A new role for Olivier? Sort of

It has been 15 years since the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier died -- but he’s making a Hollywood comeback nonetheless.

Footage of the actor in his youth is used to create the villainous human leader of an army of gigantic killer robots in the fantasy adventure “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.” New dialogue was recorded by another actor; Olivier’s image comes from films and archive footage.

Jude Law, who stars as Sky Captain, said that it was a dream come true to perform alongside -- sort of -- the classically trained Olivier.

“It was important we find someone with incredible power. And a lot of the great classical actors of today have already done those roles,” Law said, citing Ian McKellen, Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley. “We suddenly thought, ‘Hang on a minute.... It might actually work with someone who is deceased.’ ”