From Playground Fights to Awesome Accents: Jude Law’s Early Instincts

An artist's depiction of Jude Law avoiding getting his boatrace punched in a school fight

My wife went to school with Jude Law. She still remembers a playground fight where Jude, caught in the middle, pleaded with the others not to hit him in the face because “I’m an actor!” Even back then, he clearly understood that his voice, face, and presence were his instruments — tools he would need to protect if he wanted to make it.

Fast forward to today, and Jude Law is starring in Netflix’s Black Rabbit. In a recent Fresh Air Weekend interview on NPR, he spoke about building his New York nightclub-owner character — and what struck me most was how deeply he ties accent to identity.

“The trick I find that helps is to be very specific about an accent. You can’t just say it’s a sort of 'general New York'. It’s like, okay, where did he grow up, and what did the parents sound like?”

Law's character Jake getting a cup of coffee knocked into his lap on the series Black Rabbit

This is something I stress in my own coaching: an accent isn’t something

you simply “put on.” It’s rooted in family, geography, class, and experience. Law explained how he creates a full biography for his characters — not just their backstory, but the voices around them, the music on the street, the TV shows in the living room. All of those elements leave traces in how a person speaks.

He even reflected on his own accent:

“My mother was from the North of England, so I have a little bit of the Northern England in my Rs. My dad’s from the South of England… and I grew up in quite a strong Southeast London accent, which I kind of tried to hide because I wanted to sound more posh. But it comes out if I go home or if I’m with certain friends. So all of that’s in my voice.”

That honesty is refreshing — because none of us have a “pure” or “fixed” accent. We all carry layers of influence that shift depending on where we are and who we’re with.

Law taking his mouth and throat to the gym

Law also likened accent training to going to the gym:

“The technique is actually quite like taking your mouth and throat to the gym. You’re basically teaching it to do different things. So you have drills, funny sentences… and you listen a lot.”

Exactly. Accent work is both intellectual and physical. You need to understand the why — the personal and cultural factors that shape a voice — and you need to put in the reps so your mouth and tongue naturally adjust.

As someone who coaches actors, narrators, and other professionals, I love hearing an actor of Law’s calibre articulate this so clearly. It’s a reminder that accents are not just decorative. They’re inseparable from identity — and when approached with depth, they bring characters to life.

If you’re curious about how accent coaching can help bring authenticity to your own work — on stage, on set, or behind the microphone — I’d be glad to chat.