Jude Law reveals he gorged on 'late night pasta and ice-cream' for his 'extreme' transformation into a bloated Henry VIII as he reflects on THAT 'upsetting' Chris Rock jibe

Jude Law has revealed he gorged on 'late night ice-cream' as part of his transformation into a bloated Henry VIII.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, the Closer actor, 51, revealed his metamorphosis for the historical drama was his 'most extreme transformation yet', while also reflecting on some of the lower moments of his career.

Starring alongside Alicia Vikander, who plays Henry VIII's sixth wife Katherine Parr, Jude transforms into a miserable incarnation of the king who could barely walk at the time, weighed 28st and needed nine men to lift him on his horse.

Lifting the lid on how he managed to gain weight for the role, he said: 'It was a process.

'Like Charlie Chaplin or Father Christmas, Henry has a familiar silhouette, so if you get that shape, the brain fills in a lot of the gaps. So I grew a beard. I had bodysuits, clothes, weights on my legs and bits in my shoes to perfect his gait.

'I only had about four months to prep, so couldn't balloon up to full weight, but I did eat loads — late-night pasta and ice cream — so I had a bigger face. 

He added bluntly that sometimes he would think of him as a 'paraplegic gorilla' as if he had a lot of power but couldn't move, in a way that made him 'weirdly helpless'.

The acting icon believes Firebrand is in fact about 'surviving domestic abuse' and describes his character as 'a gangster — a former golden boy who's rotting'. 

The London-born star, originally from Lewisham, has been Hollywood's darling between the 1990s and early 200s after his legendary performances in films as The Talented Mr Ripley, Closer, Cold Mountain, Road To Perdition and AI.

In 2004 he became Alfie Cartwright for the remake of romcom Alfie, for which Jude was paid £6 million - yet he admitted he was 'probably paid too much'.

Not too long after it, he became the topic of a Chris Rock joke at the Oscars, comparing him with Tom Cruise.

'Why is he in every movie I've seen in the last four years?,' the comedian joked, but Jude revealed he found it 'upsetting'.

'The attention cools off if your movies are not making a ton of money.

'There is a definite tier system as to who is offered what first, and if the work is not coming in as freely you have to consider what you want to do.'

Jude's most recent project, historical crime film The Order, just premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August and will be available to watch on Prime Video.

Jude's performance as Terry Husk, a washed-up FBI agent who goes up against real-life white supremacist group The Order, received a seven-minute standing ovation at the Festival.

He said of his character: 'There was a sort of lived-in ­quality to him that I enjoyed.

'There was a lot of discussion about facial hair, but every agent I interviewed had a moustache, so it was just a given that I had to grow one.' 

Also starring are Alison Oliver, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, and Nicholas Hoult.

Nicholas plays The Order leader Bob Mathews, an American neo-Nazi who led the white supremacist group in 1983. 

Nicholas revealed that the film's director ­Justin Kurzel gave each actor a 'manifesto' for their character, including tasks for them to complete.

'I just found out on the boat here – one of Jude's tasks was to follow me for a day!' he said. 

'He was ­trailing me for a day when I landed in Calgary.' 

The Order is based on the 1989 biography The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt. 

It was written by Zach Baylin and distributed by Prime Video (though Amazon MGM Studios).

Though a Prime Video film, Vertical acquired partial rights to the film, and will release it on December 6, 2024, in a limited theatrical release. 

At The Order's Venice Film Festival press conference, Jude spoke about the importance of the film at a time when far-right ideologies are rising again.

'Sadly, the relevance speaks for itself,' he said. 'It felt like a piece of work that needed to be made now. It’s always interesting finding a piece from the past that has some relevant relationship to the present day.”

Director Justin agreed with Law, adding that the film’s parallels with today’s world were what made it so interesting to make. 

'It’s always an extraordinary thing when you find a piece of writing or event from the past that has some sort of perspective that can have a conversation with today’s politics. That’s a rare gem. So, we felt that there was a lot that was being said about today.'