A law unto themselves; Interview; THEY'RE BILLED AS A HOT, HAPPENING

It's hard not to be jealous of Jude Law and Sadie Frost. They're like Britain's answer to Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt - only they're still together. Both beautiful. Both successful actors in their own right. And both still madly in love after seven - yes seven - years together, despite all the pressures that life in showbiz inevitably brings.

If there is such a thing as a perfect couple Jude and Sade are it.

Some cynics probably thought their relationship wouldn't last - even if Jude has got "Sexy Sadie" tattooed on his arm.

Jude is after all the man of the moment. His latest film The Talented Mr Ripley, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's thriller due out here later this month, has gone down a storm in America, earning him a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor - and some expect him to be in the running when the Oscar contenders are announced this week. He's also five years younger than Sadie.

But when you see them together, she's like the yin to his yang.

"What do I love about her?" he laughs. "Many, many things. She's feisty. Yeah, very feisty and she makes a brilliant nut roast! We're both vegetarians and she makes a top nut roast does my wife..."

Maybe not the best compliment a man can pay a woman. But then comes the really romantic bit. The bit every woman would like her partner to say about her - especially after seven years.

"Well, I still fancy her like crazy. When she's in a room I tend not to notice anyone else..."

See what I mean?

Then there's Sadie's view of Jude. Her career was already well established when they met in 1994 while they were making the British thriller, Shopping. Who can forget her portrayal of the erotic Lucy Westenra in Bram Stoker's Dracula? But Sadie claims in the time they have been together he has not just doubled, but trebled her confidence and self-esteem.

"He is completely supportive and nurturing. If I'm having doubts about a role he'll say, 'No, Baby. It's okay. You can do it.' I've never known him to ever bring me down."

And while she's still grabbing her share of the limelight - most recently in the British comedy Rancid Aluminium alongside Rhys Ifans - her relationship and family (she has two sons nine-year-old Finlay, from her previous marriage to former Spandau Ballet star Gary Kemp, and two-year-old Rafferty) are more important than work.

"I love acting, don't get me wrong," she says. "But there's a kind of desperation with actresses who think, 'Oh I'm young and I have to make hay while the sun shines, while my breasts are pert and I'm the It Girl. But I don't have those doubts. I prefer to concentrate on the quality of my life and to be grounded. To have a good relationship with my kids and with my husband means more to me than any roles."

That's not to say that Sadie isn't career-minded. She has her own clothes range and, together with Jude and their Britpack friends Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller and Sean Pertwee, runs a film production company, Natural Nylon.

But while they may be at the hub of Britain's hip young things, they'd rather be at home than out on the town.

Jude, 27, says: "There is this perception of what life is like in the fast lane. And it doesn't really exist for us. The reality is that when I'm not working I'm with Sadie. We get a babysitter maybe once a week so we can go to dinner with friends or go to the pub. Or we stay at home."

It's obvious they have found a welcoming security with each other - as well as romance - despite their very different backgrounds.

Jude's was safe and secure. Both his parents were teachers.

"The love of acting came from them. I mean, they used to take me to the theatre when I was three years old and I do the same with my son. I always wanted to be an actor. And it was always the theatre because it seemed that film wasn't attainable.

"Actually, it wasn't until I saw My Beautiful Launderette with Daniel Day Lewis talking the way that I used to talk, with a South London accent, that I suddenly thought, 'Here's a film about people like me'. And that maybe one day I could be in films."

Sadie's was wild and free. She was the eldest of 10. Her mum and dad, who never married, espoused the Woodstock generation's values of freedom and free love and gave their children non-conformist names, such as Sunshine and Jesus, and a non- traditional upbringing.

"Sometimes my Mum gets quite upset and a bit insulted when I describe my childhood to people and say, 'It was a bit unsettled'. And I suppose when I was about 15 or 16 I rebelled against it and I've wanted to create something more conformist for myself and my own kids as a kind of reaction."

Luckily, Jude shares her views of their children's upbringing.

"We both have very similar opinions on children," he says. "You know, limits, everything in moderation, freedom and restraints and lots of love."

He even cites the children as a reason not to move from their North London home to Los Angeles - despite the pull of Hollywood since his rave reviews in The Talented Mr Ripley, alongside the aforementioned Gwyneth and Matt Damon.

As for Sadie, she's anxious that they don't grow up too fast, and she's not about to let them follow in her footsteps as child actors.

"I've been there (she did a Jelly Tots ad when she was three) and I've seen lots of tragic things happen to kids and teenagers," she says. "The odds are against you to succeed either mentally or emotionally in this business. So the longer you can be allowed to develop outside it, the better.

"My two-year-old already has a sort of shining show business persona and if anything I'm apt to curb it. He's got his whole life to be an actor but such a short while to be a child. It's a precious time."

For that reason, Jude and Sadie try to be together as a family as much as they can, and if that means travelling together so be it. "If working means me being away from the family then there has to be a bloody good reason for me to do it," says Jude.

See what I mean about finding it hard to be jealous?

What with their views on family life, their ability to juggle their careers and still fancy each other, it's no wonder they seem so content.

And far from being a hindrance, Jude thinks the fact that they work in the same industry helps - even when so many showbiz relationships fail.

"I think it's a 50-50 relationship," Jude says. "We understand each other and the ridiculousness of our careers. It's hard to plan anything, but equally we understand it so we can orchestrate it a little better. Mind you, it sometimes means that we're both as disruptive and both as chaotic! But I've never been married to anyone else so I can't compare it."

So you could say that Jude and Sadie really are a Law unto themselves.

Copyright 2000 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.