Twenty years after its release and its failure in the cinema, this film is one of Jude Law's regrets. Moreover, the latter believes he was paid too much to play in it.
After explaining why he turned down an iconic role, Jude Law expressed his regrets about starring in Irresistible Alfie in 2004, an adaptation of Alfie the flirt released in 1966. He accepted the lead role in the film just after being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for Return to Cold Mountaina prize that he won. Unfortunately, Irresistible Alfie ended in a big failure at the box office. With a production budget of $60 million by Paramount, the film only grossed a little over $35 million.
Jude Law believes that accepting the role in Irresistible Alfie was “a bad calculation” after the Oscars
During an interview given to the magazine GQ UKJude Law admitted to having made a mistake in accepting this role just after his Oscar nomination. “I was in a strong position at that point, because I had just gotten a second Oscar nomination for Cold Mountain, and I chose to do Alfie very soon after, a bad calculation“he explained.
“I blamed myself” : Jude Law confides his regrets about this film “too light, too cheesy”
During this interview, Jude Law also admitted to being disappointed when he saw the first images on screen. “I just felt like it didn't elevate the original film and that it was a little light, a little too cheesy. I think that it was done for too much money, and I was probably overpaid, which I underestimated at the time. I blamed myself for doing that with this charismatic main character, and it didn't work.”he said, before revealing that the failure of the film had an impact on his self-confidence: “Everyone has successes, everyone has failures. But yes, I think that's the case. It also made me realize that when you're just coming out of the crowd, everyone is intrigued and wants a piece of you And then, as soon as you have a few hiccups, their attention goes elsewhere.”
Article written with the collaboration of 6médias.
