Jude Law has revealed he gorged himself on “ice cream late at night” as part of his “extreme” transformation into a bloated Henry VIII.
Talking with The Sunday TimesThe Closer actor, 51, revealed his metamorphosis for the historical drama was his “most extreme transformation yet”, as he reflected on some of the lowest points in his career as he battled a string of failures.
Starring Alicia Vikander as Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth wife, Jude is transformed into a miserable incarnation of the king who could barely walk at the time, weighed 13.5kg and needed nine men to lift him onto his horse.
Revealing how she managed to gain weight for the role, she said: “It was a process.
‘Like Charlie Chaplin or Father Christmas, Henry has a familiar silhouette, so if you get that shape, the brain fills in a lot of the gaps. So I grew a beard. I had body suits, clothes, leg weights and shoe pieces to perfect his gait.
Jude Law has revealed he gorged himself on ‘ice cream late at night’ as part of his ‘extreme’ transformation into a bloated Henry VIII
The Closer actor revealed his metamorphosis for the historical drama was his “most extreme transformation yet” (pictured with co-star Alicia Vikander)
‘I only had about four months to prepare, so I wasn’t able to reach my full weight, but I did eat a lot (pasta and ice cream late at night), so I had a bigger face.
He added bluntly that he sometimes thought of himself as a “paraplegic gorilla,” as if he had a lot of power but could not move, in a way that made him “strangely helpless.”
The acting icon believes Firebrand is actually about “surviving domestic abuse” and describes his character as “a gangster, a former golden boy who is rotting away.”
The London-born star, originally from Lewisham, has been the darling of Hollywood throughout the 1990s and early 200s following her legendary performances in films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley, Closer, Cold Mountain, Road to Perdition and AI.
In 2004 he became Alfie Cartwright for the remake of the romantic comedy Alfie, for which Jude received £6. million – but admitted that it was‘I probably paid too much.’
Not long after, he became the subject of a Chris Rock jokes at the Oscars comparing him to Tom Cruise.
“Why is he in every movie I’ve seen in the last four years?” the comedian joked, but Jude revealed he found it “disturbing”.
‘Attention cools off if your films don’t make a lot of money.
Starring Alicia Vikander as Henry VIII’s sixth wife Katherine Parr, Jude is transformed into a miserable incarnation of the king who could barely walk at the time.
“I only had about four months to prepare, so I wasn’t able to reach my goal weight, but I did eat a lot (pasta and ice cream late at night), so I had a bigger face,” she revealed.
The London-born star, originally from Lewisham, has been the darling of Hollywood throughout the 1990s and early 200s following her legendary performances in films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley (pictured with Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow), Closer, Cold Mountain, Road to Perdition.
“There is a defined tier system as to who is offered what first, and if work doesn’t come so easily, you have to consider what you want to do.”
Jude’s most recent project, the historical crime film The Order, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August and will be available to watch on Prime Video.
Jude’s performance as Terry Husk, a washed-up FBI agent who takes on the real-life white supremacist group The Order, received a seven-minute standing ovation at the Festival.
He said of his character: ‘There was a kind of lived-in quality to him that I enjoyed.
‘There was a lot of talk about facial hair, but every agent I interviewed had a mustache, so it was obvious I had to grow one.’
Also starring Alison Oliver, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett and Nicholas Hoult.
Nicholas plays The Order’s leader, Bob Mathews, an American neo-Nazi who led the white supremacist group in 1983.
Nicholas revealed that the film’s director, Justin Kurzel, gave each actor a “manifesto” for their character, including tasks they were to complete.
“I found out on the boat: one of Jude’s tasks was to follow me for a day!” he said.
“He was following me for a day when I landed in Calgary.”
The Order is based on the 1989 biography The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt.
It was written by Zach Baylin and distributed by Prime Video (via Amazon MGM Studios).
Although this is a Prime Video film, Vertical has acquired partial rights to the film and will release it on December 6, 2024, in a limited theatrical release.
At The Order’s press conference at the Venice Film Festival, Jude spoke about the film’s importance at a time when far-right ideologies are on the rise again.
In 2004 he became Alfie Cartwright for the remake of the romantic comedy Alfie, for which Jude was paid £6m, although he admitted he was “probably paid too much” (pictured at the Alfie premiere after-party in London with his ex Sienna Miller in 2004).
“There’s a definite tier system of who gets offered what first, and if work doesn’t come so freely, you have to consider what you want to do,” he said bluntly of the film industry.
Jude’s most recent project, the historical crime film The Order, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August and will be available to watch on Prime Video. (pictured cast L-R: Matias Garrido, Nicholas Hoult, Jurnee Smollett, director Justin Kurzel, Jude, Tye Sheridan and Philip Lewitski)
“Unfortunately, the relevance speaks for itself,” he said. “It seemed like a piece that needed to be done now. It’s always interesting to find a piece from the past that has some relevant relationship to the present.”
Director Justin agreed with Law, adding that the film’s parallels to today’s world were what made it so interesting to make.
It is always extraordinary to find a text or an event from the past that has some kind of perspective that allows us to engage in a conversation with current politics. It is a rare gem. So we felt that there was a lot to say about current events.