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Actor Jude Law, 51, grew up in south-east London as the son of teachers. His breakthrough role in The Talented Mr Ripley earned him a Bafta, an Oscar nomination and enduring tabloid attention. Always versatile, he’s been cast in more complex roles as he’s aged, most recently playing Henry VIII in Firebrand. He’s currently starring in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew on Disney+, and next comes The Order, which Law co-produced and stars in as veteran FBI agent Terry Husk. Directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Zach Baylin, it’s an action film with a political message, anchored in the true story of a white supremacist terror group’s downfall. Its leader was inspired by The Turner Diaries, a novel referenced by Trump supporters during the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
What appealed to you about The Order?
Zach wrote it before the 6 January insurrection happened but by the time we came on board, we were very aware of its relevance. We also knew we had a cat-and-mouse drama that we could lean on, and that meant we could unpack the characters and let this rather disturbing story tell itself. It’s set in 1983 and reminded us of movies from that era and a little earlier – Three Days of the Condor, Serpico, The French Connection.
Does being a producer change things for you on set as an actor?
In this instance I got involved very early, so I had the opportunity to influence who Husk became as an amalgam of the real FBI agents. By the time I got to rehearsal, I really felt like this guy was in my blood already.
When you were getting into character, what came first?
We didn’t want him to look like the usual Fed, so I found this old pair of leather Chelsea boots that I wore for five months, and that changes how you walk. It was so important that you saw the cost of his 30-year career – he’s a physically broken guy, a spiritually broken man. I was pretty tired at the time. I’d just finished a long shoot for Star Wars, I had two children under three, and then I got a cold. Justin was like: “This is it, this is him!”
It was a bit more straightforward than preparing to play a corpulent Henry VIII, presumably?
Each role offers a different challenge, and some look more immersive or demanding but honestly they’ve all got their problems. I become obsessive but you always feel exposed on the first day of filming and think, what am I doing?
Even at this point in your career?
Oh yeah. You just have to trust the process and hope it comes together.
Plenty has changed in the industry since you started out. Would you have welcomed an intimacy coach, say, in some of your earlier work?
Absolutely. It’s about comfort – comfort for you and comfort for everyone else. You’ve still got to go there, you’ve still got to emote, but just as you want to rehearse a fight scene otherwise people are going to get hurt, you need to know what’s going on so you can lose yourself in it.
How do you feel about ageing, given that your physical self is your tool?
I’m very happy ageing. There is a physical aspect to the job, but equally the business is about how you’re perceived. Are you perceived as a person who can become someone else, who’s expected to change, or are you perceived as the person you are? If you’re successful for looking a certain way, that’s where there’s a bit more pressure. It’s still much harder for women, and I think we could do a lot more to rebalance that.
You’ve avoided typecasting. Was that a conscious decision?
I think it’s just curiosity. If I look back at the actors who inspired me, it was people who were playing different types of roles – Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman, Tim Roth. Every time I saw them, I didn’t recognise them. I found that fascinating, the idea of losing yourself in someone.
We should talk about The Holiday. Did you have any sense at the time that it would become such a beloved festive classic?
No, it leaves me speechless but I find it rather moving. I mean, it really was just another job. It was a very jolly one, we had fun making it, and I knew that I was in the hands of someone who knew how to pull something like that off. Then, yes, wave after wave of revisiting started to happen. You can’t plan for it but how delightful, in truth.
I hear that country cottage never existed.
I know, and the interiors were in a Los Angeles studio. Because of this devotion, I actually feel guilty telling people, dismantling the dream… Listen, it’s real in the movie, that’s all that’s important.
Your private life is a lot more private these days. Any lessons you wish you’d learned sooner?
I’d have probably built that wall a little earlier. I’d have tried to just say, OK, you don’t know who I am. There’s a certain persona that is built on stuff that’s just been written about me – it’s not me, it’s this other guy. One of the reasons I’m just not interested in promoting who I am and what I think is because it inhibits the opportunity for an audience to say, oh, he can be this, he can be that.
What do you make of the current 90s nostalgia?
My relationship with then was as a 20-year-old. I look back very fondly but your 20s are a minefield, you’re comparing yourself with others, learning who you are… Then of course you turn 30 and you go, OK, I can relax now. But I was very fortunate to be that age in that decade. There was a lot going on creatively.
Is there anything from that era that you’d like to see revived?
I’m not a big fan of the [mobile] phone. I was very late to it and I do miss the privacy of going out and not being connected. I think there was something more innocent about the time before we all became GPS traceable and contactable.
And acting’s become harder to break into since then, right?
I was a member of a youth theatre company at the time of grants and lottery funding and it was fantastic because it was kids from all over England. First time I ever met someone from Eton, first time I ever met someone from Newcastle. People got in because they were interested, enthusiastic, talented and so it was a level playing field. It’s an awful thing if that’s not the case.
Where will you be celebrating Christmas this year and who’s cooking?
In the States. London is my home but I’m not living here at the moment because the house isn’t actually habitable. We might do the cooking all together – I think it’s as much a part of the communal celebration as the eating. I don’t like being solely responsible. I find it so stressful, you almost don’t want to eat. You sit down and you think, damn, I don’t want to look at this ever again!
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The Order opens in UK and Irish cinemas on 27 December
English (US) ·