The man who acted as Jude Law’s bum double in the forthcoming Henry VIII film Firebrand has detailed what to expect from the movie’s sex scenes.
Law, 51, who plays the 28 stone Tudor monarch in the historical film, directed by Karim Aïnouz, alongside Alicia Vikander as his sixth wife Catherine Parr, enlisted the help of a body double for the project after he struggled to put on weight for the role.
Dale Farrow, a former IT manager from Stamford, Lincolnshire, was hired for intimate scenes where the king’s “enormous rolling buttocks” – as early reviewers called them – are exposed.
Speaking to The Sun about the role, Farrow revealed the scenes are not markedly explicit. “You don’t see anything you wouldn’t on Skegness beach,” he claimed of the nudity.
Law’s posterior, or rather Farrow’s, became the subject of speculation after Firebrand, which is yet to be given a UK release date,premiered at Cannes Film Festival last month.
In his review for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw likened the appearance of Henry’s bottom to a “giant, shaved arse of a sheep” before posing the question: “Did Law use a buttock double for this stomach-turning image?”
For The Times, reviewer Kevin Maher had a similar query. “A gasp-inducing shot of Henry’s enormous rolling buttocks suggests that Law has partaken in some alarmingly detrimental weight gain (he hasn’t!) or else clever editing, and a substitute posterior, is at work,” he wrote.
Law recently admitted to podcaster Marc Maron he had struggled to put on weight for his Fireburn performance. “In the time I had there was just no way I was going to be able to put on that weight,” he said.
“We gained weight in another way. The clothes were so huge, they were voluminous. We put on weights and padding and all sorts of things to create the scale and presence of the man.”
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Henry suffered from chronic leg ulcers for much of the last decade of his life, thought to have been caused by an infection following a jousting accident in 1536.
As a result, his legs are described as “rotting”. In The Telegraph, Tim Robey wrote: “There’s a brief shot of maggots writhing in [Henry VIII’s leg] which could easily cause you to throw up.”
Law has said he found it “satisfying” playing an unattractive character. For the role, he underwent quite a transformation to look like Henry VIII and was aged up with a long silver beard and deep wrinkles.
He said: “[When I was younger] I didn’t feel like I really ever leaned into playing handsome, but there were roles that required an attractive energy.
“I was trying to play against my looks in my early twenties, and now that I’m saggy and balding, I wish I had played it up. It’s been satisfying not having to turn that switch on.”
In a previous interview, Law said that he wore an “awful” scent of “blood, faecal matter and sweat” to authentically portray Henry VIII in the movie.
“I read several interesting accounts that you could smell Henry three rooms away. His leg was rotting so badly. He hid it with rose oil,” he said.
“I thought it would have a great impact if I smelt awful.”
