British actor Jude Law, nominated for an Academy Award for his leading role in “Cold Mountain,” said Wednesday his American rival, Sean Penn, deserved to win the Oscar for “Mystic River.”
Law told a news conference at the Berlin Film Festival, where the Civil War epic was being screened, that he wouldn’t want to bet on the outcome of the voting by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences but felt Penn was the best of the lot.
“I’m probably shooting myself in the foot here,” Law said, when asked who he would bet on to win.
“In my opinion, I’ve always loved Sean Penn’s work. He’s someone respected, and looked up to, and admired for years and years and years. I think it should be his year, personally.”
Also in the running for the best actor Oscar on Feb. 29 are Ben Kingsley for “House of Sand and Fog,” Bill Murray for the low-budget “Lost in Translation,” and Johnny Depp for “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.”
Law also said he was open to the offers to play the James Bond character should an offer come along. When told by a Swedish journalist that her newspaper had voted him as their favorite choice to be the next James Bond, he replied:
“I’d have to wait until the offer came. In the past I’ve been a little bit reluctant to play roles that would label me as one particular personality or character. But having said that I’m getting older and who knows. I know my kids would love it.”