In-Depth Jude Law Interview For ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’

Filmmaker Guy Ritchie returns to direct ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,’ the follow-up to the smash hit ‘Sherlock Holmes.’ The sequel also reunites Robert Downey Jr as the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law as his formidable colleague, Dr. Watson. Jared Harris (TV’s ‘Mad Men,’ ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button‘) joins the cast as the notorious Professor Moriarty. Also joining the film, in her first English-speaking role, is Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who gained international attention in the Swedish film ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.’ Stephen Fry (‘Alice in Wonderland,’ ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire‘) plays Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother. ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’ is set for release December 16th 2011.

With this being a sequel, you can pretty much get straight into the plot, there isn’t so much a need of introducing lead characters…

Jude Law: Yeah. In general, what we really wanted to do this time was run with the relationship, because whilst you got a good sense of it in the first film, we also had to work quite hard obviously to tell…to introduce the characters, to introduce the world, and to give not back-story, but to give a sense of what to expect from them. Now that people know that, we were able to start from the get go at a faster rate – with more….I wouldn’t say eccentricity, but with more breadth. No matter how happy and harmonious and creative the first film was as a group, 20 or 30% of a film is always taken up at the beginning getting to know each other, and that you end on a high, knowing how each other works. It never felt like we dropped the ball from the first – we never assumed there would be a second, but a lot of energy was carried into the second. A lot of enthusiasm for relationships that worked, that we wanted to flesh out more. I was excited about mining more of the same.

What is like returning to this character, Dr. Watson, how does that help your performance?

Jude Law: What is really exciting is when you get to know a character, and you really feel comfortable that your interpretation of the character is working. Also just trusting that you can trust yourself, trusting your instincts, trusting a sense of clarity to where and how that person will respond, and what they’ll say. It was a really rewarding process in the first film, and we discovered it in the first film, we didn’t quite know how it was going to work, but we sort of worked this strange equation out. To be honest the one thing I was scared about coming into this second movie was would we be able to pick it up again? Was it something that just happened? From the get go, from our rehearsals over at Robert Downey Jr’s house, prior to filming, we really slipped straight back into. If anything, because we didn’t have to get to know each other, this one I hope has benefited from the fact that we were working that process from before shooting, rather than discovering it as we went along.

How do you manage to take your characters further without falling into the pitfall of doing the same thing again?

Jude Law: These characters have survived the test of time, and have been explored by so many actors, because they’re incredibly rich. First of all, we have a tonne of work we can lean back on, and investigate how to keep these characters rich and alive. We’re also in a creative environment where we’re allowed to play and to keep stretching and trying new ideas within the relationship. Also, the truth is, the reason they’ve been so popular for so long is that they’re symbolic in a way of characters we all know and have in us. There’s the side that’s down to earth, then there’s the imaginative, creative, eccentric and anarchic side. Looked at in a simple way, that’s what Watson and Holmes are symbolic of.

This is a more physical film than the first. How was that?

Jude Law: I think it’s true to say the physical aspect of this film was another important element we wanted to push further. We pushed the dialogue, we pushed the banter, the relationship, and we did noticeably stop and say, “Let’s elevate the physicality.” Going back to our original idea, it was to take these guys out of Baker Street. You don’t just hear them talking about their adventures – you see them living them. That bar was pretty high. We’d go into stuff 90% knowing what was happening, and then another idea would come up that would increase it by 20%.

Watson is pretty conflicted, he wants the easy life with Mary, however at the same time he wants to go off on these adventures with Sherlock Holmes. He’s the archetype sidekick.

Jude Law: I think that’s the dilemma Watson faces, he wants the good life with his wife, a safe life, a secure life. He wants to please her, and yet there’s a little bit of the old soldier in him, the pioneering spirit, the thrill of the chase. He undoubtedly has great times when he’s on a case with Holmes, and he also feels a certain amount of responsibility I think, Sherlock Holmes has a certain way of painting the moral picture of the perpetrator that twinges at Watson’s beliefs and moral barometer. That’s the kind of constant struggle in a way for the poor chap (laughs). He should be at home cooking crumpets and muffins with Mary, but he cant help but pack a gun and get involved with Sherlock Holmes.

How was it having Noomi Rapace as Sim, Stephen Fry as Mycroft, and Jared Harris as Moriarty come on board?

Jude Law: They’re fantastic. It’s true to say that both Conan Doyle and Guy Ritchie have a very great appetite and love of travellers and gypsies (laughs). The character of Sim is very much a sort of mysterious, broad Conan Doyle-type character. She also has the spice and balls, if you like, of a Guy Ritchie character. Noomi is about the only person in the world that I can imagine playing her, Noomi is a great combination of being incredibly feminine, very touching, and also very tough. She’s a great addition to this duo, she kind of stands up for herself, she helps us out, this is the character and indeed Noomi (laughs). She also has her own emotional story, which adds great weight to Holmes and Watson’s journey.

Stephen Fry is a one in a million. He’s a fine actor, he’s a brilliant writer, he’s an exceptional bon vivant (laughs). He’s one of the most generously intelligent and eloquent and charming men that I’ve ever met. I think we love him in the UK because of his generous wisdom more than anything, and there is a lot of him in Mycroft, oddly, which is why it’s such a brilliant piece of casting.

Moriarty is in a way the first arch-villain in literature, the first “baddie,” superhero villain. So much is inferred upon him, so there’s just a wonderful mystery to how awful this man is. And what makes him fascinating to me is that he’s a genius, he’s brilliant, if not more brilliant that Sherlock Holmes. So obviously Watson takes him very very serious indeed, if Holmes says a man is brilliant and wicked, Watson tends to believe him. I wasn’t apart of the casting process, but as soon as they mentioned Jared Harris was going to do it I was delighted, I’ve been a huge fan of Jared for many years, seeing him in various disguises and various characters – he’s always compelling. Jared has a fantastic ability of being charming and frightening at the same time.