Jude Law ended up “grunting like a pig” during “grotesque” sex scenes for period drama Firebrand.
The Repo Men star’s characterisation of Henry VIII in the film was hailed “monstrous”, with one film critic claiming Jude went “far beyond what [was] required of him”. Caspar Salmon, writing for The Daily Beast, claimed Jude himself “ruined” the film.
Salmon wrote: “This Henry is base and earthly, a man who bullies his court and who ruts atop his wife like a grunting pig. […] Law’s characterisation goes far beyond what is required of him, becoming an overstated, self-indulgent rehearsal of grotesquerie.”
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The film critic branded the “over-acted” sex scenes “hideous” – and that might not have been too far from the truth, given what the actor himself admitted about filming them. Jude crafted his own custom perfume made of “blood, sweat and poo” to really get him into character.
(Image: FILM STILL / HANDOUT)
At a press conference at Cannes Film Festival, he admitted: “I read several interesting accounts that you could smell Henry three rooms away. His leg was rotting so badly. He hid it with rose oil. I thought it would have a great impact if I smelt awful.”
He enlisted a specialist to craft a perfume for him, explaining: “She makes wonderful scents, and she also makes awful scents. She somehow came up with this extraordinary variety of blood, fecal matter and sweat. Initially, I used it very subtly. But then it became a spray fest.”
Director Karim Aïnouz agreed, admitting: “When he walked in on set, it was just horrible.” But he would spray rooms down with the perfume as soon as the cast and crew left for lunch, in order to “trigger” more for the actors.
(Image: Getty Images)
Meanwhile, The Guardian’s critic Peter Bradshaw confessed that the film features “a full-on shot of His Majesty’s pale, fleshy bum as he has conjugal relations with Catherine – like the giant, shaved a*** of a sheep.” He then questioned: “Did Law use a buttock double for this stomach-turning image?”
Explaining more about getting into the role, Jude said: “Once I put everything on… we didn’t want to use prosthetics but there was a process to getting to him. We changed my hairline and I obviously had this beard. There were certain things I put in my mouth…
“The costume and the multiple layers of the costume, and taking on his walk… Once I was in Henry mode, there was no turning back. But that wasn’t the way Karim worked [either], he wasn’t like, ‘Oh, it’s lunchtime’. We would just film and we shot all on one location.”
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Speaking to Variety about why he cast Jude, director Karim confessed: “I thought of Russell Crowe as Henry. Jude was not the name that came to mind from the beginning. But I thought this would be interesting for Jude. We had a meeting, and I understood that Jude was the most handsome man in the world.
“And he still is very handsome, but he’s not a boy anymore. There was something unpredictable.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
