00:00Please welcome Jurnee Smollett to the stage.
00:07Okay.
00:08All right.
00:09Yeah.
00:10Wow.
00:11Wow.
00:12What an honor it is to be here today to pay tribute to this illustrious career of my
00:31dear friend, my brother Jude Law.
00:34You know, honestly, this is really surreal for me because so many of Jude's performances
00:38have had quite an impact on my artistry.
00:41I don't think I've ever said that to you.
00:44So it's a real privilege to be asked to speak here today.
00:48You know, when I was younger, I remember having a big crush on Dickie Greenleaf from Talented
00:54Mr. Ripley.
00:56I have so many personal favorites of yours.
01:00I mean, Road to Perdition, The Holiday, Sherlock Holmes, The Nest is unbelievable, Fantastic
01:07Beats, the list is too long.
01:10But I truly feel that Jude is one of the greatest actors of his generation.
01:15And I've always, yes, I've always looked to his performances for inspiration.
01:25And yet he keeps outdoing himself.
01:27And you know, the saying is, you're never supposed to meet your heroes.
01:32So when I got the call to join the cast of The Order, I honestly didn't know what to
01:36expect.
01:37I knew signing on to a heist thriller in which the story is rooted in a dark side of American
01:42history would have its challenges.
01:43You see, the film's themes of domestic terrorism and the insidious group of hate demanded it
01:50be handled with the utmost care.
01:53If I'm being frank, I wondered if this brilliant, charismatic British movie star with this prolific
02:00career would be up for the task of tackling and confronting the painful existence of white
02:06supremacy in America.
02:08I wondered, would I be constantly dealing with a massive ego or microaggressions or
02:14a 10-person posse on set?
02:19Or would I be stuck with the task of explaining our deeply painful side of American history?
02:24Honestly, I didn't feel like being an on-set history teacher.
02:29And in Jude, I found the complete opposite.
02:32I found someone who's not only a generous scene partner, but I found an ally and I found
02:38a friend.
02:40I found someone who has zero tolerance for ego.
02:45He was so hungry to unearth the truth, he approached the story with humility and reverence
02:50and curiosity.
02:51And our conversations, they turned into these bold sessions that stretched into the night
02:55as we dissected the layers and exchanged research materials and bounced ideas off our brilliant
03:01filmmaker, Justin Kurzel.
03:03These conversations were invigorating and inspiring, and Jude's insight and commitment
03:07during those discussions added profound depth to the process.
03:11See, one of his greatest strengths is his ability to turn life's beautiful, twisted,
03:18dark and haunting chaos into art.
03:22And there's an energy about him that's just contagious.
03:25It's exhilarating and intentional, and it's the kind of energy that propels everyone around
03:30him to dig deeper and strive for greatness.
03:32His dedication is palpable, and if you watch this work that he did in inhabiting this conflicted
03:38character of Terry Husk in The Order, you will agree with me that it's nothing short
03:43of extraordinary.
03:44You see, his boundless curiosity of character development, Jude would often ponder the question,
03:51what does this cost my character?
03:54And after a career spanning decades, his passion hasn't wavered, and his willing to be used
03:59as a vessel, giving up his own body, his mind and his soul in order to illuminate the
04:04sacrifice of this broken man was something to behold, truly.
04:10You see, Jude, you have the courage to allow your heart to break on screen, and that's
04:16a rare quality.
04:18And doing so, it helps us, the audience, feel seen, and we feel less alone in watching your
04:25work.
04:26So thank you for that.
04:29There's a word thrown around in this town quite often.
04:32It's a word, integrity.
04:35But truthfully, I think we all could agree that it's rare to find people with real integrity
04:42in this town.
04:43You know, so many folks are willing to sell their integrity to the highest bidder, but
04:47not Jude.
04:48You know, he could have easily taken the safer route in his career.
04:51He could have easily built a career solely on his looks, one filled with safe choices
04:56and minimal risk, but not Jude.
04:58He continuously pushes himself outside of his comfort zone, working with an array of
05:03talented filmmakers, jumping from big franchises to small festival indies, telling stories
05:08that challenge the status quo.
05:11Now, when speaking of the integrity of an artist, the great thinker James Baldwin once
05:17said that it is impersonal.
05:20This force you didn't ask for, this destiny which you must accept, it is also your responsibility.
05:28And if you survive it, if you don't cheat, if you don't lie, it is not only your glory,
05:34your achievement, it is almost our only hope.
05:38Because only an artist can tell and only artists have told, since we have heard of man, woman,
05:45or human, what it is like for anyone who gets to this planet to be able to survive it.
05:52So Jude, I thank you, my brother, my friend.
05:56I thank you for creating an environment in which we all felt safe.
06:02I thank you for creating an environment that felt fair and equitable for us to play in.
06:08And witnessing your dedication to the craft has been an experience of a lifetime for me.
06:14Being in your orbit has made me a better artist, I dare say a better person, and I look forward
06:19with anticipation to our next adventure, my dear brother, whatever form it takes.
06:23So congratulations on your much-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
06:28Love you, man.
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