Jude Law talks 'Star Wars: Skeleton Crew' and reminisces about 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'

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When it comes to acting in big movie franchises, Jude Law has pretty much checked every box.

He played iconic Harry Potter hero Professor Albus Dumbledore in J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts movies, and a slithery villain for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain Marvel. Law was Watson to Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock. He’s got a Christmas movie under his belt, been a rom-com heartthrob, played a Pope and gotten to work with some of cinema’s great directors, including Steven Spielberg, the late Anthony Minghella, Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese.

So it should come as no surprise that for his most recent role, the 51-year-old two-time Oscar nominee is suiting up to travel to a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, coming to Disney+ on Dec. 2.

Created by Jon Watts (the mastermind behind Marvel’s Spider-Man films), the new show mines 1980s films like Gremlins and The Goonies for a more light-hearted adventure that follows four kids (Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith) who find themselves teaming up with a mysterious space traveller, Jod Na Nawood (played by Law), after they accidentally get lost in the Star Wars galaxy.

Law, a lifelong fan of Star Wars, says he was intrigued to appear in the eight-episode series because youngsters take on a central role. There are no far-reaching plot points that will reverberate throughout the rest of the Star Wars universe — or at least none that he’s willing to talk about.

“It taps into the innocence and the awe that most people feel when they see this world for the first time,” he says, Zooming in from Los Angeles. “I thought that it was a really simple, really wonderful and refreshing approach to make them a gang of kids, like those crowd-pleasers of the ’80s … it meant that I think you can see yourself in them or see your kids in them. I thought that was really simple and effective way of refreshing this world.”

After Law was seen in the trailer magically floating a set of keys using a type of Force power, some Star Wars fans on the Internet have wondered if he’s playing a member of the Jedi. But his lips are sealed.

“He’s certainly mysterious. He’s a survivor. He’s quick-witted. He’s different things to different people,” he says, smiling. “There you go, there’s plenty there.”

Below, Law spoke more about being able to add a Star Wars character to his acting resume, reflected on the 25th anniversary of his breakout role in The Talented Mr. Ripley, and briefly stepped back into a time machine to wonder aloud what young Jude would have thought of where he ended up.

Jude, you’ve been a part of J.K.’s Fantastic Beasts and the MCU. What was it like to join the Star Wars universe?

I’m realizing that I’m someone who’s very curious and those three franchises all have very different aesthetics and different ways of doing what they do and I’m always curious to see how it’s done. Star Wars is something I grew up watching as a little boy in the ’70s and ’80s. Like so many people, it changed everything. It defined going to the cinema. It was on a new scale. So, when the opportunity arose with a great character and a great concept, I was keen to see how they did it.

We saw you recently at the Toronto Film Festival with The Order and Eden, two drastically different projects. What makes you say yes to a tentpole?

I like trying different genres and I like taking on different challenges and trying to see if I can fit into it and what I can learn from it. It’s one of the joys of what I do … Like I keep coming back to, I guess I’m just very curious.

Will Skeleton Crew have big implications on the rest of the Star Wars universe?

I guess if it’s embraced by the fans, yeah. Otherwise, it will exist out there in its own little corner of the universe on its own (laughs).

What’s the level of secrecy like on a Star Wars project versus Marvel?

I think they’re both pretty extreme — and rightly so, there’s a lot of interest. I think Star Wars took it to a new level. We didn’t even have our character names on the call sheet. We all had code names and the whole production had a code name. That was more extreme than anything else I had ever done. But the MCU take it pretty seriously. They had a head of security and we all had to wear cloaks to cover up the costumes just in case people got photographs.

It’s been 25 years since The Talented Mr. Ripley. That was your first Oscar nomination. How did that role change the trajectory of your career?

Pretty considerably. It was very warmly received and the nomination meant a great deal to me and then it had a massive effect on (the roles) that were coming my way and the people that were interested in working with me. But honestly, the strongest memory is working with those wonderful actors and (director) Anthony (Minghella) and being in that location. I’m realizing now, in hindsight, how it’s hard to get films like that made in that way on that level. I was very lucky to be able to make a couple of films like that in that era before things changed and budgets for films like that got slashed.

It’s been fun watching the many eras of your career unfold. What would young Jude think of where he ended up?

That’s a nice question. I’ll have to connect with young Jude for a moment. I think he’s delighted. The one thing I always wanted to carry on doing was working and working with interesting people and trying new things and trying to stretch the acting muscle. The fact that I’m still working and sitting here and able to talk about a project or a new film that’s coming out is still a really good place to be.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premieres Dec. 2 on Disney+.

mdaniell@postmedia.com