JUDE LAW MOVIES OF MY LIFE

HE'S PLAYED A ROGUE, A ROBOT, A SPY, A SEDUCER AND NOW A KING. JUDE LAW LOOKS BACK AT SOME OF HIS ALL-TIME FAVORITE ROLES

- GILLIAN TELLING

Jude Law wouldn't necessarily call himself a Method actor, but he's certainly picked up new skills over the decades.

He's learned fencing (Peter Pan & Wendy), ballet (A.I.) and saxophone (The Talented Mr.Ripley), and for his latest film, Firebrand, in which he plays Henry VIII, he studied flute and harpsichord. "Harpsichord was hard," he admits. "I drove my family and friends crazy playing this one tune over and over again. When we shot it, I made sure there was a closeup of my hands so everyone knew it was me playing it!"

The London-born actor, 51, who's been married to psychologist Phillipa Coan since 2019, loves learning new tricks, but he doesn't always retain them. "I had great intentions of keeping up the saxophone, but unfortunately it hasn't left its case since then," he says. "I do like to think if someone needed me for a sword fight, I'd be quite handy. But hopefully that will never be tested."

For Firebrand he also learned about Henry VIII, the 16th-century English monarch. "He was a tyrant, but he was also a bit of a rock star when he was young," Law says. "He wrestled, he jousted, he danced, he wrote songs that became big hits around Europe. It was the role of king and the demand for an heir that destroyed him in the end."

Now, 25 years after his breakout in Ripley, Law reflects on some of his memorable turns.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)