ACTOR · BORN 1972

Jude Law

Born: 29 December 1972, Lewisham, London, England, UK
Known for: Sherlock (2010), I Heart Huckabees (2004), My Blueberry Nights (2007), Alfie (2004)

36 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

Jude Law (born 29 December 1972) is an actor best known for Sherlock, I Heart Huckabees and My Blueberry Nights.

36 Interesting Facts About Jude Law

Interesting Facts (19)

#001
When Jude Law joined the National Youth Music Theatre, they thought he was a girl because of his name and placed him in the wrong dormitory. He told no one, but he was soon caught and moved.
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#002
Jude Law, Ewan McGregor and Jonny Lee Miller are former roommates.
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#003
Appearing as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992), he was asked by Jay Leno where his name came from, and he said his name came from the Beatles song "Hey Jude."
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#004
On his left forearm, Jude Law has a tattoo with words from the Beatles song "Sexy Sadie," reading "You came along to turn on everyone Sexy Sadie," which represents his ex-wife Sadie Frost.
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#005
Jude Law learned basic saxophone technique for the film The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999).
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#006
While filming the murder scene on the boat in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Jude Law fell backwards and broke a rib.
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#007
Jude Law became a father for the first time at 23 when his girlfriend (now ex-wife) Sadie Frost gave birth to their son Raff Law on 6 October 1996.
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#008
Jude Law keeps the shirts he wore in the scenes where his characters are killed in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) and Gattaca (1997).
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#009
Jude Law became a father for the fourth time at 36 when his ex-girlfriend Samantha Burke gave birth to their daughter Sophia Burke on 22 September 2009.
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#010
Jude Law was expecting his fifth child in the spring of 2015. The mother is his ex-girlfriend, singer Catherine Harding, also known as Cat Cavelli.
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#011
Jude Law attended Alleyn's School in Dulwich, London. It was originally known as "The College of God's Gift".
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#012
The rock band Brand New has a song named after him, "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad", on their 2001 album "Your Favorite Weapon".
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#013
He was the host of Saturday Night Live (1975) for the notorious Ashlee Simpson incident.
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#014
He became a father for the third time at age 29 when his then-wife Sadie Frost gave birth to their son Rudy Law (Rudy Indiana Otis Law) on 10 September 2002.
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#015
He drank ten Coca-Colas a day to gain weight for his role in Dom Hemingway (2013).
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#016
In 2007 he spent 10 days in Afghanistan, travelled around the country and shot a documentary.
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#017
He played Joe Barnes in Shoscombe Old Place (1991) and returned to the theme as Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011).
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#018
Jude Law is a co-owner of the production company Natural Nylon, along with Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Sadie Frost and producer Bradley Adams.
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#019
Jude Law attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England.
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Behind the Scenes (5)

#020
He received a $205,000 payment from News of the World for hacking his phone.
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#021
He was cast in a role in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) after Anthony Minghella saw him in Immortality (1998). Minghella's wife was producing the film at the time and watched the daily papers at home after each day's shooting.
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#022
He has appeared on the cover of GQ magazine twice (July 2002 and December 2004).
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#023
He received the Ian Charleson Award for Best Newcomer for "Les Parents Terribles" ("Indiscretions").
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#024
For his services to the film industry, he was awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2007 by France's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Gerard Errera.
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Characters & Cast (4)

#025
Director Bryan Singer initially wanted him to play General Zod in Superman Returns (2006). The role had previously been played by Terence Stamp, who had starred on stage in "Alfie".
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#026
Jude Law shares two roles with Sir Michael Caine: Caine played Alfie Elkins in Alfie (1966) while Law played him in Alfie (2004), and Caine played Milo Tindle in Sleuth (1972) while Law played him in Sleuth (2007), in which Caine played Andrew Wyke.
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#027
Jude Law was cast to play Clark Kent/Superman in Batman vs. Superman, which was to be directed by Wolfgang Petersen with Colin Farrell as Bruce Wayne/Batman, but the film was never made.
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#028
Jude Law was originally cast as Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias in Watchmen (2009) but left the cast at some point before production for unknown reasons. The role ultimately went to Matthew Goode.
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Career & Awards (3)

#029
Jude Law has appeared in three films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Aviator (2004), Hugo (2011) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).
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#030
He was nominated for two Tony Awards, for "Indiscretions" and "Hamlet", and for three Laurence Olivier Awards, for "Hamlet", "Henry V" and "Anna Christie". He won the London Critics' Circle award for best Shakespearean performance for "Hamlet".
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#031
His résumé includes seven directors who have won the Oscar for Best Director: Clint Eastwood, Anthony Minghella, Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes, Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh.
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Life & Family (5)

#032
Jude Law was originally the godfather of Kate Moss's daughter Lila Grace Moss, but when he divorced Moss's close friend Sadie Frost, Grace dismissed him from all his duties.
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#033
Jude Law dropped out of school at 17 to take a role in the daytime soap opera Families (1990).
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#034
Kate Moss is the godmother of Jude Law's daughter Iris.
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#035
Jude Law's parents, Peter Law and Maggie Law, were teachers at the National Youth Music Theatre, but they now run a theatre company in France. He has an older sister named Natasha, who is a photographer.
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#036
Jude Law claims his father was at one point the youngest manager in London.
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eXistenZ — Jude Law comes up in the facts on that page
Anna Karenina — Jude Law comes up in the facts on that page
Road to Perdition — Jude Law comes up in the facts on that page

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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evilas Billy Hanson

Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
IMDb IMDb name page (biography and trivia)

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