2. Jerome Eugene Morrow - Gattaca (1997)
You don't hear all that much about Gattaca these days, which is a big shame considering it contains absolutely wonderful performances from all three of its leads: Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke and - you guessed it - Jude Law. Known today as something of a "smart science-fiction" movie (as if there should be another type!), this flop failed at the box office for just that reason - people didn't seem to get it (or, perhaps, they just didn't want to). The story concerns a questionable future in which children can be born with their parents' best hereditary traits. In Gattaca, Law plays Jerome Morrow in what was one of his first substantial movie roles, two years before the next movie on this list made him a huge star - in fact, lots of people remember seeing Jude Law for the very first time in this picture. As Morrow (alongside Uma Thurman), Jude Law is poised as a "perfect human specimen," which could mistakenly lead to the conclusion that he was simply hired for his gorgeous looks. Not so: his performance here is entrancing and hypnotic and filled with brilliant acidity - he makes the tragedy of Morrow's situation real.