Jude Law Once Felt 'Frustrated' That Media Attention Was Placed on His Looks Instead of His Acting Career

Mar. 15, 2025

Jude Law on Aug. 9, 2024.Photo:Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Jude Lawlooks back on the early 2000s with some level of discontent.While speaking withVarietyin a feature interview published Wednesday, Oct. 30, Law, 51, spoke candidly about his experience as a tabloid fixture and male sex symbol during that time; as the outlet noted, the actor was namedPEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alivein 2004 and experienced talk show hosts likeEllen DeGeneresdiscussing his lipsduring promotional appearances.“Interestingly, I was talking about this to a friend. He made a good point. He said, ‘If you were a woman, people would have been told off for objectifying you,' " Law said. “I think it frustrated me because I was this young guy desperately keen to have an acting career and for people to talk about that, as opposed to what I looked like.”Law broke out in Hollywood with his performance in 1999’sThe Talented Mr. Ripleyand he faced significant media attention in the following years due to his high-profile 2003 divorce from his first wifeSadie Frostand subsequentrelationshipwithSienna Miller. The actor recalled toVarietythat “being invaded was something that always made me bristle.“Jude Law, circa 2004.Gregory Pace/FilmMagic“That time is now over, and I’ve moved on from it. And so has, fortunately, the attention of the photographers and the prying eyes on me,” he said elsewhere in the interview. “But I’ve had to learn to live in a certain way that keeps them at bay. And I have to handle my kids’ and my partner’s privacy in the same way.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Law has beenmarriedto wifePhillipa Coan, an English psychologist, since 2019; they were first linked romantically in 2015. The couple share two children, though they have not publicly shared either child’s name.Jude Law on Aug. 9, 2024.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty ImagesThe actor hasseven childrenin total: he also shares son Rafferty, 28, daughter Iris, 24, and son Rudy, 22, with his first wife Frost. He and Samantha Burke share one daughter, Sophia, 15, and the actor also welcomed daughter Ada, 9, with Catherine Harding in 2015 before he began dating Coan.Law has multiple upcoming projects, including the new movieThe Order, in which he portrays an FBI agent investigating white supremacist groups, Ron Howard’s next movieEdenand the upcoming Disney+Star WarsseriesSkeleton Crew.

Jude Lawlooks back on the early 2000s with some level of discontent.

While speaking withVarietyin a feature interview published Wednesday, Oct. 30, Law, 51, spoke candidly about his experience as a tabloid fixture and male sex symbol during that time; as the outlet noted, the actor was namedPEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alivein 2004 and experienced talk show hosts likeEllen DeGeneresdiscussing his lipsduring promotional appearances.

“Interestingly, I was talking about this to a friend. He made a good point. He said, ‘If you were a woman, people would have been told off for objectifying you,' " Law said. “I think it frustrated me because I was this young guy desperately keen to have an acting career and for people to talk about that, as opposed to what I looked like.”

Law broke out in Hollywood with his performance in 1999’sThe Talented Mr. Ripleyand he faced significant media attention in the following years due to his high-profile 2003 divorce from his first wifeSadie Frostand subsequentrelationshipwithSienna Miller. The actor recalled toVarietythat “being invaded was something that always made me bristle.”

Jude Law, circa 2004.Gregory Pace/FilmMagic

Gregory Pace/FilmMagic

“That time is now over, and I’ve moved on from it. And so has, fortunately, the attention of the photographers and the prying eyes on me,” he said elsewhere in the interview. “But I’ve had to learn to live in a certain way that keeps them at bay. And I have to handle my kids’ and my partner’s privacy in the same way.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Law has beenmarriedto wifePhillipa Coan, an English psychologist, since 2019; they were first linked romantically in 2015. The couple share two children, though they have not publicly shared either child’s name.

Jude Law on Aug. 9, 2024.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

The actor hasseven childrenin total: he also shares son Rafferty, 28, daughter Iris, 24, and son Rudy, 22, with his first wife Frost. He and Samantha Burke share one daughter, Sophia, 15, and the actor also welcomed daughter Ada, 9, with Catherine Harding in 2015 before he began dating Coan.

Law has multiple upcoming projects, including the new movieThe Order, in which he portrays an FBI agent investigating white supremacist groups, Ron Howard’s next movieEdenand the upcoming Disney+Star WarsseriesSkeleton Crew.

source: people.com