EXCLUSIVES

The cold blue light that smolders in the eyes of Jude Law belie little of the deep passion the actor brings to all of his roles as he ascends the heights of Hollywood's multi-billion dollar cinema machine. Since his first big screen recognition in 1997's Gattaca alongside the now separated Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, Law has taken his chiseled features and studied British delivery to new levels that have surpassed his former co-stars.

Born in Southeast London, Law began acting at the tender age of 12 and then went on to take acting much more seriously by dropping out of high school at 17. It was at this point that Law illustrated to the world, for the first time, that he had no intentions of being taken lightly as an actor-he was now committed to his craft. He soon starred in a foreign TV soap opera called Families. Nevertheless, Law wanted to continue to hone his acting chops in the best way possible-on the stage. It didn't take long for Law to impress the acting world as a newcomer as he soon found himself in New York doing a Broadway play called "Indiscretions," co-starring alongside veteran actress Kathleen Turner.

The fates gave Law his first taste of his future when he then received a Tony Award® nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor for the role. After getting the nod for his job in Gattaca, Law turned in great performances in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil starring alongside Kevin Spacey and John Cusack and then in The Talented Mr. Ripley with Oscar® winner Matt Damon.

What many Jude Law fans may not know is that Law is a close partner of fellow movie star Ewan McGregor in a production company called Natural Nylon. Law's wife, Sadie Frost, was in the production mix as well until the two parted recently amid numerous rumors of impropriety that have yet to be confirmed by either party.

Law's biggest film exposure in America can most likely be credited to his positively brilliant role in Steven Spielberg's A.I. as the pleasure android known as "Gigolo Joe." Up until this role, Law had been branded a somewhat stoic actor; but ironically, it took the role of a robot to release Law's sense of whimsy and animated character. In fact, when one looks at the body of Law's work, it turns out that acting against blue screens in science fiction plots is something he does rather often. So, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that two of Law's latest releases not only rely on digital technology, but on Apple Computer products in particular.

Starring with Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellwegger in Cold Mountain, Law turned in a striking performance that seemed to take him into grittier territory than we've been accustomed to seeing him in. But while Law and his co-stars' performances on screen were noted by the Oscars, it was what happened behind-the-scenes that has the Mac® world buzzing. Cold Mountain, a major studio film that garnered an Oscar, was edited in Final Cut Pro®! This has sent shockwaves throughout the Hollywood community and further confirmed what everyone has been whispering about: Avid® is no longer the undisputed king of movie editing. As if to further hammer home the point, it's been revealed that Billy Crystal's opening montage for the Oscars (which was itself rather epic) was also edited in Final Cut Pro. Clearly, Hollywood is coming around to Steve Jobs' way of thinking, and the momentum is only growing.

But the story doesn't end there. Another film that Law is currently starring in, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, is directed by a man, Kerry Conran, who recently told The New York Times that he got his start editing film on a Mac. The film features Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Law on a mission against robots in a city of buildings that look like something from the ancient sci-fi classic Metropolis. Conran employed a myriad of blue screen techniques and digital effects to create an entire world for the actors to inhabit that comes off realistic, yet somehow simultaneously surreal.

Coming off an Oscar nomination for Cold Mountain and rave reviews for Sky Captain, Law isn't slowing down. His latest film role is in a film called Closer, starring with the youthful beauty Natalie Portman and the Queen-of-the-screen Julia Roberts. The film is currently engaged in primary filming in Law's native United Kingdom. As the tables slowly begin to turn in Hollywood from all celluloid to all digital, the directors who pioneer the technology of Apple Computer will need versatile actors like Law to deliver their works. So far, it looks like Law is more than up to the task and helping us all realize that there's nothing wrong with digital as long as the movies have passion-something Jude Law has buckets of.

June 2004