Jude Law is looking back on his breakout role in The Talented Mr. Ripley with rose-colored glasses — and feeling nostalgic for the incredible experience he had on set.
“I kind of took it for granted,” Law, 51, exclusively shared in a joint interview with Jurnee Smollett for Us Weekly’s In Conversation series. “I was, like, a 25-year-old kid thinking, ‘Oh, this is just what films are like.’ And of course, I’ve never had the same experience again, sitting on a yacht, drinking wine in the sun.”
Law portrays Dickie Greenleaf in the 1950s-based psychological thriller, an heir to a shipbuilding company who has fled to Italy in order to live a life of luxury far away from his overbearing parents. When Dicke’s father asks Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) to retrieve his playboy son from overseas, Dickie and his girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow), find themselves quickly caught up in the dangerous extremes Tom goes to in order to make their lifestyle his own.
The Anthony Minghella-directed film, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith, garnered both critical and commercial acclaim upon its release, grossing $128 million worldwide. It received five respective Golden Globe and Oscar nominations, including for Best Adapted Screenplay and a Best Supporting Actor nod for Law.
While there have been attempts to revive the story since the original movie — “several recently,” Law quipped to Us with a smile — none have managed to hit the same level of success as the 1999 film. In retrospect, it’s easy for Law to recognize how special the experience actually was.
“It’s been funny now, looking back all these years later, genuinely remembering the youthful energy and optimism and sparkle of all these actors who have now gone on to have [great careers],” he said, citing Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman’s extensive filmographies as examples. “Amazing, amazing actors. And just so funny.”
Some of Law’s best memories came from rehearsals, and the actor says he often “laughs” thinking about the memories the cast made while prepping with Minghella. (The U.K. native died at age 54 in 2008 after suffering from a haemorrhage.)
“We really went for it with rehearsals,” Law recalled. “Minghella loved full on rehearsals, and we were rehearsing in the famous Cinecittà cinemas where [Federico] Fellini used to work [on his] movies.”
“We were there, acting it out,” he continued. “It was a play, really. Blocking everything and learning to ride scooters. It was fun times.”
The Talented Mr. Ripley scored Law his first Oscar nomination, and he’s continued to have a storied career ever since. And though he’s had consistent work through his career with films like The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Holiday and Cold Mountain, the actor said he’s been “blessed” to land projects in the past few years of which he’s particularly proud.
“I feel like I’m in a really good place with how I approach my work,” he explained. “And what I get out of it, and the relationship I have with the directors.”
Law stars opposite Smollett, 38, in The Order, his latest movie. The pair play Terry Husk and Joanne Carney, respectively, in the crime thriller, a pair of FBI special agents who eye a white supremacist (Nicholas Hoult) in a domestic terrorist plot.
“This was a very, very happy experience for me, and, and felt really fulfilling,” Law said of the role, noting that there was a “sense of uncovering” the fuel to keep fighting “the fight” with Terry — something relatable to his own life.
“In finding his kind of weariness, it reminded me a little bit, perhaps of a state of mind I’ve been in,” Law confessed to Smollett. “You know, as I’ve reached middle age 15 years ago, 10 years ago, I kind of thought we were all living this great life. And I thought the world’s in a pretty good place. I took my eye off the path. And suddenly now [I’m at] an age where I feel like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna be retiring,’ but it’s like, ‘No, no, no, no. The moral battle is in front of all of us who have the opportunity.’”
Law said that playing Terry has “invigorated” him in finding that spark again.
“I thought, ‘Well, if Terry can find that, I can find that.’ Now’s the time to make the right choices,” he said. “Now’s the time to have those conversations and call people out. And, you know, just be bold.”
The Order is in theaters now.
