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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

A new element to Watson

Law
Jill Lawless Associated Press

Poor Dr. Watson. Always the sidekick, never the star.

Jude Law hopes to rectify that situation with his charismatic performance alongside Robert Downey Jr. in “Sherlock Holmes,” making the detective’s right-hand-man a handsome hero in his own right.

He’s just not that comfortable with his new nickname: “Hotson.”

“Mostly I was only hot because I was wearing those thick tweed suits, massive overcoats and hat and gloves,” he quips. “I was always the one perspiring on set.”

Law stresses that the film’s version of Watson – a dapper army veteran with an eye for the ladies – is firmly based on the 19th-century stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Director Guy Ritchie wanted to give the tales a 21st-century spin while staying close to the original material.

“There’s a reference in one of the books to Watson being very popular with women,” Law says. “So that fits.”

Far from being the bumbler familiar from classic Holmes movies, Watson is a foil and an equal for the detective, and their bickering relationship gives the film a big dose of buddy comedy.

Law, 36, has had an eventful 2009. He played a critically praised “Hamlet” in London’s West End and on Broadway – “one of the most remarkable experiences in my life.”

He was also in the news for fathering a child with model Samantha Burke.

Avoiding the paparazzi is a chore, but he says he doesn’t let it stop him.

“You just live accordingly,” Law says. “You learn back routes to an awful lot of places. The glamour is going in through the kitchen and over the back fence.”

The birthday bunch

Actress Mary Tyler Moore is 73. Actor Jon Voight is 71. Singer Marianne Faithfull is 63. Actor Ted Danson is 62. Singer-actress Yvonne Elliman is 58. Actress Patricia Clarkson is 50. Comedian Paula Poundstone is 50. Actor Jude Law is 37. Actor Mekhi Phifer is 35. Actor Shawn Hatosy (“The Cooler,” “The Faculty”) is 34.