For his latest film Firebrand, Jude Law didn’t just inhabit the role of King Henry VIII – he succeeded in making the entire set reek of the notorious monarch’s bodily rot and putrescence.
In an immersive approach, Law commissioned a special “perfume” blending fetid scents like pus, blood, sweat, and fecal matter to evoke the suppurating leg ulcer that plagued Henry in his final years. The noxious concoction became a powerful sensory tool as Law aimed to capture the paradox of England’s ruler projecting strength and divinity while his corporeal form steadily decayed.
“There was this rancid presence which everyone had to pretend wasn’t really there because it was the king,” Law explained to Entertainment Weekly. “It seemed an interesting addition to create the right mood to perform in.”
Law’s co-star Alicia Vikander, who plays Henry’s sixth wife Katherine Parr, admitted being shocked the first time he unveiled the repulsive scent on set.
“It was a physical shock,” Vikander said. “Smell is a very direct way into an emotional state.”
While initially repulsed, Law says he gradually acclimated to the foul odor, allowing it to permeate his performance and transform his very physicality.
“Putting on the clothes was putting on the smell, which was putting on the king,” he reflected.
The old-world olfactory approach was encouraged by Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz, who aimed to strip away.ons of nobility and depict the Tudors not as lofty blue-bloods, but flawed human beings.
“I wanted to forget the idea of monarchy and go into the intimacy of a couple falling apart,” Aïnouz told Collider. “The moment you see them as humans with red blood, you start to think ‘What do they wear? How do they eat? How do they live?'”
To achieve that raw, earthy atmosphere, Aïnouz incorporated animal scents, smoky fires, herbs, and food smells into the production – making Law’s “fecal matter perfume” the defining final touch.
“With the smell, it was really wonderful what we achieved in regards to the crew and other actors,” said Aïnouz. “Smell triggers memory and a state like music…an energy in the room.”
While undoubtedly pungent, Law’s odoriferous commitment to Firebrand’s reality exemplifies the romantic pursuit of immersing an audience in a long-departed world – even when that realm reeks of festering flesh and bodily degradation.
As Aïnouz puts it, the movie’s greatest revelations came from viewing its historical figures not as exalted pages from a textbook, but “humans with red blood” grappling with the same mortal fragilities as anyone. And few things make one feel more human than revolting smells.