British postcard by Music Factory, no. 245.
Vintage postcard by CinéFilm(s). Jude Law in A.I. (Steven Spielberg, 2001).
Vintage promotion card by Movie Insider for Oris, no. P-40. Jude Law in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Kerry Conran, 2004).
A disabled former swimming star living in a eugenics-obsessed dystopia
David Jude Heyworth Law was born in 1972 in Lewisham, South London. Jude was the second child of Peter Law and Margaret Heyworth. Both his parents were teachers at the National Youth Music Theatre, and now live in France. His older sister Natasha is an artist. Law has said that he was named after both the book 'Jude the Obscure' and the Beatles song 'Hey Jude'. As a five-year-old, he was cast in a rendition of 'Saint George and the Dragon'.
At the age of twelve, he began his acting career at the National Youth Music Theatre in London. From 1987 onwards, he appeared regularly in theatre productions. One of his first major stage roles was Foxtrot Darling in Philip Ridley's 'The Fastest Clock in the Universe', which he performed at the Hampstead Theatre in London. At 17, he left school to take a role in the soap opera Families (1990). He toured Italy in 1992 with the play 'Pygmalion'.
In 1994, he attracted the attention of many critics with his portrayal of Michael in a production of Jean Cocteau’s tragicomedy 'Les Parents Terribles' and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer. In 1995, the play was staged on Broadway under the title 'Indiscretions', where Law acted opposite Kathleen Turner and Roger Rees. It was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play that same year. Jude Law received a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and the Theatre World Award for his performance.
His film career began with the crime drama Shopping (Paul Anderson, 1994), with his future wife, Sadie Frost. Further film roles soon followed. In 1997, he took on the role of Lord Alfred ‘Bosie’ Douglas, Oscar Wilde's elegant lover, in the biopic Wilde (Brian Gilbert, 1997), alongside Stephen Fry and Vanessa Redgrave. His international breakthrough came with the role of Jerome Eugene Morrow, a disabled former swimming star living in a eugenics-obsessed dystopia, in the Science-Fiction film Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997), with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. In Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), he played the role of Billy Hanson, a male prostitute killed by his partner, an art dealer portrayed by Kevin Spacey.
Jude Law was nominated for an Oscar in 2000 for his supporting role as Dickie Greenleaf in the psychological thriller The Talented Mr Ripley (1999), alongside Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow. He actually won a BAFTA Award for his role, and the film did very well at the box office. He played a leading role as Inman in the war drama Cold Mountain (2003) alongside Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger. It earned him a second Oscar nomination in 2002. In both films, Law was directed by Anthony Minghella. From then on, he mainly appeared in major productions, such as Steven Spielberg’s A.I. (2001) and Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition (2002). In Mike Nichols’ relationship drama Closer (2003), he co-starred with Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen.
British postcard by Pyramid, Leicester, no. PC0091, 2000.
Poster postcard in the Cinemascope Collection, no. 345. Photo: Paramount / Miramax. Matt Damon and Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella, 1999).
Poster postcard, no. 6457. Image: Paramount / Miramax. Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow in The Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella, 1999). Caption: How far would you go to become someone else?
The Sexiest Man Alive and most bankable in Hollywood
People magazine chose Jude Law as the Sexiest Man Alive in November 2004. In the remakes Alfie (Charles Shyer, 2004) and Sleuth (Kenneth Branagh, 2007), Law took on the roles originally played by Michael Caine in the first film adaptations (1966 and 1972). In the new version of Sleuth, Caine himself took on the role of the older antagonist, previously played by Laurence Olivier. By the end of the year, Law was one of the Top Ten A-list of the most bankable film stars in Hollywood, according to the Ulmer Scale.
In 2008, Law helped director Terry Gilliam complete the film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus by agreeing to take on part of the role of the lead actor Heath Ledger, who had died during filming. As the character of Tony undergoes several transformations in the film, Gilliam altered the script for the resumption of filming so that Law only had to portray the role in one episode. The other episodes were taken over by Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell. In Sally Potter’s film Rage, which was screened in competition at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival, he played the drag-performing supermodel Minx. It was the world’s first feature film to debut on mobile phones.
In Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie, 2009) and its sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Guy Ritchie, 2011), Jude Law played the role of Dr Watson alongside Robert Downey Jr. This was followed by the Science-Fiction thriller Repo Men (Miguel Sapochnik, 2010) opposite Forest Whitaker. Other notable films include the medical thriller Contagion (Steven Soderbergh, 2011), Hugo (Martin Scorsese, 2011), Side Effects (Steven Soderbergh, 2013), The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014), and Spy (Paul Feig, 2015).
In the last two instalments of the Fantastic Beasts film series, a spin-off of the Harry Potter films, The Crimes of Grindelwald (David Yates, 2018) and The Secrets of Dumbledore (David Yates, 2022), he portrayed the young wizard Albus Dumbledore. He also played Yon-Rogg in another blockbuster, Captain Marvel (Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, 2019). Since 2024, he has played the role of Jod Na Nawood in the television series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. In 2024, Jude Law was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Law returned to the stage in 2009, playing the role of Hamlet in William Shakespeare’s play, directed by Michael Grandage at Wyndham’s Theatre in London, during a guest performance at Kronborg Castle in Denmark, and at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway. In 2011, he played the male lead in Eugene O’Neill’s play 'Anna Christie'.
Jude Law was in a relationship with actress Sadie Frost for ten years, six of which they were married (1997-2003). Law met her on the set of the film Shopping (1994). The couple had three children together: two sons (Rafferty and Rudy) and a daughter (Iris). Frost already had a son from a previous relationship. In late 2003, Law began a relationship with co-star Sienna Miller whilst they were working on the film Alfie. They had an on-off relationship until February 2011 and were also engaged for a time. Law became a father to a daughter (Sophia) in 2009, the result of a brief relationship with American model Samantha Burke. He had another daughter (Ada) with ex-girlfriend Catherine Harding in 2015. Law has been married to psychologist Phillipa Coan since 2019. They have two children together, born in 2020 and 2023.
Belgian Poster postcard by Boomerang.be. Image: Columbia Pictures. Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen in Closer (Mike Nichols, 2004).
Dutch Poster postcard by Boomerang, no. P25-11. Photo: Village Roadshow Pictures / Warner Bros. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows (Guy Ritchie, 2011). Caption: Do you also solve every puzzle? Test it here.
Dutch Poster postcard by Boomerang, no. P25-09. Photo: Village Roadshow Pictures / Warner Bros. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows (Guy Ritchie, 2011). Caption: Are you a real Sherlock Holmes?
Sources: Wikipedia (English, German and Dutch) and IMDb.
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