October 2000) and son Rudy (born 10 September 2002).[citation needed]
While making the film Alfie, Law and co-star Sienna Miller began a relationship, becoming engaged on Christmas Day 2004.[78] Miller and Law separated in November 2006.[79]
On 29 July 2009, it was announced that Law would become a father for the fourth time following a relationship with US model Samantha Burke in 2008.[80][81] Burke gave birth to a daughter, Sophia, on 22 September 2009 in New York.[82][83]
^ abBarratt, Nick (9 September 2006). "Family Detective: An investigation into our hidden histories. This week: actor Jude Law". Daily Telegraph (London): 16.
