Jude Law wore a special perfume made of “puss, blood, faecal matter and sweat” while playing Henry VIII in Karim Aïnouz’s Firebrand.
“I heard stories that you could smell Henry VIII rooms away because his leg was rotting,” said the actor at the Cannes press conference for Aïnouz’s Competition title, which premiered last night (Sunday, May 21). “They used rose oil to cover the smell. I thought it would have a great impact if I smelt awful.”
He initially used the perfume “very subtly”, before it became “a spray fest” as his work progressed.
In Firebrand, Law stars opposite Alicia Vikander who plays Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife. As Henry’s health declines, Parr comes under suspicion for associating with heretic Anne Askew.
Ahead of the Firebrand premiere, Ainouz and producer Gabrielle Tana described Law’s commitment to the role, which included wearing weights on set to affect his gait; and playing the virginal [a 16th-century string instrument] in his trailer.
Theatre
At the press conference, Law admitted that he didn’t “really follow” today’s British monarchy. “I see it like theatre although I’m slightly more obsessed with theatre,” he said. “I don’t really follow it. I’m not one for gossip, I don’t really enjoy it, I find no interest in it. But it’s remarkable looking at the photos and how it relates today. This chapter in history is very intriguing.”
Ainouz and Tana previously described obsession with the modern monarchy as “puzzling”.
Henry VIII had been married five times prior to his union with Parr; and had two of those five wives beheaded. Law’s way into the monstrous character was to remove the trappings of royalty.
“I started with him as a man,” said the actor. “The physical frailties he was carrying and how he dealt with those - he became not a recognizable, but an empathetic person.”
Vikander also spoke on Firebrand’s parallels with present-day women in a post-MeToo era.
“It really hit us while we were making some of these scenes, those very sensitive moments. I could get a sense of what it could be like for a person,” the Swedish actor said. “I don’t think there’s any difference between being there 500 years ago to today.”
Prime Video is in discussions to acquire UK-Ireland distribution rights for Firebrand from STX International; with Sony Pictures Classics taking multiple international territories including Germany and all of Asia. FilmNation handles sales, with North America currently under discussion.
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