David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an Academy Award-nominated English actor. His succession of leading roles in many high profile Hollywood films has seen him become one of the top A-list actors in the industry today.Jude Law was born in Lewisham, South London, England to teachers Peter and Maggie Law, who now run their own drama school in France. His sister Natasha is a well regarded illustrator and artist. He was educated at 'John Ball' Primary school in Blackheath and Kidbrooke School in Kidbrooke, before attending the Alleyn's School in Dulwich. In 1987 he started acting with the National Youth Music Theatre.
Law's first major stage role was as Foxtrot Darling, the sexually ambiguous and manipulative teenager in Philip Ridley's The Fastest Clock In The Universe. Law went on to appear as Michael in the West End production of Jean Cocteau's tragicomedy Les parents terribles directed by Sean Mathias, a role he subsequently played on Broadway opposite Kathleen Turner, Roger Rees and Cynthia Nixon in Indiscretions , an imaginative re-working of Les parents terribles. This role earned him a Tony Award nomination and the Theatre World Award.
In 1989 he got his first TV role in a movie based on a Beatrix Potter book, The Tailor of Gloucester. After minor roles in British television, including a two year stint in the Granada TV soap opera Families and the leading role in the BFI /Channel 4 short The Crane, Law had his breakthrough with the British ram-raiding drama Shopping which also featured his future wife Sadie Frost. He shot to fame in Britain upon the release of the biopic Wilde, in which he played Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, the glamorous lover of Stephen Fry's Oscar Wilde.
He subsequently moved to Hollywood; his performances include Andrew Niccol's Gattaca, as a frustrated Olympic medalist bound by a wheelchair, in Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil as the ill-fated lover of Kevin Spacey's character, and in Sam Mendes's Road to Perdition as a sadistic hitman in a critically-praised performance. He has been nominated for an Academy Award twice; once as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Talented Mr. Ripley in 2000, and then again as Best Actor in a Leading Role for Cold Mountain in 2003, both directed by Anthony Minghella.
He portrayed the lead character in Alfie, the remake of Bill Naughton's 1966 drama. He also acted opposite Michael Caine in the 2007 film Sleuth. In both films, he plays the role originally played by Caine. In Sleuth Michael Caine played Laurence Olivier's role. Law is an admirer of Olivier and it was Law's idea to use archive footage of Olivier (who died in 1989) in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow so the deceased actor could "play" the film's villain.
Jude Law is on the latest Top Ten List from the 2006 A-list of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood. The list was created by James Ulmer, he calls his method The Ulmer Scale. He was honored with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government on March 1, 2007 in recognition of his contribution to World Cinema Arts. He was named a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres .
He is a fan of the graphic novel Watchmen, by Alan Moore, so much so he has a tattoo of the Rorschach character. He has maintained an interest in being involved in a feature film production of the series, especially if it were directed by Darren Aronofsky. He has said that he would most likely play the character Ozymandias. He was, at one point, courted to play either Batman or Superman in Batman Begins, Batman vs. Superman, and/or General Zod in Superman Returns. In 2005, he was one of many actors rumored to be a possible choice to assume the role of James Bond, as MGM decided not to renew Irish actor Pierce Brosnan's contract. The role would eventually go to fellow Englishman Daniel Craig.
Law married Sadie Frost on September 2, 1997. They have four children: Finlay Munro (stepson of Law, born September 20, 1990), son Rafferty (born October 6, 1996), daughter Iris (born October 25, 2000) and son Rudy (born September 10, 2002). Kate Moss is the godmother of his daughter Iris. For a time Frost and Law were central to the so-called 'Primrose Hill set' of young British actors. They finalized their divorce on October 29, 2003. In 2005, Frost and Law reached a divorce settlement after nearly two years of negotiations. Sadie Frost kept the couple's £2million London house in Primrose Hill, and she received a £4million payment and £15,000 a month, according to reports.
He became engaged to Sienna Miller, his co-star in Alfie. On July 18, 2005, he issued a public apology to his fiancée for having an affair with his children's nanny. Law and Miller reconciled. Reports from May 29, 2006 stated that Miller and Law were "working things out." On November 12, 2006 they made public their relationship was over.
Law is also a Tottenham Hotspur fan.
