Jude Law isn’t worried about potential repercussions after playing Vladimir Putin in “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” he said at the film’s press conference ahead of its premiere at the Venice Film Festival Sunday. As the actor put it, “We weren’t looking for controversy for controversy’s sake.”
“I hope not naively, but I didn’t fear repercussions. I felt confident, in the hands of Olivier [Assayas] and the script, that this story was going to be told intelligently and with nuance and consideration,” Law explained in full. “We weren’t looking for controversy for controversy’s sake. It’s a character in a broader story. We weren’t trying to define anything about anyone.”
The film is based on the 2022 book by the same name from author Giuliano da Empoli and offers a fictional retelling of Putin’s rise to power in post-Soviet Russia.
Law also said he chose to use his real voice instead of parroting a Russian accent.
“Olivier and I discussed this wasn’t to be an interpretation of Putin, and he didn’t want me to hide behind a mask of prosthetics. We worked with an amazing makeup and hair team and had reference of that period in Putin’s life. We tried to find a familiarity on me,” he explained. “It’s amazing what a great wig can do.”
