Playboy's 20Q: Jude Law

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[Q] Playboy: In this summer's Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, you play a 1930s flying ace ... battling giant killer robots. To be blunt--what the hell?

[A] Law: World of Tomorrow is a romantic action-adventure, but at the same time it's a tribute to the old serials of the 1930s and 1940s. It has elements of cutting-edge science fiction films and the edge-of-your-seat action sequences of today. It just exists in this slightly more old-fashioned world. I think there may be an appetite, even a need, for a film that comes from a less testosterone-driven, less aggressive point of view.

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[Q] Playboy: You're often compared to leading men from Hollywood's golden age. Are you enamored with the movies of that era as well?

[A] Law: I play Errol Flynn in Martin Scorsese's new Howard Hughes movie, The Aviator. I prepared by watching a lot of Flynn films. I was surprised by how entertaining the fight sequences still are. They have heart and are more approachable than a lot of what you see today. They have an innocence that we've moved away from.

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[Q] Playboy: Yet you've chosen mostly quirky roles in dark films, including a sadistic hit man in Road to Perdition and a literal sex machine in A.I. Do advisors tell you that if you'd gone more commercial you'd be Tom Cruise by now?

[A] Law: My choices have been about keeping me interested. It was never my agenda to be the highest-paid actor, just to make films I believed in and that fulfilled my needs and those of the public. I haven't tried to mirror anyone's career.

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[Q] Playboy: With hugely publicized movies such as Cold Mountain and World of Tomorrow, though, you are going more mainstream now, right?

[A] Law: The proof is in the pudding, but I don't feel I've changed how I choose parts. I try to find ones that are different from what I've played before, and maybe this is a side I hadn't investigated. I suppose on paper these movies look more commercial, but they're still kind of quirky. Even Lemony Snicket, which is a children's movie I'm in, has a dark side.

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[Q] Playboy: The breakup of your marriage to actress Sadie Frost was front-page news in London tabloids last year. Are the media more invasive there or in the U.S.?

[A] Law: Oh, in England, without any fathom of a doubt. The problem in England isn't so much the paparazzi and journalists, though they are intolerably invasive and disrespectful. It has gotten to the point where that culture has infiltrated everybody. People on the street who think they've witnessed something--whether it's your dropping a bag or losing a key and not being able to get into the house--will call the press to sell the story. That's what I find most offensive about living there. It is a culture of spying on people in order to gossip and pick up a bit of cash.

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[Q] Playboy: How do you handle all that and still have a personal life?

[A] Law: I'm still trying to figure that out. I don't know quite how you handle it. You protect your children; you try to protect yourself. Unfortunately you build psychological and emotional fences, but how do you handle that deep down? I'm certainly not going to admit that the press gets to me. I've weighed the good and the bad, and the good vastly outweighs the bad. On another level you have to feel as if that kind of scrutiny is so base, so pitiful, that you can rise above it. In the end it leaves you feeling stronger and secure in what you know is true about yourself and what means a lot to you.

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[Q] Playboy: You've been nominated twice for an Academy Award and lost both times. How do you keep a smile on your face when they announce some other bastard's name?

[A] Law: I went this time completely happy and clear that I wasn't going to win. The only thing that flashed through my mind when they were building up to my category was, Oh God, maybe I've made a terrible mistake and I'm going to be one of those schmucks who go up there with literally nothing to say. So it was a strange relief to lose and to feel honest, absolute, sincere delight that Sean Penn won. His performance was wonderful, and it was his time to get his due. Plus, I'd brought my mom with me and had so much fun seeing it through her eyes rather than seeing it cynically or taking it too seriously.

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[Q] Playboy: You did a nude scene in The Talented Mr. Ripley, but in Cold Mountain you did your first nude scene with a woman. Who was more nervous, you or Nicole Kidman?

[A] Law: We were equally nervous and hopefully professional enough to hide it. It wasn't choreographed, but we had a plan, and we were both clear on what would be required of us. There was also a sense that we would let something evolve out of the situation when we let the others in--the director of photography, the camera operators. You have to get used to those people, because that scene wouldn't be anything if it weren't lit right and filmed and directed in the right way. When you watch a lot of films, it feels as if they stop, you get your love scene, and then they start up again. We wanted this to feel like every other moment in the film, wherein these two people are finally unpeeling and revealing their inner selves to each other.

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[Q] Playboy: You played a sniper in Enemy at the Gates, but you live in a country where it's hard to buy a gun. What do you make of America's fascination with firearms?

[A] Law: Unfortunately it seems that guns and the gun culture are a part of most world societies. What troubles me more is that people are shocked and surprised when tragedies like Columbine or the D.C. sniper shootings hit the news. Mix guns freely into a culture in which people are dealing with emotional problems and stress, and you end up with body counts because guns are so easy to operate. It is sad but inevitable, whether it's starting a war or cornering a nation or a religious faith into a position in which it feels it has to kick back to be heard. We know how humans react, just as we know how a gun works. So why are we surprised when it goes terribly wrong?

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[Q] Playboy: Did watching Arnold Schwarzenegger become governor of California leave you thinking that anything is possible for Hollywood actors, or did it leave you scratching your head about the power of celebrity?

[A] Law: A little of both. The most interesting theory I've heard was described as narrative politics--involving the audience in the process, letting them conclude a story. The idea that the people can make it possible for an Austrian bodybuilder turned movie star to become governor empowers them to create a great story. Just as it's a great story to vote in a president whose father was in the White House and who is a reformed alcoholic.

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[Q] Playboy: You were rumored to be a top choice to star in a new Superman franchise. Why wouldn't you take that job?

[A] Law: My greatest fear is that a role like that would define me. The closest I've come to that is with this Sky Captain character. We hope to do a couple more Sky Captain movies, but an original creation feels different. The big question for me at that time was, "Do I want to be known from here on in as Superman?" I'd feel the same way about being James Bond. They are iconic characters, and there is also pressure in stepping into someone else's tights.

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[Q] Playboy: You are starring in remakes of Alfie and Sleuth, playing roles that Michael Caine originated. Are you basically trying to take over his life?

[A] Law: I wish I knew the secret to Michael's longevity, but there's no one actor I look to as a role model. You steal a little from all of them. Two people really inspired me early on. The first was Charlie Chaplin, the first performer I was really aware of. You could see what was in his head, and he was hugely entertaining to a kid. The other was Daniel Day-Lewis. He did two films consecutively, My Beautiful Laundrette and Room With a View, in which he seemed to totally disappear into two completely different roles. That just fascinated me.

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[Q] Playboy: A.I. was hatched by Stanley Kubrick and directed by Steven Spielberg. Why was it so harshly judged?

[A] Law: A.I. came out at a time when Steven was transforming from the Spielberg who delivered defining family entertainment to the Spielberg who made grittier films for a more mature audience. Maybe people didn't understand that this was an adult concept and thought it was for children. It was a curveball, because it wasn't what Steven was known for--delivering straight-ahead storytelling. A.I. required a little more of you. Kubrick's work had always been misunderstood and then rediscovered. Perhaps his involvement from the grave means this work has yet to be fully understood.

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[Q] Playboy: Charlize Theron uglied up for Monster, and you made yourself into a bald hit man with rotting teeth in Road to Perdition. Do attractive actors seek out such roles so audiences can get past their looks?

[A] Law: Very much so. The more you can layer on top, the freer you are to reveal more about the character. I've just done whatever a part has required. In Perdition I was up against Tom Hanks, who is a big guy, tall and well built. It didn't work to be muscle-bound, so I went another way. I had to walk around bald for three months, which was quite an experience for a 28-year-old guy.

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[Q] Playboy: Cleaned up, you must get propositioned by female fans. What has been the most inventive come-on?

[A] Law: I am rarely propositioned, maybe because I was married for 10 years and never really put that out there, to be honest. The propositions I've gotten have been as predictable as you could imagine.

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[Q] Playboy: After this interview, would we more likely find you at an art gallery or draining pints with your mates at a pub?

[A] Law: What free time I have I nearly always spend with my children. Working on movies is hugely time-consuming, and I'm frequently in places where children can't go. So more often than not we'll go to a museum or the park. I love spending time outside with them because they're so happy in that environment.

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[Q] Playboy: You dropped out of school at the age of 17 to act on a British soap. Will you insist that your kids go to college?

[A] Law: It depends on what's happening at the time. My parents were both teachers, and they knew this was a career I was very set on seeing through. The opportunity arose, and they realized I felt it would be crazy to turn it down. They knew I could always go back to college if things didn't work out. I would like to think I would do the same.

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[Q] Playboy: Your work takes you to a lot of faraway locations. What has been your favorite discovery?

[A] Law: Probably Romania, where we shot Cold Mountain, because I had no idea of its beauty and very little knowledge of its history. I've spent most of my free time the past 10 years traveling in Southeast Asia. It started with a trip to Vietnam, because we were told it could be a wonderful place to visit. I loved it and have been to Cambodia, China, Malaysia and Bali. Now I'm intrigued to see places like South America or Africa. I like the idea of constantly discovering.

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[Q] Playboy: Do you have a hobby, like golf, that you pursue between films?

[A] Law: I haven't been able to give that side of myself a chance. It's something I intend to do but not this year, because I've been so busy. I wouldn't be on a golf course, though, because I have a phobia about golf. I do love football, or soccer as you call it, and I go every week I can with my oldest son. We've got season tickets to the Tottenham Hotspurs.

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[Q] Playboy: Recent war epics such as Braveheart and The Patriot have cast the English as cold-blooded villains. Are Brits getting a bad rap?

[A] Law: I think we deserve a lot worse sometimes.