Jude Law talks intrigue of "The Young Pope"
Actor Jude Law is taking on the role of Pope Pius XIII in HBO’s “The Young Pope,” a fictional account of an American pontiff whose unpredictability shakes up the Vatican.
“He has issues. I think -- I hope that as the show unravels, he becomes loveable. He’s certainly intriguing,” Law said Wednesday on “CBS This Morning.”
Law said there are two parts to his character.
“I always felt that on the one hand, I’m playing Lenny Belardo, the orphan who is trying to come to terms with his sense of never being loved, and on the other hand, he’s Pope Pius XIII and how he then channels those issues into leading the Catholic faithful,” Law described.
Law said his character was “wonderful” to play because he was so contradictory.
“He is a man of faith and he’s a man of dogma, but his devotion to religion is questionable at times,” Law described.
While preparing for the part, Law was concerned about how an actor plays a pope.
“Where do you start working or researching how to play a pope? And Paolo, the wonderful director, Paolo Sorrentino, pointed me always back to playing the man, Lenny Belardo,” Law said.
Law became known to global audiences for his Oscar-nominated performance in “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” Since then, he’s received even more recognition for movies including “Cold Mountain,” “The Holiday” and “Sherlock Holmes.” Asked whether there will be a “Sherlock Holmes” sequel, Law said the team hopes to get back together.
“Since the last one, we have done nothing but sit and talk and plan and plot, but [Robert Downey Jr. is] always busy saving the world as ‘Ironman.’ So I had to get another job. But we hope to. There’s certainly intention,” Law said.
Law, who performed in a 2009 rendition of Hamlet in New York, said he also hopes to be in another Shakespeare play.
“I always see Shakespeare roles according to one’s age. I felt I had to play Hamlet before I turned 40. I played Henry V after that. To me, the next two are Benedict and Macbeth,” Law revealed.
Watch the video above to see what project Law will be working on next.