Tim Walker: Better a bald head than a bad review

It comes as a source of some cheer to men less attractive than Jude Law – by which I mean all of us – that the actor is suffering significant hair-loss. I'd gladly exchange my full head of hair for his face, but it's good to know that nobody's perfect, not even the sometime Best Looking Actor In The World™.

The star, it is alleged, wore various items of headgear – beanies, trilbies, bowlers – at public appearances between October and January, in an effort to prevent the paparazzi catching a glimpse of his widow's peak. Of course, he may just have been cold.

Still, some will argue that his incipient male pattern baldness limits Law's ability to come by plum roles. In 2010, fellow actor James Nesbitt debuted a new head of hair – the result of two transplants – claiming it had transformed his career prospects. After winning £130,000 in phone-hacking damages, Law has sufficient disposable cash for 13 such procedures, at an estimated cost of £10,000 each (or £3.75 per follicle). In his case, however, I'd advise against it.

Let's look at some recent films in which Law's hair featured prominently: Enemy at the Gates has a rating of just 54 per cent on the film review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. The Holiday has 47, Alfie 49, and Sleuth a mere 36. Those in which Law sported either no hair, or significant hats with which to conceal it, fared far better: Road to Perdition (83); Sherlock Holmes (70); A Game of Shadows (60).

The results aren't conclusive, but I find them compelling. Law is better suited to supporting roles, which tend not to require flowing locks, than he is to romantic leads. I urge him to embrace his baldness.