Jude Law is set to portray Russian President Vladimir Putin in the upcoming film “The Wizard of the Kremlin”, directed by Olivier Assayas.
The movie will focus on the early years of Putin’s time in power. Law has admitted to feeling apprehensive about playing such a controversial figure in the film, which also stars Paul Dano, Alicia Vikander, and Zach Galifianakis in key roles.
In a recent interview with Deadline, Law confirmed his involvement in the film but clarified that filming has not yet begun. He discussed the daunting responsibility of portraying Putin and expressed the weight of taking on such a polarizing role, noting the significance of joining Assayas’s highly anticipated project.
“I say that hesitatingly because I haven’t really started work on it yet. I mean, I have, but at the moment it looks like an Everest to climb, so I’m in the foothills looking up thinking, ‘Oh Christ, what have I said?’ That’s often how I feel whilst I say yes. I was going, ‘Oh God, how am I going to do this?’ But anyway, that’s for me to sort out,” Law shared.
Based on the book The Wizard of the Kremlin, published in April 2022, just two months after the start of the Russian-Ukraine war, the novel became a timely bestseller. The announcement of the film adaptation was made at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
