Jude Law names his most overlooked movies: “It’s sometimes heartbreaking”
It might not sound like a compliment at first glance, but more than 30 years into his career, Jude Law finds himself in an interesting position that’s left him with one foot in both worlds without ever finding himself with a shot at conquering either.
He’s not quite in that bracket of top-tier performers known as their generation’s best, but he’s a talented actor with two Academy Award nominations, four Golden Globe nods, and a Bafta win to his name who’s collaborated with some of the industry’s biggest directors, a roster that numbers Steven Spielberg, Wes Anderson, Sam Mendes, David Cronenberg, and Martin Scorsese.
He’s also been in some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood after playing second fiddle to Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s duology, along with his turn as a young Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter prequels, as well as his one-shot Marvel Cinematic Universe villain in Captain Marvel and his recent debut in the Star Wars streaming show Skeleton Crew. And yet, he’s not really a movie star.
Not quite an elite-level thespian and not quite an A-lister, Law exists in the middle ground where there’s no shame in being equally adept in prestige picture and pixellated escapism despite never being marketed as the number one selling point designed to entice audiences. As backhanded as it may seem, it’s a more than decent position for anybody to find themselves in.
Law has pulled his weight in plenty of acclaimed and awards-worthy pictures from Gattaca and The Talented Mr Ripley to Cold Mountain and The Aviator via The Grand Budapest Hotel and Road to Perdition, but he’s convinced that some of his best work has come in productions that flew so far under the radar barely anyone remembers they even existed.
As a case in point, who would immediately recall that Law gave one of his most underrated performances opposite Oscar winner Alicia Vikander, playing Henry VIII in the period piece Firebrand? Not many, especially when it premiered in May 2023 and was crippled by the actors and writers’ strikes preventing anyone from promoting it, only to up being quietly released 16 months later before quickly making its way to streaming.
“We were delayed, we got a great reception at the Cannes Film Festival, and then the strike happened, so we couldn’t promote it,” he told Collider after naming it as one of his overlooked gems. “It sort of got pinned until the next year, by which time it had lost momentum. Those little things have a great effect on the release of a film, and it’s sometimes heartbreaking when you’re very proud of the work and the part you played or the piece as a whole, and you want people to see it.”
Alongside Firebrand, Law also plumped for the even more unheralded psychological drama The Nest, which had the misfortune of premiering in January 2020 and then being buried by the pandemic, voicing his dismay that it “got no real promotion and therefore just disappeared” as soon as it was made available.
They’re definitely two of his lesser-seen efforts, but if they’re getting the seal of approval from the man himself as the two must-see underrated entries in his filmography, then maybe the discerning Law fan should give them a shot.
