Jude Law on Why Making Films is “Boring” and Trashing His Body for ‘Dom Hemingway’

Like most actors, Jude Law has been in both great films and, well, not-so-great films. And though he’s made more of the former than the latter, he admits something that most actors in his position wouldn’t: when he’s not challenged on a project, he finds filmmaking boring.  That is why

jude-law-dom-hemingwayLike most actors, Jude Law has been in both great films and, well, not-so-great films. And though he’s made more of the former than the latter, he admits something that most actors in his position wouldn’t: when he’s not challenged on a project, he finds filmmaking boring.  That is why he tells The Mirror that he was happy to star in Dom Hemingway because it offered the challenge of undergoing a radical change in body type (and not in a Hugh Jackman Wolverine way.)

As for movies in general, Law confesses he finds them dull.  He says, “I really love acting but it is hard work and sometimes can be quite boring. Genuinely. Making films can be quite boring. It should be something different every time you go to work and feel as if you are embarking on something new.”

However, Dom Hemingway offered Law a challenge in the sense that he had to get really, really out of shape to portray the title character.  He explains, “My character is a drunk who drank far too much and eats appalling food and smokes 40 [cigarettes] a day. For three months my diet was whiskey, [cigarettes], ­hamburgers, ice cream and more ice cream. I didn’t feel well by the end.”

The decadence was so overwhelming that he couldn’t wait to get back into shape.  He points out that even the wardrobe was designed to make him look bloated, adding, “They cut my suits in by two inches all over so I looked as if I was bulging out of it like toothpaste from a tube. It had to be skin tight. I never weighed myself but it added a sagginess and bloated cheeks. I did not feel well at the end of the five months. By the end of the film I was so ready to quit [cigarettes] and the drink.”

So though Law found the part intimidating, at least it wasn’t boring.  He explains, “There were certain reservations. There was a fear factor as I knew it would be a lot to take on. There was a fear of I suppose failing as it was stretching a new muscle for me.”
Somehow I don’t think most people would buy it if you called your massive weight gain, chain smoking, and/or drinking problem “stretching a new muscle,” but you’re free to give it a shot!

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