Jude Law is preparing for what could be the role of a lifetime as a polarizing world leader in an upcoming movie.
The English actor, known for roles in “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “The Holiday” and “Fantastic Beasts,” confirmed he’ll play Russian President Vladimir Putin in a forthcoming project titled “The Wizard of the Kremlin.”
The Olivier Assayas-helmed film will follow Putin as “he rises to power in post-Soviet Russia, navigating the new era’s complexities and chaos,” according to the movie’s description on IMDb.
Although Law plays a supporting role in the film, he knows he’s up for a challenge.
“I haven’t really started work on it yet,” the 52-year-old Oscar nominee told Deadline. “I mean, I have, but at the moment it looks like an Everest to climb, so I’m in the foothills looking up thinking, ‘Oh Christ, what have I said?’ That’s often how I feel whilst I say yes. I was going, ‘Oh God, how am I going to do this?’”
Based on Giuliano da Empoli’s 2023 bestselling French novel of the same name, “The Wizard of the Kremlin” will also star Paul Dano as Vadim Baranov, a young Russian producer-turned-political analyst inspired by Putin’s “chief ideologist” Vladislav Surkov.
“Working at the heart of Russian power, Baranov blurs truth with lies, the news with propaganda, directing the entire society like one great reality show,” reads the official logline of the film, as reported by Variety last year. “Only his love for the magnetic, free-minded Ksenia can turn him away from this dangerous game.”
Oscar winner Alicia Vikander, Jeffrey Wright, Tom Sturridge and Zach Galifianakis will reportedly also star in the film.
Law currently appears in the Disney+ series “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew,” playing Jod Na Nawood, who may or may not be a Jedi in the intergalactic universe.
