Jude Law plays Russian leader Vladimir Putin in The Wizard of the Kremlin, but he wasn’t trying to spark controversy with his performance.
“I didn’t fear repercussions. I felt confident, in the hands of [director] Olivier [Assayas] and the script, that this story was going to be told intelligently and with nuance and consideration,” Law, 52, said during a press conference ahead of the film’s Sunday, August 31, premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, per Variety. “We weren’t looking for controversy for controversy’s sake.”
He continued, “It’s a character in a broader story. We weren’t trying to define anything about anyone.”
The Wizard of the Kremlin, adapted from Giuliano da Empoli’s 2022 book of the same name, charts a fictional account of Putin’s rise to power. (In real life, Putin, now 72, was elected President of Russia in 2000 and now runs an authoritarian dictatorship.)
“Olivier and I discussed this wasn’t to be an interpretation of Putin, and he didn’t want me to hide behind a mask of prosthetics,” Law told reporters. “We worked with an amazing makeup and hair team and had references of that period in Putin’s life. We tried to find a familiarity on me. It’s amazing what a great wig can do.”
As for director Assayas, 70, he said during the press conference that The Wizard of the Kremlin highlights the “transformation of politics during our lifetime.”
“The film is very much about how modern politics were invented. Part of that evil [was] raised from the rise of power of Vladimir Putin in Russia,” Assayas said. “We made a movie about what politics has become and the scary and dangerous situation that we all feel we’re in. It applies to a lot of authoritarian leaders.”
Law costars in the film alongside Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge, Jeffrey Wright and Paul Dano. In the movie, Law’s Putin works closely with spin doctor Vadim Baranov (Dano), who was inspired by fixer Vladislav Sourkov. (Sourkov is often credited with playing a crucial role in Putin’s authoritative rule.)
“I don’t think you need to look for a positive, but you need to be willing to discover the point of view of the character,” Dano, 41, said of his character. “If you were to just label a character like Baranov bad, it would be a massive oversimplification that would do more bad than good. We need to be asking ‘Why?’”
The Wizard of the Kremlin received a 10-minute standing ovation during Sunday’s screening.
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