Fresh Air – Jude Law

Aired: September 18, 2025
Host: Tonya Mosley | Guest: Jude Law

Episode Overview

This episode of Fresh Air presents an intimate, wide-ranging conversation with Jude Law, acclaimed actor and executive producer of the new Netflix series Black Rabbit. Law discusses building the show's complex world of New York nightlife, developing characters with nuance, and reflects on his varied career from films like The Talented Mr. Ripley to stage and TV work. The conversation also delves into Law’s acting methods, his family background, fatherhood, and personal evolution as both an artist and a parent.

Key Topics and Insights

1. Portraying Jake Freekin in Black Rabbit

[00:16–06:25]

• Jude Law plays Jake Freekin, owner of a high-end New York restaurant in Black Rabbit, a character both magnetic and morally compromised.
  • "The brothers and their relationship sit in the foreground of a piece that's also about a particular slice of New York life... the complexities, the relationships, the pressures..." – Jude Law ([02:54])
• The show is not a clear-cut story of good vs evil; both brothers (Jake, played by Law, and Vince, played by Jason Bateman) are deeply flawed.
• Initially, Law wanted Bateman to direct. Bateman ultimately co-stars: "He's such a great actor... what a great asset... Why don't—do you want to be one of the brothers?" – Jude Law ([06:31])
• The series explores the “veneer” of Jake’s charm and the messy reality beneath.

Notable Moment:

Confrontation between the brothers over family debts and personal failings

• “You bet Mom’s money on the Knicks.” – Jude Law as Jake ([04:52])
• “A lot of people bet the Knicks, Jake. They're a professional basketball team.” – Jason Bateman as Vince
• The exchange showcases the dark humor and tension running through the show.

2. Crafting a Character: Accents, Backstory, and Method

[07:48–13:57]

• Law describes Jake as an amalgam of several real New Yorkers; he worked intensely with a dialect coach for specificity.
  • "The trick... is to be very specific about an accent. You can't just say it's a sort of general New York, it's like, okay, where did he grow up? ...Otherwise you're generalizing." – Jude Law ([08:10])
• Details about building backstory: upbringing, parental influence, social environment.
  • “You fill in this history so that... if people talk in a scene about your mom, you have an immediate reaction because you know what happened to mom and how you feel about her.” ([08:52])
• Law’s English background influences his own speech in subtle ways, which he adapts for each role.
• On mastering accents: “It’s kind of muscles, honestly, in the end... it's like taking your mouth and throat to the gym.” ([10:32])

Memorable Quote:

• “My job is an odd job. You know, whether you want to or not, you turn up, you put on someone else's clothes, and you have to embody someone pretty damn quick.” – Jude Law ([12:10])

3. Extreme Immersion: The Power of Scent in Performance

[11:15–14:13]

• For Firebrand (2023), Law played Henry VIII and commissioned a custom "fetid" scent to capture the king's late-life decay.
  • "She made me this incredible noxious odor that I kind of sprayed on myself. It was really, really, really rancid." – Jude Law ([13:07])
• The scent deeply affected both his performance and his scene partners.
  • “Alicia Vikander... loved this idea that she had to have this intimacy and this devotion amidst this sort of wall of stink.” ([14:13])

4. Early Life: Family and Entrance into Acting

[15:12–18:22]

• Both parents were educators; his mother later founded a theater company, which immersed Law in local amateur theater from a young age.
  • "It was a place of great... community and fun... seeing adults playing and laughing, figuring stuff out, telling stories.” – Jude Law ([15:55])
• A viral video of 11-year-old Law reviewing movies ("I was a movie nerd, totally. I was obsessed with films and from a very young age, still am.”) ([17:16])
• Broad cinematic influences: Spielberg, Chaplin, French New Wave, action films—a blend from both parents.

5. Finding His People: National Youth Music Theater

[18:16–20:16]

• Law recalls feeling out of place in school, but finding community and belonging with fellow theater and music enthusiasts.
  • “Suddenly I met all these other kids who like theater... it felt. Yeah, they suddenly felt like my. My people.” ([19:28])

6. Early Career and Transition into Film

[21:36–23:29]

• Wasn’t driven by fame, but by a desire for a sustainable performing career.
• Prioritized theater early: “What I knew at that young age was I really wanted to go into the theater... you can't hide in the theater on that scale.” ([21:56])

7. The Impact of Looks and Navigating Stereotypes

[23:29–26:49]

• Law originally turned down The Talented Mr. Ripley to avoid being typecast as "the good looking guy," but the role changed his career.
  • “One of the doors it opened was this attention... to what I look like. And I still find that shallow and frustrating, if I’m honest.” ([24:10])
• Reflects on how appearance-based attention was constraining, even as it provided opportunities.
  • “Just the other day I was at the Toronto Film Festival... in at least two or three of the interviews, that's all they wanted to talk about, my looks. And I kind of looked at them and thought, you know, I'm a 52-year-old guy, I've got a 30-year career. And that's all you're talking about?” ([25:49])

8. On Set and Collaborating with Talented Ensembles

[26:49–31:38]

• Vivid memories of filming The Talented Mr. Ripley with a now-legendary cast: “It was undeniably glamorous and romantic, all over Italy and shooting this thing on yachts and... islands off the Amalfi coast.” ([27:12])
• Sought to add depth and a "darkened part" to Dickie Greenleaf, inspired by Highsmith's novel.
• Director Anthony Minghella helped Law build confidence and understand the importance of being a collaborative host on set—key for leading a film.
  • “It’s like a wedding, and you're the groom or you're the bride. You got to go introduce yourself. You've got to make sure they’re comfortable.” ([31:07])

9. Fatherhood and Family Life

[33:53–38:14]

• Law has seven children, aged 28 to 3.
• Each child and experience feels new: “The experience certainly calms you... you've been on the road before, but the weather's always different. Right. And maybe the vehicle's different too.” ([34:35])
• “It's the single thing, as it should be in my life, that keeps me totally alert and real.” ([35:14])
• Having kids influences the practical side of career choices (“Sometimes taking jobs because I need to pay the mortgage...or because I thought my kids would get a kick out of this.”) and serves as grounding outside the industry: “The tonic of going home and just being dad and not anything else... is a wonderful relief.” ([37:21])

Notable Quotes

• On playing complicated characters:
  "What you realize is that actually there’s a whole lot of issues going on behind the curtain, if you like, of Jake. And Vince’s arrival really just sort of pulls that curtain apart." – Jude Law ([02:54])

• On accent work:
  "You have to give the accent a kind of history, otherwise you're generalizing...so that, if people talk in a scene about your mom, you have an immediate reaction because you know what happened to mom and how you feel about her." – Jude Law ([08:52])

• On embodiment through scent:
  “It was really, really, really, really rancid. Yeah. But it really helped... playing someone who is incredibly powerful... and yet is sitting in a body that is immobile because of the weight... having to kind of face himself.” – Jude Law ([13:07])

• On looks and being typecast:
  “It felt always like a bit of a limitation, weirdly... But just the other day... at least two or three of the interviews, that's all they wanted to talk about, my looks.” – Jude Law ([25:49])

Segment Timestamps

• Introduction to Black Rabbit and character dynamics: [00:16–06:25]
• On accents, authenticity, and method acting: [07:48–13:57]
• Immersive acting (using scent in Firebrand): [11:15–14:13]
• Family background and start in theater: [15:12–18:22]
• Finding theater community and career beginnings: [18:16–20:16]
• Stage to screen and early career: [21:36–23:29]
• The double-edged sword of being a "good-looking" actor: [23:29–26:49]
• Inside The Talented Mr. Ripley, confidence, and lessons from Minghella: [26:49–31:38]
• Parenthood, raising children, and influence on career: [33:53–38:14]

Summary

This candid discussion with Jude Law offers a behind-the-scenes look into the creation of Black Rabbit and the craft of acting—down to the smallest details of accent and scent. Law reflects on the trade-offs of fame and image, the formative influence of family and theater, the lasting impact of great directors, and the centering effect of parenthood. The episode balances industry insights with personal anecdotes, making it compelling for fans of acting, television, and thoughtful interviews.