The star of the Star Wars series premiering on Disney+ December 3 shares his journey from playful blaster battles in his backyard to becoming the latest mysterious rogue in the galaxy.
As a kid, pretending to act out Star Wars adventures in his backyard or on the school playground, Jude Law gravitated toward the role of Han Solo. “There was a sort of shrug to Han Solo that I always loved, a slight cynicism,” he tells StarWars.com. So, it’s no surprise that as he enters the galaxy as Jod Na Nawood in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, he’s bringing some of that same swagger and charm to the role coupled with inspiration from another original trilogy icon: Luke Skywalker. “There was an obvious purity to Skywalker,” he adds. “I really wanted to try and combine all those things.”
With the two-episode premiere on Disney+ December 3, we’ll meet Jod and the rest of the crew on an all-new Star Wars adventure. Today, Law tells us all about becoming a Star Wars fan and as much as he can share about his enigmatic new character before you get to see him in action.
Jude Law – Jod Na Nawood
“I first discovered Star Wars when the first film was released in the cinemas in London where I was growing up,” Law recalls. “And I remember it just blowing my tiny mind. I'd never seen anything like it.” Like many other kids first discovering the galaxy, Law immediately started collecting bubblegum cards and asking for the latest action figures for his birthday and Christmas. The stories that ended with the credits rolling continued in new ways during simple games of pretend, playing with his next door neighbor and his classmates as they argued in the school yard “over who'd be Han and who'd be Luke,” Law says. “I always wanted to be Han. Well, it depended on the game. I probably wanted to be [Darth] Vader sometimes as well.”
That penchant for play helped nurture Law’s interest in the craft of performance, and may well even be the starting point for the Academy Award nominee’s career on screen, which led to being cast in Skeleton Crew. “To be invited to be a part of this universe was a true thrill,” he says of getting the call from creators Jon Watts and Chris Ford. “There's something to be said for the play-acting as a child having some sort of responsibility for becoming an actor and assuming roles. Running around wanting to be space pirates or saviors in that world was a leap of the imagination, which is really at the heart of what my job is. Becoming an actor and then being asked to be an actor in that universe is a beautiful full circle. And as with a lot of the choices I make, I was so curious to see how it was done and meet a lot of the great minds and creative forces behind it.”
From his first call with Watts — “who reached out very generously and enthusiastically,” the actor says, — Law was intrigued by the premise. “The idea of the protagonists being children in a galaxy that I know so well and we've all enjoyed for so many years, just seems like a really fresh idea,” he adds. “It's a brilliant conceit from the start….My relationship with this world was as a child, and I love the idea that we see it in this series through their eyes. There's a wonderment to it. There's still jeopardy and risk, but the idea of bringing it back to the children's perspective was just brilliant.” Getting to shepherd them through that wild galaxy was an invitation Law couldn’t decline. “I really responded to the role that they wanted me to play and the fun I could have with that.”
Although we saw Jod levitate a key in the first trailer for the series, Law is clearly having fun being a little coy with how he speaks to the character ahead of the series debut. “Conflicted is certainly a word I'd use to describe Jod,” he says. “Honestly, what inspired me most about playing Jod was the playfulness of those first three films, the heroes at the heart of those films and the way they perceived the galaxy. Ultimately, [Jod is] a survivor.”
Law is boldly effusive in sharing his adoration for the cast and crew. “At the heart of this was my work with these four brilliant young actors,” Law says of co-stars Ravi Cabot-Conyers who plays adventure-seeking Wim, Ryan Kiera Armstrong as the fiercely independent Fern, and their best friends Neel, played by Robert Timothy Smith, and KB, portrayed by Kyriana Kratter. “They brought such joy and excitement because they were youngsters, but they brought such professionalism, too,” Law says. “[They] really elevated every scene and every day that they came to work, it was such a privilege to be around them.”
On set, Law's co-stars reminded the seasoned actor to have fun in the unique experience of getting to play Star Wars for real. “There were great moments where they reminded me not to take myself or it too seriously, but equally moments of real application, real skill,” he says. “They were such good company and I have very fond memories of our time as a little crew.”
Check back here for more insights and introductions from the stars of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew later this month.
All episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are now streaming, only on Disney+.
