Whoa! Can you recognize Jude Law?

If Jude Law was once one of the most popular and crushed-on men in Hollywood, his looks and career have certainly changed. Here he is embracing his age and grey beard in 2022 — striking a big difference from the boyish figure he cast in his breakthrough ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley.’

At the peak of his fame in 2005, comedian Chris Rock joked as he hosted the Oscars: "You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law? Who is Jude Law? Why is he in every movie I have seen the last four years? He’s in everything." Though Law later said he was a little annoyed by the remarks, he did indeed refrain from slapping the host.

Gone are those days. In fact, many may be wondering what he’s been up to lately. Fair enough, as he’s been keeping a relatively low acting profile, with no acting credits in 2021, just one film in 2022 and two in 2023. And the movies he is in are anything but the blockbusters we may remember him for.

Despite jabs, many of Law’s best roles came under the direction of the Italian Anthony Mingella — 'The Talented Mr Ripley,’ ‘Cold Mountain’ and ‘Breaking and Entering.’ Unfortunately, Mingella’s life was cut short in 2008 at the age of 54, when he died of a hemorrhage following an operation for cancer.

Image: 'The Talented Mr Ripley,’ 1999, Paramount Pictures, Miramax

Minghella famously said of the actor: “Jude is a beautiful boy with the mind of a man. A true character actor struggling to get out of a beautiful body.” So let’s see how he uses this new maturity….

Image: People Magazine cover, 2004

Law’s personal life may also have something to do with him losing or choosing to step away from his role as Hollywood's golden boy. The first big one came when he and his wife (and mother to his three children), Sadie Frost, divorced. They were major A-listers in London at the time.

But perhaps his biggest love life scandal came in 2005 when Law issued a public apology to his girlfriend and the co-star in his film 'Alfie' for having cheated on her with his children’s nanny. They broke up in 2006. Around this time, his roles in big films started to decline.

In 2009, he did find major success on the stage, getting nominated for a Tony award for portraying the title role in 'Hamlet.' In the following years, he also had some memorable roles in 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,' 'Repo Men' and the ten-episode series 'The Young Pope' in 2016.

His complicated love and family life have indeed captured his attention as well. In 2023, he had his seventh child with his new wife, the psychologist Phillipa Coan (pictured), whom he married in 2019. Before that, he had a child with the model Samantha Burke in 2009 and another one with Catherine Haring in 2015.

But how has Law's newfound mature look and plus-50 age been translating into his latest roles? Well, perhaps earning points with his kids two of his biggest parts came in 'Peter Pan & Wendy' in 2003 and 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' in 2022. But he also played Henry VII in the 2023 movie 'Firebrand.' And in case you’re wondering, he has gotten a lot of praise for his acting, even though the movies were rather low-key.

So what’s next for the leading man? Well, he definitely has some interesting projects in the pipeline. In the land of TV, he’s starring in a 'Star Wars' series for Disney+ and will work with Jason Bateman in the Netflix show 'Black Rabbit.' In terms of movies, he has the leading role in a film about white supremism called 'The Order' and is also filming 'Eden' — a survival thriller film directed by Ron Howard. Could this be Law’s time to shine again? We shall see!