Jude Law to Portray Putin in Assayas's 'Wizard of the Kremlin' Based on Bestseller

Jan 10, 2025, 08:14 PM

Jude Law has confirmed he will portray Russian President Vladimir Putin in Olivier Assayas's upcoming film "The Wizard of the Kremlin." The film, based on Giuliano da Empoli's bestselling novel of the same name, explores Putin's rise to power in Russia during the early 1990s and early 2000s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The story focuses on a fictional political strategist who helps install Putin into prominent government positions. In an interview with Deadline, Law expressed the challenges of taking on the role, saying, "At the moment it looks like an Everest to climb, so I'm in the foothills looking up thinking, 'Oh Christ, what have I said?'" Law previously portrayed Russian sniper Vasily Zaitsev in the 2001 film "Enemy at the Gates."