Birth Name: David Jude Law
Birth Date: December 29, 1972
Birth Place: Lewisham, London, England, UK
Jude Law is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed actor with a wealth of widely varied film and theatre roles to his credit.
Earlier in 2011, Law joined an all-star ensemble cast in Steven Soderbergh’s hit thriller “Contagion.” He is currently starring in the Martin Scorsese-directed fantasy “Hugo,” based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Law’s upcoming films include Fernando Meirelles’s “360,” with Rachel Weisz and Anthony Hopkins, and “Anna Karenina,” directed by Joe Wright from a screenplay by Tom Stoppard, based on the classic Tolstoy novel. He is also lending his voice to the animated feature “Rise of the Guardians.”
On the stage, Law recently earned Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations and won a Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for his performance in the 2009 Broadway revival of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” having first played the role in the Donmar Warehouse production in London’s West End. He just completed a starring role in the West End revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “Anna Christie.”
Law first drew major critical attention for his performance as Oscar Wilde’s lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, in the 1997 feature “Wilde,” for which he won an Evening Standard British Film Award. He went on to gain international acclaim for his work in Anthony Minghella’s 1999 hit “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” Law’s portrayal of the doomed golden boy Dickie Greenleaf brought him both Oscar® and Golden Globe nominations, as well as a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He later garnered Oscar®, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations, for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for his performance in Minghella’s 2003 Civil War epic “Cold Mountain.” Among his other acting honors, Law received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in Steven Spielberg’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” won a National Board of Review Award as a member of the ensemble cast of Mike Nichols’ drama “Closer,” and shared in a Screen Actors Guild Award® nomination for Best Motion Picture Cast Performance for his role in Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator.”
Law has also starred in and produced Kenneth Branagh’s “Sleuth,” opposite Michael Caine, and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.” His wide range of film credits also includes Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus”; Nancy Meyers’ romantic comedy hit “The Holiday,” with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jack Black; Anthony Minghella’s “Breaking and Entering,”; the title role in Charles Shyer’s “Alfie”; Sam Mendes’ “Road to Perdition,” with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman; Jean-Jacques Annaud’s “Enemy at the Gates”; David Cronenberg’s “eXistenZ”; Clint Eastwood’s “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”; and “Gattaca,” which marked his American film debut.
Law began his career on the stage, acting with the National Youth Theatre at the age of 12. In 1994, he created the role of Michael in Jean Cocteau’s play “Les Parents Terribles,” for which he was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for Outstanding Newcomer. The play was renamed “Indiscretions” when it moved to Broadway, where Law received a Tony Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor. His subsequent stage work includes “`Tis Pity She’s a Whore,” at London’s Young Vic Theatre, and a highly acclaimed performance in the title role of Christopher Marlowe’s “Dr. Faustus,” both directed by David Lan.
In 2007, the French Academy awarded Law a César d’Honneur in recognition of his contribution to cinema, and the government of France named him a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his artistic achievements.
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