“Blood, fecal matter and sweat”: This was the disgusting perfume created by Jude Law to play Henry VIII in ‘Firebrand’

Jude Law has taken getting into the role to a new level. The actor created, with the help of a perfumer, a horrible mixture of odors composed of “blood, fecal matter and sweat” to play Henry VIII in ‘Firebrand’a historical drama about the last days of the king presented at the Cannes Film Festival.

“I read several stories that you could smell Henry VIII from three rooms away. Her leg was rotting. She tried to hide it with rose oil, ”Law said at the press conference for the film, presented at the Palais a day earlier. “I thought it would be a big shock if it smelled awful.” Luckily, the actor did not get drunk on perfume for the presentation of ‘Firebrand’ on the Croisette.

Law explained that he went to a perfume specialist to create a bespoke blend of scents for him. “She makes wonderful scents, and she also makes horrible smells. Somehow he came up with this extraordinary mix of blood, fecal matter and sweat”.

Although he played a cruel character, Law recalls that he and Alicia Vikander, who plays the king’s sixth and final wife, had a good time on set. “It sounds really twisted because of course we did horrible things to each other,” he said. “But my memory is that we laughed a lot”.

The movie director, Karim AïnouzHe shook his head, remembering the stinking concoction that permeated the entire production. “When he entered the set, said“it was just horrible”

“At first,” he said, “I used it very subtly, but then turned into a spray fest”.

In the UK, children learning Tudor history at school are taught a useful rhyme to remember the order of the six wives of King Henry VIII: “Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived. (Divorced, beheaded, dead. Divorced, beheaded, surviving).” In Karim Aïnouz’s highly anticipated ‘Firebrand,’ it is the last companion of the celebrated Tudor king, Katherine Parr, who finally takes center stage.

“What has been most impacted are the ones that didn’t survive,” said Swedish star Alicia Vikander, who plays the last wife opposite the ailing monarch played by Jude Law. “[Cuando leí el guión] I immediately thought, ‘Hey, Isn’t it interesting that most people know more about the other wives?‘ It’s almost like people are drawn to macabre stories.”

The enlightened and curious Parr published a series of religious texts beginning in 1545. But, as detailed in ‘Firebrand’, her quest for knowledge and passion for debate nearly cost her her life when she was accused of heresy. However, Aïnouz has interpreted history in a somewhat particular way, with a revisionist and modern angle. “It was about having artistic freedom to make a strong story and surprise people,” Vikander explained.

‘Firebrand’ has a release date set for the December 22, 2023in the middle of awards season.