Jude Law steals the throne in ‘King Arthur’

TOP British actor Jude Law plays the villain Vortigern with equal measures of dignity and desperation in Warner Bros. Pictures’ new epic action- adventure “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.”

Now showing, the movie is the bold new story that introduces a streetwise young Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur—and with it, his future.

Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur is forced to make some hard choices. Throwing in with the Resistance and a mysterious young woman named Guinevere (Astrid BergèsFrisbey), he must learn to master the sword, face down his demons and unite the people to defeat the tyrant Vortigern (Law), who stole his crown and murdered his parents, and became King.

Law reveals, “Vortigern rules through fear. He’s purging the country of mages and the old ways in order to harness the control solely for himself. But the way he came to rule preys on his conscience, on his soul. It’s very dark and very twisted. And over time, he’s almost developed an addiction to the control, to his supremacy, so he’s a man wrestling with his inner devil, that devil being his own ego. It doesn’t matter that Arthur has no awareness of his own status; he’s a perceived threat to Vortigern’s delicate hold on the power he craves.”

Director Guy Ritchie notes, “We wanted Vortigern to be more than just a bad guy, and Jude isn’t a predictable choice for the villain. I had total faith in him and he gave us a really layered bad guy who you love to watch.”