Back in the early days of the pandemic, we saw a rise in the popularity of movies dealing with pandemics and infectious diseases. Key among them was the 2011 movie “Contagion,” which shared an eerie resemblance to the pandemic that was catching the world by surprise and the chaos that arose in the race to create a vaccine. Turns out, while most of the world was surprised by the pandemic, Jude Law saw his role in “Contagion” help him anticipate what was to come.
GQ has the scoop, with an interview with Law where the actor breaks down his most iconic characters. “There was absolutely the sense that this was going to happen,” said Law. The great scientists on set with us who had worked with Scott [Z. Burns] the writer and [director] Steven [Soderbergh] were very learned and experienced individuals who knew what to expect. And they all said to us that this was going to happen — and it was a case of when rather than if.”
“The way they described it, which is exactly as it has happened, just made sense,” he continued. “What’s scary is you learn in a set like that because you’re being advised by experts, but it doesn’t necessarily sit.”
The experts working on “Contagion” were far from the only ones predicting the likelihood of a pandemic, but it’s another reminder that there were plenty of warning signs that the current administration chose to ignore. Of course, the fictional disease in “Contagion,” isn’t exactly like what we’re facing now, but many of the plot points in the film now take a different context.
READ MORE: Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Contagion’ Is Especially Sobering In Light Of Current Events
For Law, seeing the early reports of the COVID-19 virus come in, brought back memories of working on the film. “When 2020 started, and we heard about what was initially happening in China, what fast became apparent around the world, it rang alarm bells. Unfortunately, I wasn’t hugely surprised.”