David Jude Law (born 29 December 1972) is a two-time Oscar-nominated English actor. He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and he won awards for several of his roles. In 1989 he got his first TV role in a movie based on a Beatrix Potter book, and then he had a minor role in the British television soap opera Families and the leading role in the BFI /Channel 4 short The Crane. In 1997, he became better known for his role as Oscar Wilde's lover in the biopic Wilde, and winning the Evening Standard British Film Award as "Most Promising Newcomer".
In the late 1990s, he moved to Hollywood. His roles included a disabled athlete in Andrew Niccol's dark science fiction drama Gattaca and a hustler in Clint Eastwood's crime drama Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In 2002, he played the role of a sadistic hitman in Sam Mendes's period crime drama Road to Perdition. In the 2000s, he was nominated for an Academy Award twice: once as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Talented Mr. Ripley in 2000, and then again as Best Actor in a Leading Role for Cold Mountain in 2003, both directed by Anthony Minghella.
He is on the Top Ten List from the 2006 A-list of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood, based on the criteria set out by journalist James Ulmer in his Ulmer Scale. On March 1, 2007, he was honored with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres conferred by the French government, in recognition of his contribution to World Cinema Arts. He was named a "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres".
In 2009, he will return to the theatre stage to perform the role of Hamlet, in Shakespeare's play Hamlet, under the direction of Kenneth Branagh.
Jude Law was born December 29, 1972 in south east London. He started acting with the National Youth Music Theatre at the age of 12 and, at 17, he dropped out of school completely, to star in a Granada daytime TV Soap called "Families" (1990). In 1992, Jude began his stage career. He starred in many plays throughout London, and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award of "Outstanding Newcomer". After doing the play "Indiscretions" in London, he moved and did it again on Broadway. This time, he was alongside Kathleen Turner (I). He then received a Tony Nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actor". He was then rewarded the Theatre World Award. After Broadway, Jude started on the big screen, in many independent films. His first big named movie was Gattaca (1997), with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. He also had a good role in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997). Jude's latest rise to fame has been because of Talented Mr. Ripley, The (1999), in which he plays Matt Damon's obsession. The film did very well at the box office, and critics loved the acting of Jude. He is also a partner in the production company "Natural Nylon". His partners include Jonny Lee Miller, Ewan McGregor and his ex-wife Sadie Frost. With his production company producing and Jude acting, his career seems to be on the rise.
