Jude Law | |||||||||||||||
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![]() Law at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival |
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Born | 29 December 1972 Lewisham, London, England |
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Years active | 1987–present | ||||||||||||||
Spouse(s) | Sadie Frost (2 September 1997 – 29 October 2003) (divorced) |
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Jude Law (born 29 December 1972) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated, three-time Golden Globe-nominated, BAFTA- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning and -nominated British actor.
He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first TV role in 1989. In 1997, his role in the Oscar Wilde biopic Wilde garnered him the Evening Standard British Film Award as "Most Promising Newcomer".
After starring in films directed by Andrew Niccol, Clint Eastwood and David Cronenberg, he was nominated for an Academy Award twice: for his role in The Talented Mr. Ripley in 2000, and for Cold Mountain in 2003, both directed by Anthony Minghella. He also won a BAFTA Award for his role in The Talented Mr. Ripley.
He is on the Top Ten List from the 2006 A-list of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood.[1] On 1 March 2007, he was honoured with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres conferred by the French government; he was named a "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres".[2]
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Law was born in Lewisham, South London, to teachers Maggie and Peter Law. His parents now run their own drama school in France.[3][4] Natasha, his sister, is a well-regarded illustrator and artist, living in London.[5][6] He grew up in Blackheath, a village in the Borough of Lewisham,[7] and he was educated at John Ball Primary School in Blackheath and Kidbrooke School in Kidbrooke, before attending the Alleyn's School in Dulwich.[8][9]
In 1987 Law began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre.[10] He played various roles in the Edinburgh Fringe awarded The Ragged Child, and one of his first major stage roles was as Foxtrot Darling in Philip Ridley's multi-award-winning The Fastest Clock In The Universe. Law went on to appear as Michael in the West End production of Jean Cocteau's tragicomedy Les parents terribles directed by Sean Mathias. He was nominated for an Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Newcomer, and he received the Ian Charleson Award for Outstanding Newcomer.
Following a title change to Indiscretions, the play was reworked and transferred to Broadway in 1995, where Law acted opposite Kathleen Turner, Roger Rees and Cynthia Nixon.[11][12] This role earned him a Tony Award nomination[13] and the Theatre World Award.[14] In 1989, Law got his first TV role in a movie based on the Beatrix Potter children's book, The Tailor of Gloucester. After minor roles in British television, including a two-year stint in the Granada TV soap opera Families and the leading role in the BFI /Channel 4 short The Crane, Law had his breakthrough with the British crime drama Shopping, which also featured his future wife Sadie Frost.
He became more widely known with his performance in the biopic Wilde. Law won the "Most Promising Newcomer" award from the Evening Standard British Film Awards, for his role as Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, the glamorous lover of Stephen Fry's Oscar Wilde.[15] In Andrew Niccol's science fiction film Gattaca, he played the role of a disabled former swimming star living in a eugenics-obsessed dystopia. In Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, he played the role of the ill-fated hustler murdered by an art dealer (played by Kevin Spacey). He also played a mob hitman in Sam Mendes's 1930s period drama Road to Perdition.
Law is on the Top Ten List from the 2006 A-list of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood, following the criteria of James Ulmer in the Ulmer Scale.[1] On 1 March 2007, he was honoured with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres conferred by the French government, in recognition of his contribution to World Cinema Arts. He was named a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.[2] He has been nominated for an Academy Award twice; once as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Talented Mr. Ripley in 1999, and then again as Best Actor in a Leading Role for Cold Mountain in 2003, both directed by Anthony Minghella. For the former film, he learned to play saxophone and earned a MTV Movie Award nomination together with Matt Damon and Fiorello for performing the song Tu Vuo' Fa L'Americano by Renato Carosone and Nicola Salerno. He learned ballet dancing for the film Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001).[16][17]
Law, an admirer of Sir Laurence Olivier, used the famous actor's image in the 2004 film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Using computer graphics, footage of the young Olivier was merged into the film, playing Dr.Totenkopf, a mysterious scientific genius and supervillain.[18][19]
He portrayed the title character in Alfie, the remake of Bill Naughton's 1966 film, playing the role originated by Sir Michael Caine. He took on another of Caine's earlier roles in the 2007 film Sleuth adapted by Nobel Laureate in Literature Harold Pinter, while Caine played the role originated by Sir Laurence Olivier.[20]
Law is one of three actors taking the place of the actor Heath Ledger in Terry Gilliam's film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Along with Law, actors Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell will portray the "three separate dimensions in the film." [21][22] He will appear opposite Forest Whitaker in the dark sci-fi comedy Repossession Mambo and he'll star as Dr. Watson in Guy Ritchie's upcoming adaption of Sherlock Holmes, alongside Robert Downey Jr and Rachel McAdams.
In 2009, he will return to the London stage to portray Prince Hamlet in Shakespeare's play Hamlet at the Donmar Warehouse.[23][24]
Law is the face of the new male perfume of Dior.[25][26][27][28]
Since 2005, he has represented Dunhill as an "apparel ambassador" in Asia.[29][30] In 2008, he became the international face of Dunhill and appears in the worldwide advertising campaigns.[31][32][33]
In 2002, he directed a Respect for Animals anti-fur cinema commercial. The commercial used music composed by Gary Kemp, and included appearances by pop singer Mel C, Helena Christensen, Sadie Frost, Supergrass's Danny Goffey, Chrissie Hynde, Rhys Ifans, Jude Law, Sir Paul McCartney, Stella McCartney, George Michael and Moby.[34] In 2007, he encouraged the Friends of the Earth /The Big Ask campaign, asking British Government to take action against Climate change.[35][36][37]
In spring 2007 he filmed a video at Borough Market, South London to support the Tate Modern's The World as a Stage exhibition.[38][39][40][41] The only performance, by the Polish artist Pawel Althamer, held at Borough Market on 30 November 2007. "Pawel Althamer, the artist behind the project, is interested in the way real life and the fictional world of cinema intersect. In preparation for Jude's real life performance he commissioned a genuine film trailer that was shown in cinemas to advertise the event." [42] According to Tate curator Jessica Morgan, the project “is about the confusion between art and life, and the question about where does film end and life begin".[43][44]
In 2004, Law launched a campaign to raise £2.5 million towards the Young Vic Theatre's £12.5 million redevelopment project.[45][46][47] 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.[48][49] He is an enthusiastic football fan and a supporter of the English football club Tottenham Hotspur.[50][51] In 2006, he joined Robbie Williams in the "Soccer Aid" celebrity football match to benefit UNICEF.[52]
Law also does charity work for organizations such as Make Poverty History, the Rhys Daniels Trust, and the WAVE Trauma Centre.[53] He supports the charity Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Pride of Britain Awards.[54][55][56] He is the chair of the Music For Tomorrow Foundation, to help rebuild Katrina-devastated New Orleans.[57][58][59]
In 2006, he starred in an anthology of Samuel Beckett readings and performances directed by Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella. With the Beckett Gala Evening at the Reading Town Hall more than £22,000 was donated for the Macmillan Cancer Support.[60] Also in 2006, Frost and Law directed a Shakespeare play in a South African orphanage. He travelled to Durban, South Africa, with Frost and their children in order to help children who have lost their parents to AIDS.[61] 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.[62][63]
Jude Law is an ambassador of HRH The Prince of Wales' Children & the Arts Foundation.[64][65]
He supports Breast Cancer Care.[66] He's supporting the Willow Foundation with a small canvas. The canvases are being auctioned online.[67][68][69]
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 UN International Day of Peace. [70][71][72] 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. [73][74] They also filmed at schools and visited various UNICEF-supported programmes inside and outside the capital Kabul. [75][76] The efforts of Peace One Day are coordinated in celebration of the annual International Day of Peace, on 21 September. [77][78] The film named The Day After Peace premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. [79][80][81][82][83][84] On 21 September 2008, the film was shown at a Gala screening at the Royal Albert Hall. [85][86]
On 30 August 2008, Law and Gilley returned to Afghanistan to help keep a momentum around Peace Day. They met President Hamid Karzai, top NATO and U.N. 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. [87][88][89][90][91][92][93]
Law met Sadie Frost during the work on the film Shopping. They married on 2 September 1997. He is the father of four children: Finlay Munro (stepson of Law, born 20 September 1990), son Rafferty (born 6 October 1996), daughter Iris (born 25 October 2000) and son Rudy (born 10 September 2002). They divorced on 29 October 2003.[94]
At Christmas 2004 he became engaged to Sienna Miller, his co-star in Alfie. On 12 November 2006 Law and Miller announced their breakup.[95]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1989 | The Tailor of Gloucester (TV) | Sam, Mayor's Stableboy | |
1990 | Families (TV) | Nathan Thompson | |
1991 | The Casebook Of Sherlock Holmes (TV) | Joe Barnes | |
1993 | The Marshal (TV) | Bruno | |
1994 | The Crane | Young Man | |
Shopping | Billy | ||
1996 | I Love You, I Love You Not | Ethan | |
1997 | Bent | Stormtrooper | |
Wilde | Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas | ||
Gattaca | Jerome Eugene Morrow | ||
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil | Billy Carl Hanson | ||
1998 | Music From Another Room | Danny | |
Final Cut | Jude | ||
The Wisdom of Crocodiles | Steven Grlscz | ||
1999 | eXistenZ | Ted Pikul | |
Presence of Mind | Secretary | ||
The Talented Mr. Ripley | Dickie Greenleaf | Nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | |
Tube Tales (TV) | . | A Bird in the Hand, director [96][97] | |
2000 | Love, Honour and Obey | Jude | |
2001 | Enemy at the Gates | Vasily Zaitsev | |
Artificial Intelligence: A.I. | Gigolo Joe | ||
2002 | Road to Perdition | Harlen Maguire | |
2003 | Cold Mountain | W. P. Inman | Nominated for Academy Award for Best Actor |
2004 | I ♥ Huckabees | Brad Stand | |
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow | Sky Captain / Joseph Sullivan | actor and producer | |
Alfie | Alfie | ||
Closer | Dan | ||
The Aviator | Errol Flynn | ||
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | Lemony Snicket | narrator | |
2006 | All the King's Men | Jack Burden | |
Breaking & Entering | Will Francis | ||
The Holiday | Graham | ||
2007 | My Blueberry Nights | Jeremy | |
Sleuth | Milo Tindle | actor and producer | |
2009 | Repossession Mambo | Remy, a repo man | post-production |
Rage | Minx [98] | post-production | |
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | Tony | post-production; continuing a role not finished by Heath Ledger | |
Sherlock Holmes | Doctor Watson | filming |
Year | Title | Role | Director | Playwright | Theatre |
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1987 | Bodywork | Adrenalin | . | . | NYMT /The Northcott Theatre, Exeter /(The Exeter Festival), The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. |
1988 /89 | The Little Rats | . | . | P. Allwood, Jeremy James Taylor, David Scott |
NYMT /The George Square Theatre /The Edinburgh International Festival, The National Theatre Thesalonika, The Opera House Piraeus, Sadler's Wells Theatre, The Northcott Theatre, Exeter. |
1988 | The Ragged Child | various roles: Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Clerk of the Court, Sir Peter Dykewater, Timothy, an aristocrat |
. | Jeremy James Taylor, Frank Whately | NYMT /Sadler's Wells Theatre, Northcott Theatre, Exeter, BBC Television, (Networked). |
1989 /1990 | Captain Stirrick | . | . | Jeremy James Taylor, David Scott | NYMT /Lilian Baylis Theatre, Sadler's Wells Theatre, The George Square Theatre /The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. |
1989 | Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat | Joseph | . | Andrew Lloyd Webber /Tim Rice | NYMT /Herriot Hall The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. |
1989 /1990 | The Caucasian Chalk Circle | . | . | Bertolt Brecht | NYMT /The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sadler's Wells Theatre.[99] |
1992 | The Fastest Clock In The Universe | Foxtrot Darling | Jo Bonney | Philip Ridley | Hampstead Theatre |
Pygmalion | Freddie | George Bernard Shaw | Toured Italy | ||
1993 | The Snow Orchid | Blaise | Joe Pintauro | Gate Theatre [100][101] | |
Live Like Pigs | Col | Kate Mitchell | John Arden | Royal Court Theatre [102] | |
Death of a Salesman | Happy | Matthew Warchus | Arthur Miller | West Yorkshire Playhouse | |
1994 | Les parents terribles | Michael | Sean Mathias | Jean Cocteau | Royal National Theatre (Lyttelton) |
1995 | Indiscretions | Michael | Sean Mathias | Jean Cocteau | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway |
Ion | Ion | Nicholas Wright | Euripides | Barbican Arts Centre (The Pit) /Royal Shakespeare Company | |
1999 | 'Tis Pity She's a Whore | Giovanni | David Lan | John Ford | Young Vic Theatre |
2002 | Doctor Faustus | Doctor Faustus | David Lan | Christopher Marlowe | Young Vic Theatre |
2006 | Beckett at Reading Gala Evening [103][104] | . | Anthony Minghella | Samuel Beckett | Reading Town Hall |
2009 | Hamlet | Hamlet | Michael Grandage | William Shakespeare | Donmar Warehouse at Wyndham's [105][106][107] |
Academy Awards
2004 Nominated Oscar - Best Actor in a Leading Role for: Cold Mountain (2003)
2000 Nominated Oscar - Best Actor in a Supporting Role for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
2000 Nominated Saturn Award- Best Supporting Actor for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
BAFTA Awards
2004 Nominated BAFTA Award - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for: Cold Mountain (2003)
2000 Won BAFTA Film Award - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
2000 Won Blockbuster Entertainment Award - Favorite Supporting Actor - Suspense for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
2005 Nominated BFCA Award - Best Acting Ensemble for: Closer (2004)
Shared with: Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
2002 Nominated CFCA Award - Best Supporting Actor for: Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
César Awards, France
2007 Honorary César
Empire Awards, UK
2004 Nominated Empire Award - Best British Actor for: Cold Mountain (2003)
2003 Nominated Empire Award - Best British Actor for: Road to Perdition (2002)
2001 Nominated Empire Award - Best British Actor for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
European Film Awards
2001 Nominated Audience Award - Best Actor for: Enemy at the Gates (2001)
Evening Standard British Film Awards
1998 Won Evening Standard British Film Award - Most Promising Newcomer for: Wilde (1997)
Golden Globes
2004 Nominated Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for: Cold Mountain (2003)
2002 Nominated Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for: Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
2000 Nominated Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Irish Film and Television Awards
2004 Nominated Audience Award - Best International Actor for: Cold Mountain (2003)
London Critics Circle Film Awards
2001 Nominated ALFS Award - British Supporting Actor of the Year for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
MTV Movie Awards
2007 Nominated MTV Movie Award - Best Kiss for: The Holiday (2006), shared with Cameron Diaz
2005 Nominated MTV Movie Award - Best Kiss for: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), shared with Gwyneth Paltrow
2003 Nominated MTV Movie Award - Best Trans-Atlantic Breakthrough Performer
2000 Nominated MTV Movie Award - Best Musical Performance for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), shared with Matt Damon and Fiorello for the song "Tu Vuo' Fa L'Americano".
National Board of Review
2004 Won NBR Award - Best Acting by an Ensemble for: Closer (2004/I)
Shared with: Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts
Online Film Critics Society Awards
2002 Nominated OFCS Award - Best Supporting Actor for: Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
People's Choice Awards
2005 Nominated People's Choice Award - Favorite Leading Man
Santa Fe Film Critics Circle Awards
2000 Won SFFCC Award - Best Supporting Actor for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Satellite Awards
2004 Nominated Golden Satellite Award - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama for: Cold Mountain (2003)
2000 Nominated Golden Satellite Award - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Drama for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Screen Actors Guild Awards
2005 Nominated - Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for: The Aviator (2004)
Shared with: Alan Alda, Alec Baldwin, Kate Beckinsale, Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ian Holm, Danny Huston, John C. Reilly, Gwen Stefani
ShoWest Convention
2004 ShoWest Award - Male Star of the Year
Teen Choice Award
2000 Nominated Teen Choice Award - Film Choice Breakout Performance for: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Visual Effects Society Awards
2005 Nominated VES Award - Outstanding Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Visual Effects Film for: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) [108]
Variety Club Showbiz Awards
2007 Film Actor of the Year [109][110]
Preceded by Johnny Depp |
People's Sexiest Man Alive 2004 |
Succeeded by Matthew McConaughey |
Awards and achievements | ||
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BAFTA Award | ||
Preceded by Geoffrey Rush for Elizabeth |
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role 2000 for The Talented Mr. Ripley |
Succeeded by Benicio del Toro for Traffic |
Evening Standard British Film Award | ||
Preceded by Emily Watson for Breaking the Waves |
Most Promising Newcomer 1998 for Wilde |
Succeeded by Guy Ritchie for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels |
Persondata | |
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NAME | Law, Jude |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
SHORT DESCRIPTION | English actor |
DATE OF BIRTH | 29 December 1972 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Lewisham, London, England |
DATE OF DEATH | |
PLACE OF DEATH |
Persondata | |
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NAME | Law, David Jude |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
SHORT DESCRIPTION | English actor |
DATE OF BIRTH | 29 December 1972 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Lewisham, London, England |
DATE OF DEATH | |
PLACE OF DEATH |