The role Jude Law admitted he was paid too much to play: “There is a definite tier system”
After working with the likes of Mike Nichols and Wes Anderson, Jude Law has made a name for himself as one of Britain’s indie darlings but then went on to achieve studio success with the likes of Sherlock Holmes and The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Law rose to fame with The Talented Mr Ripley and quickly became one of the most sought-after actors. After starting out in the world of independent filmmaking, Law achieved success in more commercial movies. It was on this journey that Law starred in Alfie, which was his highest-paid role at the time and, coincidentally, one of his biggest flops.
Alfie, directed by Charles Shyer in 2004, follows the life of a British limousine driver in Manhattan who essentially just sleeps around with many different women before an affair with his friend causes him to think differently about this lifestyle. Alfie also happened to be a remake of the 1966 version of the film of the same name, which starred Michael Caine and Alan Price and eventually had a sequel in 1974. The picture was no doubt significant to Law for many reasons, with the actor first meeting his ex-fiancée Sienna Miller on the project and also the beginning of his commercial career, with the actor being paid a whopping $8million for the role.
Since then, the actor has said that he was ‘probably paid too much’ for the role, especially considering how much the movie bombed at the box office. The film barely recuperated half of its overall budget, costing $80million to make and only earning back $35million. After this picture, Law later became compared to the likes of Tom Cruise due to his similar fluctuation between commercial and independent films, which resulted in a rather dense catalogue of projects.
When reflecting on his career and the commercial failure of Alfie, the actor said, “The attention cools off if your movies are not making a ton of money. There is a definite tier system as to who is offered what first, and if the work is not coming in as freely you have to consider what you want to do.”
Interestingly enough, the aftermath of commercial failure from a studio project can be the perfect time to work on a lower-budget film, with less attention on you and perhaps more time to be selective about the next project.
Law’s next title after Alfie was Closer, which could not be more polar opposite in the production style, with Closer bringing Law back to his roots in theatre by collaborating with Mike Nichols on the play adaptation written by Patrick Marber. The movie was an independent production and became one of the definitive roles in Law’s filmography, polarizing critics and film lovers but still remaining as an undeniable classic today.
Perhaps the low of commercial filmmaking are needed to sustain the highs of working on smaller projects, and in Law’s case, his career has very much been marked by extreme swings in both directions, sometimes resulting in a big paycheque and harsh criticism, but eventually leading to one gem of a project that makes it all worth it.
