Jude Law ‘Obsessive’ Dive into Putin’s World for New Film

British actor Jude Law reveals his intense preparation to play Vladimir Putin in the new film The Wizard of the Kremlin, describing an “obsessive” descent into the Russian leader’s footage to master his public “mask.”

September 1, 2025: The Wizard of the Kremlin, which made its international premiere at the Venice Film Festival, stars Jude Law as Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 52-year-old actor added that to prepare for the tough part, he had to become “obsessive” about monitoring how Putin acted.

Law, who looked a lot like the Russian leader thanks to a “amazing makeup and hair team,” watched a lot of videos to learn how to walk and scowl like Putin. He remarked at a news conference that Putin’s public face was a “mask” and that he was ready for the job since he was “conflicted about trying to show very little but feel a lot from within.”

The movie was filmed by French director Olivier Assayas and is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Italian author Giuliano da Empoli. The movie is about how Putin went from being a former intelligence officer to an autocrat, as told by a fictional political advisor named Vadim Baranov, who is played by Paul Dano. Assayas remarked that the movie isn’t just about Putin; it’s also a warning about how tyranny is becoming more common in the world today. “We made a movie about how politics has changed and how scary and dangerous we all feel right now,” he remarked.

The first reviews of the movie have not all been positive. Some reviews enjoyed the strong and real performances by Law and Dano, but others believed the movie’s protracted tale was “bloated” and “over-written.” The movie is still in the competition for the festival’s top prize, which finishes on Saturday. Law is sure that the story is told “intelligently and with nuance.” He also said he wasn’t scared about what would happen to him if he took the job, which was high-profile and politically sensitive.