Jude Law became 'obsessive' Putin watcher for role as Russian leader

British actor Jude Law yesterday said he became an “obsessive” watcher of Vladimir Putin as he prepared for his role as the Russian leader in his new film “The Wizard of the Kremlin” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

- 

Law, 52, bears an uncanny resemblance to Putin, aping his scowl and distinctive walking style in the film by French director Olivier Assayas, which charts the rise of the former intelligence officer.

“There’s a lot of footage one could watch and, personally when I start going down that rabbit hole, it becomes sort of obsessive,” he told journalists. “You're looking for ever more, newer material.”

Portraying Putin was a challenge because of his famously deadpan expression, he said. “The tricky side to me was that the public face that we see (of Putin), we see very, very little,” Law added. “There’s this mask.”

Law credited his likeness to the real Putin to “an amazing makeup and hair team,” adding that he had no fear of repercussions.

- Based on a bestseller -

The movie, which runs for two and a half hours, is an exhaustive look at Putin’s career muzzling political opponents, cowing oligarchs, and enriching his entourage.

It is told through the eyes of a fictional political advisor, Vadim Baranov, played by Paul Dano. It is based on a top-selling book of the same name by Italian author Giuliano da Empoli.