The British actor reveals that he will play Vladimir Putin in front of the French director’s camera.
British actor Jude Law reveals he will play Vladimir Putin in Le Mage du Kremlinnext film by Frenchman Olivier Assayas adapted from the eponymous best-seller by Giuliano da Empoli. The 52-year-old actor spoke to Deadline on the subject:
“I haven’t really started working on it yet. Or rather I have, but for now it feels like an Everest to climb, and I’m at the foot of the mountain to say to me: ‘My God, what did I say (by accepting)?’”.
“That’s often what I feel when I say yes (to a role),” he tempers. “I was like, ‘My God, how am I going to do this?’ But it’s up to me to find the answer.”
A bestseller
Giuliano da Empoli’s book, released in 2022, sold 320,000 copies that year alone, according to La Croix. He won the Grand Prix du roman from the Académie française and was included in the final of the Goncourt. A synopsis of Olivier Assayas’ adaptation is available on Allociné:
-“Russia, in the early 1990s, in the aftermath of the collapse of the USSR. In a new world that promises freedom and flirts with chaos, a young artist turned television producer, Vadim Baranov, against all odds becomes the (image consultant) of a promising member of the FSB (ex-KGB), Vladimir Putin.”
The feature film project was revealed by Variety last May. The American media had specified that Jude Law would opposite Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander (Danish Girl, Tomb Raider) as well as Paul Dano (The Fabelmans), Zach Galifianakis (Very Bad Trip) et Tom Sturridge (Good Morning England). Jeffrey Wright (The Batman) is also in the cast.
No information had then filtered out on the roles they would play. Olivier Assayas co-wrote the screenplay Do you like Kremlin with Emmanuel Carrère. The filming dates are currently unknown.
