Male Star of the Year

Filmography

Like the aerial buckaroo he plays in Paramount’s upcoming “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” Jude Law is flying loops around the careers of most stars his age.

The 32-year-old Brit has swooped and spun through roles ranging from a bisexual hustler (“Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”), an alcoholic cripple (“Gattaca”), a gigolo robot (“A.I.”), a lovelorn Confederate soldier (“Cold Mountain”) and a decadent European playboy — the part that sent him climbing to global stardom in “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”

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In the past year alone, Law has aced roles in upcoming movies piloted by Martin Scorsese (“Aviator,” playing Errol Flynn), Mike Nichols (“Closer”), David O. Russell (“I Heart Huckabee’s”) and Charles Shyer (“Alfie”). Never mind the odd nose-dive (his film debut, “Shopping”) and the good ones that got away, such as Miramax’s “Tulip Fever,” shut down for now by the U.K.’s recent film funding crisis. The London native has already garnered two Oscar nominations under director Anthony Minghella’s watch, and now has been named ShoWest’s male star of the year.

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And “Sky Captain” is hardly a typical movie. Featuring more than 2,000 CGI and bluescreen shots, it was born as a six-minute animation on a Mac in the garage of first-time writer-director Kerry Conran and his brother. Now it’s Paramount’s big tentpole summer release and best hope for a new action-adventure franchise.

Law plays an airborne Indiana Jones who teams up with Gwyneth Paltrow to thwart mad scientists bent on taking over the world — or at least, a noirish New York filled with flying robots, birdlike planes, laser-zapping monsters and dirigibles. All this air traffic was composited after the shoot, and was invisible to the actors on a bluescreen stage.

“Jude just got the whole idea instantly,” reports producer Jon Avnet. “He wanted to be entrepreneurial and involved in this experiment. That’s the kind of courage he has — he signed on to nothing.”

Law also signed on to become a producer, through his new production company Rorschach Films — a venture he launched after leaving the production company he formed with Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller, Sean Pertwee and ex-wife Sadie Frost. It’s yet another role for a thespian who has rocketed his way through popular and classic theater, winning a Tony nomination for Broadway’s “Indiscretions” and kudos for his turn in the English production of “‘Tis a Pity She’s a Whore.”

Even after those highs, his “Captain Tomorrow” experience shone. “It was amazing!” Law recalled from his home in London, where he was soon to finish production for Mike Nichol’s “Closer.”

“Shooting against bluescreen was a far more theatrical and dramatic world than I ever imagined — the world of the empty space, as Peter Brook would say. It was extremely liberating.”

Even by long distance, Law’s enthusiasm is infectious. Words like “exciting,” “embracing” and “enticing” sprinkle his patter in between bites and small slurps from his latenight bowl of beef and veggie stew. And he’s equally enthused about producing.

“Luckily I’ve stepped into my position with very good line producers and business people beside me,” he says. “Therefore I’ve kept myself purely a creative producer.”

Promo perfect

Promoting movies can be deadly for some stars. Not for Law. “I always enjoy the process. But I think it’s a shame that the movie industry has to gorge itself promoting what’s new. I’m a great believer in less being more. That said, if you’re proud of a piece, go out and talk about it.”

People who talk about Law can’t seem to stop waxing enthusiastic. Avnet credits his star quality to “the combination of being so handsome and having this fungible quality. That’s something you’d say of Dustin Hoffman — a character actor who became a star.”

Minghella recalls a telling moment on the set of “Cold Mountain.” “It’s misty shooting day in the bear-filled mountains of Romania, and I see this creature coming down the road. Was it a bear? Suddenly I realized it was Jude carrying his big, burly personal trainer on his back. It was the perfect metaphor for the whole way he prepared for the role — to carry the weight he had in the movie, his solution was to carry this heavy load.”

Defers Law: “A lot of those loony ideas were from my trainer friend, Eddie. I kind of handed myself over to him.”

On the set, Law hands himself over completely to his work. He is quiet, focused, committed. “The great test of making a movie — like the way alcohol finds people out — is finding out what you’re made of not on day one but on day 100. And Jude was just as joyful and committed on the last days as he was on the first,” Minghella observes.

The imperfections

Still, there must be some imperfections to explore. “Well, he supports the wrong soccer team — the Tottenham Hotspurs,” replies Avnet.

“You could also rib him for being such a clothes horse,” adds Minghella. “He’s got the nattiest fashion collection I’ve ever seen.”

Law gives a comic howl at hearing these remarks. Until, that is, he’s asked the same question of himself. “Well, I suppose if someone said I was a pretty boy pretending to be a character actor — that would piss me off!” he laughs. “But only I can say that.”

It’s a reassuring morsel. Ever the gentleman, Law apologizes for having to go learn lines and finish his kitchen supper. He may be the sky captain of a high-flying Hollywood career, but this night he says he feels “very grounded” with just a script, a beer, and his bowl of cold beef stew.

HEY JUDE
Tulip Fever, DreamWorks (2004)
Closer, Sony Pictures (2004)
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Paramount (2004) (voice)
I Heart Huckabee’s, Fox Searchlight Pictures (2004)
The Aviator, WB (2004)
Alfie, Paramount (2004)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Paramount (2004)
Cold Mountain, Miramax (2003)
Road to Perdition, DreamWorks (2002)
AI: Artificial Intelligence, DreamWorks (2001)
Enemy at the Gates, Paramount (2001)
Love, Honour and Obey, Keystone Pictures (2001)
The Wisdom of Crocodiles, Miramax (2000)
The Talented Mr. Ripley, Miramax (1999)
EXistenZ, Dimension Films (1999)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, WB (1997)
Gattaca, Columbia Pictures (1997)
Wilde, Dove Int’l (1997)
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