'Cold Mountain' colors Law's view on life
| • | Kidman keeps romantic soul amid heartbreak, court battles |
By Ann Oldenburg
USA Today
LOS ANGELES — You may not know his name. Or be able to exactly place his face.
But American audiences have seen London-born Jude Law, 31, in "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Artificial Intelligence: A.I." and last year's "Road to Perdition."
This year, celebrity watchers know, he has been through the wringer.
Right now, he has just flown from New York, where he's shooting "Alfie," a remake of the Michael Caine movie about a rogue bachelor, to talk about his new movie, "Cold Mountain."
He's "a bit jet-lagged" but ready to sit quietly at the Hotel Bel-Air and talk about the meaning of life.
Nicole Kidman has called him "a thinker."
"Cold Mountain," opening on Christmas Day, is Law's first leading-man role, and throughout the filming and now the promoting of the movie, he says, he has done some serious "soul searching."
Last December, he and his British actress wife of six years, Sadie Frost, had their third child. Rocky times followed, and tabloids wrote that Law and Kidman were off having an affair on "Cold Mountain." The rumors were based on photos (sold by a Romanian on the set) of the two at a cast party. Kidman sued two British publications that ran the story and won both lawsuits, claiming all accusations were untrue.
Then, earlier this year, Frost and Law separated and divorced. He's now seeing Sienna Miller, 21, the saucy British actress from Fox's recent short-lived "Keen Eddie" TV show and a current "Alfie" co-star.
It has been an "emotional year," he says. His split with Frost "was one of those unfortunately common things that happens in relationships. It ran itself to a point where it was more logical to approach it another way, and that ultimately led to us not living together, and separating."
He continues: "The year's been incredibly painful, but also hugely strengthening and rewarding, and yet heartbreaking. Anyone who ever goes through that situation could say the same — you feel that you find a new strength in yourself, but you also feel you've lost your right hand."
"Cold Mountain" was "a spiritual journey," says Law.
He and director Anthony Minghella spent a lot of time discussing the "soul" of the piece. Law was unsure about who Inman really was.
"In the end, Anthony said, it's got to be you. I suppose it was like what (Francis Ford) Coppola said to (Martin) Sheen when making 'Apocalypse Now.' In the end, if you are going to open yourself up to the journey, similar to Sheen, you have to let the emotions of the piece penetrate your skin as much as it's penetrating the character's. You have to ask yourself questions you maybe never asked."
About?
"About life, about existence, and about the purpose of life."
And so the film, and its theme of walking, changed him. Inman walks away from war, he walks to Ada. Hundreds of miles. Walking, walking, walking home.
"I think work often changes you, if it has the weight this sort of piece has," says Law.
