London — Jude Law sits back, taps the pack of Marlboros that goes unsmoked by his side, and flashes the infectious smile that has an entire industry at his feet.
True, he lost last year's supporting actor Oscar to Michael Caine, but even that was a victory of sorts: The film veteran paid specific tribute in his acceptance speech to Law's rapidly rising star.
Jude Law is keeping busy with high-profile projects after his Oscar-nominated performance in "The Talented Mr. Ripley." He portrays a Russian sharpshooter in "Enemy at the Gates" and also stars in the futuristic summer release, "A:I."
"I would rather have listened to that speech than win, to be honest," Law said, his long legs stretched across an adjacent chair in a north London "gastropub" minutes from his Primrose Hill home. "I think to win would have been a little bit too much too much, too soon."
And yet, suddenly, people can't get enough of Law, who has been acting professionally for 12 years but only recently hit paydirt.
In part, that's to do with his looks the chiseled face blessed with cheekbones that "you could open an envelope with," as his actor-friend Sean Pertwee has remarked. It helps that he's got talent, too, including a facility for accents and for sliding up and down the social scale to play classy or crass, posh or punk.
Law's breakout role was in "The Talented Mr. Ripley," as Dickie Greenleaf, the moneyed American layabout whose killer features, and tan to match, could drive someone to murder.
Of his movies, "'Ripley' was the first film a lot of people went to see," says the 28-year-old Law, who in his generation is rivaled perhaps only by American actor Billy Crudup for sustained excellence in films that virtually nobody has seen.
"People say, 'Why did your career change? Why did your life change?' Well, because 200 million people went to see the movie," Law said, tucking into his split pea soup.
"I mean, that's why. That changes your life. If a lot of people go and see something, then your career changes and it has an effect."
Does he feel like a movie star? Law cited "Ripley" co-stars Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow Oscar-winners both by way of distinguishing himself. Being British, he said, allows him more distance from Hollywood's star-making machinery.
"They felt like movie stars also because they were American, and in a funny way, that was the awkward thing," Law said. "They were both actors but they had no choice but to be movie stars because they're born into that scene."
"I don't feel like a movie star," said Law then, referring to his family, he added, "and thank God I'm not allowed to."
Yes, but what happens when your career simply demands otherwise?
Law is about to see for himself with the release over the next four months of two higher-profile movies. In "Enemy at the Gates," he and Joseph Fiennes ("Shakespeare in Love") co-star as Russians bent on outwitting the Germans during the siege of Stalingrad in World War II.
Law plays Vassili Zaitsev, a country boy from the Urals whose keen marksmanship makes him the best hope of a demoralized Russia to outsmart Maj. Konig, a Nazi sniper played by Ed Harris. It is the most expensive European movie to date, with an estimated budget of $80 million to $95 million.
In the summer, Law reappears alongside a fellow Oscar nominee from last year, Haley Joel Osment in "A:I." (The title is short for "artificial intelligence.") Initiated nearly two decades ago by the late Stanley Kubrick, the futuristic movie marks director Steven Spielberg's first film since "Saving Private Ryan."
That Law's projects are rising in visibility goes without saying, given the many barely seen film curiosities "The Wisdom of Crocodiles," "Final Cut," "Love, Honour and Obey" with which his resume is littered. More people probably saw his sizzling Broadway debut in 1995 in "Indiscretions," as Kathleen Turner's boy-toy of a son. (He received a Tony nomination.)
At the same time, said Law of his widening exposure, "the idea that that will ever affect the way I choose work from now on is kind of ludicrous. Sure, the idea of people seeing what you have done is, of course, very gratifying; it's a validation of your job."
He is excited about co-starring with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman in "The Road to Perdition," director Sam Mendes' first film since winning an Oscar for "American Beauty." Next year, Law returns to the London stage to play the title role in Christopher Marlowe's 16th-century classic, "Dr. Faustus."
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