Jude Law debuts portrayal of Vladimir Putin in ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin’ at Venice Film Festival

Jude Law transforms into Vladimir Putin for Olivier Assayas’ “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” which has its world premiere Sunday at the Venice Film Festival.

Law said Sunday before the premiere that he didn’t enter the project naively, and that he also does not fear repercussions for his portrayal.

“I felt safe in the hands of Olivier,” Law said. “This is a story that was going to be told intelligently with nuance and consideration. We weren’t looking for controversy for controversy’s sake.”

Law, who wore prosthetics for his transformation, said his Putin is “a character in a much larger story.”

“We weren’t trying to define anything about anyone,” Law added.

The film is an adaptation of Giuliano da Empoli’s bestselling book of the same name, an account of the Russian president’s rise to power alongside a fictional adviser called Vadim Baranov, who is played by Paul Dano. It’s partially set in the early 1990s