JUDE LAW IN “KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD”

Press release

JUDE LAW STEALS THE THRONE IN “KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD”

British actor Jude Law plays the villain Vortigern with equal measures of dignity and desperation in Warner Bros. Pictures' new epic action-adventure King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (read my non-spoiler review here), in Philippine cinemas May 17, 2017.

Photo credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is the bold new story that introduces a streetwise young Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur—and with it, his future.

Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur is forced to make some hard choices. Throwing in with the Resistance and a mysterious young woman named Guinevere (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey), he must learn to master the sword, face down his demons and unite the people to defeat the tyrant Vortigern (Law), who stole his crown and murdered his parents, and become King.

Law reveals, “Vortigern rules through fear. He’s purging the country of mages and the old ways in order to harness the control solely for himself. But the way he came to rule preys on his conscience, on his soul. It’s very dark and very twisted. And over time, he’s almost developed an addiction to the control, to his supremacy, so he’s a man wrestling with his inner devil, that devil being his own ego. It doesn’t matter that Arthur has no awareness of his own status; he’s a perceived threat to Vortigern’s delicate hold on the power he craves.”

Director Guy Ritchie notes, “We wanted Vortigern to be more than just a bad guy, and Jude isn’t a predictable choice for the villain. I had total faith in him and he gave us a really layered bad guy who you love to watch.”

Law adds, “Vortigern believes he is the righteous king, and he thinks Arthur, this peasant whippersnapper, can’t possibly bring anything to the throne. Within the reimagining of this mythology, the writers were clearly curious about the layers to this character, and for an actor, those were good discussions to have. That, and stomping around in armor with hundreds of soldiers and dogs and men on black horses, made this film truly fun to be a part of.”

Law worked with Hunnam several years prior, on the film Cold Mountain. Law recalls, “In that film, Charlie played the villain and I was the good guy! He’s a great actor, very collaborative, and has a solid work ethic.”

During filming on King Arthur, Hunnam became an even bigger fan of his co-star. “I think Jude is terrific, and I think his performance in this film is one of his best to date. He did sensational work.”

Opening across the Philippines on May 17, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. www.kingarthurmovie.com

JUDE LAW BACK AS WATSON IN “SHERLOCK HOLMES” SEQUEL

Jude Law as Watson

An award-winning, acclaimed actor with a wealth of widely varied film roles to his credit, Jude Law once again stars opposite Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. James Watson in Warner Bros.' new action-adventure “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.”

            In the film, Sherlock Holmes (Downey) has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may give him an advantage over the renowned detective.

            Downey reveals, “We see the aftereffects of Holmes having been consumed with Moriarty, to the point that he’s clearly kind of ‘nutting up.’ He’s focused on him to the exclusion of everything else, including, quite possibly, his own sanity,” the actor smiles.

            That is the state in which Dr. Watson discovers his old friend when he returns to Baker Street on the eve of his wedding to Mary. Jude Law notes, “Watson arrives looking forward to the stag party that his best man, Holmes, was supposed to arrange. Instead, he finds he has reason to be concerned with Holmes’ obsessive behavior regarding Professor Moriarty. I don’t think he doubts that Holmes is right, and there’s still a bit of the old soldier in Watson who feels a responsibility to see justice done. But he does suspect it will result in the dilemma he always faces: a secure life with his wife or the thrill of the chase. He undoubtedly has great times when he’s on a case with Holmes and wants to help his friend out of the scrapes he gets himself into, so it’s a constant struggle for the poor chap.”

            Director Guy Ritchie says, “We’d all love to have the genius of Sherlock Holmes, although we’re much more likely to empathize with Watson. Being a doctor, he is an intellectual in his own right, but to a degree, Watson is your every man who is enticed by a life of action and Holmes is his window of opportunity to that life. It makes for a perfect partnership, and that’s the engine that drives these stories.”

            The connection between Holmes and Watson was reflected in the off-screen friendship between the two actors playing them. Downey attests, “I feel about Jude the way Sherlock feels about John: I love the guy like a brother. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

            “Developing the interaction between Holmes and Watson was one of the most rewarding parts of the first film, and from the get-go, Robert and I slipped right back into it,” Law recalls. “We benefited this time from the fact that we really knew the characters, having laid the bedrock of their relationship in the first film, so we could trust our instincts and even push it a little further.”

            Producer Joel Silver states, “There was a kind of magic that came out of the dynamic between Robert and Jude as Holmes and Watson, and the sequel gave us a chance to take that up a notch. In the first movie, we had to give audiences the time to get to know the foibles of the characters. Coming into this movie, we had already laid the foundation, so we could launch right into the action, which is bigger, funnier and more explosive in every sense of the word.”

            Opening across the Philippines on Sunday, Jan. 08, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.