Jude Law Wore 'Poop Perfume' for His Henry VIII Role in ‘Firebrand’ and Was ‘Stinkingly’ Good at It

Jude Law Wore 'Poop Perfume' for His Henry VIII Role in ‘Firebrand’ and Was ‘Stinkingly’ Good at It
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Stuart C. Wilson

Every movie is a labor of blood, sweat and tears. But poop? Ew!! However, Jude Law is one actor who went to gross extremes and drenched himself in custom-made sweat, blood and human excreta perfume to look realistic as Henry VIII in the period drama Firebrand. The Holiday star played the role of the Tudor king and has been receiving rave reviews for his part. During the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, the actor revealed that he worked with a specialist perfumer to create an intense fragrance smelling of blood, fecal matter and sweat. That's commitment, eh? 

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Image Source: Getty Images | Gareth Cattermole
Image Source: Getty Images | Gareth Cattermole

The thriller portrays the late monarch in his final days with his sixth and last wife, Katherine Parr, played by Alicia Vikander. Law shared at the press conference on Monday, May 22, 2023, "I read several interesting accounts that you could smell Henry three rooms away. His leg was rotting so badly. He hid it with rose oil," according to Variety. Fair enough. He added, "I thought it would have a great impact if I smelt awful." 

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We are assured that the customized scent absolutely stank and we hope his co-actors were equally thrilled about this dedication. LOL. The 50-year-old actor also mentioned the specialist who created this pungent scent for him and the task of perfectly capturing the king's scent during his days of suffering from leg ulcers. Law explained, "She makes wonderful scents and she also makes awful scents. She somehow came up with this extraordinary variety of blood, fecal matter and sweat." The actor initially began with a few spritzes before he went crazy and sprayed the concoction way too generously. Eww! 

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"Initially, I used it very subtly. But then it became a spray fest." Haha! This sounds so amazingly awful! The film's director, Karim Aïnouz recalled Law's smelly presence on set and shook his head. We understand it would have been so olfactorily painful. Aïnouz said, "When Jude walked in on set, it was just horrible." Nevertheless, it was all worth it because during the 76th Cannes Film Festival, Firebrand received an eight-minute standing ovation and Law's performance as a mad and cruel monarch received glowing reviews. 

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The Telegraph reviewed that Law was "horribly good," while The Guardian said the actor "outrageously steals every scene." As part of such an intense and hot-blooded movie, Law's daughter, Iris also in attendance at the prestigious film festival, revealed that her father and Vikander, 34, maintained a carefree camaraderie on set. Law said, "It sounds really twisted because of course, we did awful things to each other. But my memory is that we were laughing a lot." The Sherlock Holmes actor was quizzed about the royal gossip surrounding the crown, to which the actor laughed when a journalist asked his opinion. "I kind of see it like theater although I'm slightly more obsessed with theater. I'm not one for gossip. I don't really enjoy it. I find no interest in it and I don't really enjoy following tittle-tattle stories," concluded Law. 

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 Jude Law wore cutomized poo-smelling perfume for 'Firebrand'