Jude Law's Love Of Film Started On The Other Side Of The Screen

It's that time of year again. The time when everyone gets into the cozy holiday spirit by watching some of the biggest, most classic seasonal movies around. Typically this includes at least one showing each of "A Christmas Story," "It's a Wonderful Life," and "Christmas Vacation," but for some of us, another popular film is on our list: director Nancy Meyers' cozy, feel-good flick, "The Holiday."

The movie is fantastic for many reasons, but we'd be lying if we said part of its charm isn't because Jude Law is absolutely fantastic in it as the slightly messy widower, Graham Simpkins. He dazzles us all with his sweet smile and fantastic portrayal of Mr. Napkin Head, but are we really that surprised? He's delighted us with all sorts of different characters over the years, playing everyone from the wealthy Dickie Greenleaf in "The Talented Mr. Ripley," to everyone's favorite mystery sidekick John Watson in the Robert Downey Jr.-led "Sherlock Holmes" series. No matter the film he's starring in, it seems like Law is a natural in front of the camera, but his love of film actually started on the opposite side of the screen.

Actors get their passion for portraying characters from many places. For Jude Law, this passion came from watching movies as a young child. In a 2016 interview with Esquire, Law spoke about how his love of theater and movies has been around since he was a young boy. A large part of this interest no doubt comes from his parents, who encouraged the passion and dabbled in it themselves when Law was young. "[My parents] had a passion for theatre, film, and music," he said, "so there was a lot of that around the house. It was a very happy childhood, I had a lot of love. A lot of encouragement, enthusiasm." This support from his family no doubt played a large part in his decision to pursue a career in acting.

Before Law became the man on the screen instead of the one in front of it watching, he first spent a lot of time at the movies. According to Esquire, Law often skipped school to watch back-to-back movies at a local theater, something only a true movie lover would do on a free afternoon. This early passion for film can be seen as the very beginning of his career, each movie providing its own lesson in how a person can portray someone on camera. 

It's not surprising then that Law, who has starred in some of the biggest films in recent decades, has ended up where he is today. In 2023, fans of his work can expect to see him step into the shiver-me-timbers pirate boots of ominous Captain Hook in the upcoming Disney+ film, "Peter Pan & Wendy," as well as taking on a role in the upcoming "Star Wars" show, "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew."