Jude Law Reflects on Avoiding ‘Playing Handsome’ Roles When He Was Younger

Jude Law expressed regret in a recent interview.

“I didn’t feel like I really embraced playing handsome,” Law told DuJour magazine. “There were roles that required an attractive energy. In my early 20s, I tried to go against my looks, but now that I’m older and experiencing changes, I wish I had emphasized it more.”

The law gained mainstream recognition and received his first Oscar nomination for his role in the 1999 thriller ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley,’ alongside Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. By the time of its release, Law was almost 27 and had already appeared in supporting roles in films like ‘Gattaca’ with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, and ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’ directed by Clint Eastwood, starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey.

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Subsequently, he landed leading roles in successful films such as ‘Cold Mountain’, ‘Closer’, and ‘The Aviator’, where he portrayed Hollywood icon Errol Flynn. In his early 30s, Law starred as the title character in ‘Alfie’, a film about a charismatic womanizer.

Now 51, Law remarked that he’s had opportunities to take on roles that don’t rely on his physical attractiveness. He finds satisfaction in not needing to emphasize that aspect of his performances. Looking ahead, Law’s upcoming project is ‘Firebrand’, where he portrays an older King Henry VIII dealing with regret, alcoholism, and health issues like gout.

– Farheen Ali