Actor Jude Law has said he doesn’t consider himself a royalist after playing King Henry VIII in a recent movie, and he doesn’t think much of titles.
“I’m intrigued by their history. But I’ve never been a great believer in treating someone a certain way because they are born under a title,” he told the Sunday Times while discussing his performance as the Tudor monarch in Firebrand, which hit theaters in the U.S. earlier this year and is currently playing in the U.K.
Regarding gestures of royal reverence, Law added, “I don’t know that I want to bow down to anyone, personally.”
The star’s comments come days after fellow English actor Sir Ian McKellen took aim at the royals in a new interview, branding the late Queen Elizabeth II “rude” and King Charles III “damaged.”
Jude Law in France in March, with an inset of him speaking with King Charles III (then the Prince of Wales) in London in April 2008. The “Firebrand” actor has said he wouldn’t consider himself a royalist.
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When asked if he would consider himself a royalist, Law—best known for his roles in The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Holiday—said, “I don’t know that I am.”
Law also compared the tyrannical 16th-century monarch to the disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
“I was very aware that Henry symbolizes the downfall of many men who soared through life with great success and got drunk on power, abused it and fell,” he told the Sunday Times. “And so Harvey must have crossed my mind.”
Newsweek has contacted Buckingham Palace via email for comment.
Over the course of his career, Law has been photographed meeting Charles and members of the world’s royal families. In 2022, the actor made a rare comment about Elizabeth after the news broke of her death at the age of 96.
“She’s a huge part of my country’s sense of identity and so in a way now we’re going to go through a process of mourning but also a process of rediscovery,” he said at the Disney D23 Expo in California at the time, per the Daily Mail.
“The future of the throne will be reinvented by the new sovereign,” he added. “He’ll make it his own.”
McKellen, who spoke to The Times in an interview published on September 6, is facing backlash over his frank criticism of members of the royal family. The Academy Award nominee and Lord of the Rings star questioned the sanity of the royals given their exposure to public life.
“Imagine being born into the royal family. I’ve been in public life a bit, but these people are in prison. They can’t do anything normal,” he said. “Can you imagine having to be nice to everyone you talk to?”
Charles, left, and Sir Ian McKellen in London in April 2008. The “Lord of the Rings” actor has said the king is a “clearly damaged” person.
POOL/ Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images
He described Elizabeth as having gone “quite mad at the end” of her life, adding that she was “bloody rude” when she asked him, “Does anyone still actually go to the theater?” when giving him an award in 2008.
He described her husband, Prince Philip, as “deeply eccentric and I suspect deeply unhappy,” adding that Charles, the couple’s eldest son, was “clearly damaged.”
Royal author Margaret Holder was among those to criticize McKellen’s comments. She told the Daily Express, “Perhaps if Sir Ian feels so slighted by the Queen he could consider returning his knighthood, although he may regret that in the future.”
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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