By Gill Pringle
Fresh from shepherding Daniel Craig’s James Bond toward his surprisingly bleak denouement in No Time To Die, Ralph Fiennes is back to spying and battling evil in a decidedly more florid and fantastical fashion in The King’s Man, a prequel to 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service and 2017’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Winding right back to the beginning to showcase the creation of the gentlemanly espionage agency that drove the first two films, The King’s Man is set during WW1, and follows Ralph Fiennes’ Orlando, The Duke Of Oxford, an oh-so-proper former military man who battles to thwart the world-dominating plans of an evil genius. Fiennes’ man of action is backed by a crew of butt-kicking friends, colleagues and contemporaries, including Gemma Arterton (Quantum Of Solace) as the fiercely loyal and self-determined Polly, who is as handy with a quip as she is a gun. Ralph Fiennes and Gemma Arterton talk about their influences and experiences working on The King’s Man.
In the first two movies, the scenario was purely fictional, while this new film takes place in WW1 and involves historical figures and situations. What does that change in terms of the mood and scale of the movie?
Ralph Fiennes: “The WW1 setting definitely gives the movie a more weighty and serious tone. Right from the very beginning, I was quite candid with Matthew about the tone of the film. I said, ‘I like what this could be, but aren’t you giving yourself quite a challenge? You’ve got this very serious, tragic element, but that has to sit alongside all of this action and slightly campy humour. How are you going to bring it together?’ But I think he has. The film delivers in its last 45 minutes everything that a Kingsman fan would want. Matthew has fun with the history, not with WW1, but with the figures of Rasputin or the Czar of Russia, for instance, he is quite mischievous with it. The fictional characters, like myself, are then involved with some of these characters, so it’s unusual. It’s not like another Kingsman movie.”
Were you fans of the original two movies? Have you read Mark Millar’s comic books?
Gemma Arterton: “Well, I was an ignoramus…I had no prior knowledge! Obviously when I read this script, I watched both of the films. But I am glad that I hadn’t seen them before I decided to read the script because I just saw this film for what it was. It has the Kingsman fun and slickness, and the Matthew Vaughn qualities that all of the fans are going to love, but it is a completely new set of characters. It was helpful for me not to have known much about Kingsman from the beginning. And yet, I wish I had when I was reading the script for the first time, because there were lots of in-jokes that I must have missed. But if you haven’t seen the Kingsman films, you could still see this one and be reintroduced in a new way. It’s still going to satisfy the Kingsman fans.”
Ralph Fiennes: “Like Gemma, I hadn’t seen them either, and after Matthew approached me, I went and saw the Kingsman films. I also saw Kick-Ass, which was fantastic. Matthew is unusual in that he is helming these big budget movies, but he’s the author. I got confidence from the fact that Matthew knows how to make a movie of this kind. He also wants to depart a bit from the other Kingsman films, so I trusted that he knows what he wants to say. It’s very different from the other Kingsman films. The historical element and the WW1 element definitely take it away from what people might expect.”
This movie is set in a war period, so is there any special kind of preparation for this period?
Gemma Arterton: “Technically, your performance has to be slightly crisper because it’s a certain style, so it’s a little bit more muscular actually, just to convey the period. But also, there’s so much historical research that you need to do, and the way that you hold yourself. But also, with the fighting style, and with the way that the weapons are handled and things like that, there was a little bit of training for that. But Ralph had a lot more to do in that respect. [Laughs]”
Ralph Fiennes: “It’s always an interesting question when you do a period film because there’s always the legacy of attitudes that people play in period films. Gemma is right; there are behavioural things that you have to follow. The clothes are very well designed by Michele Clapton, and they sort of tell you how to behave physically a lot of the time. There are also certain things about how people eat a meal or serve a drink or those kind of things, which you can research. But essentially, the human being inside might have the same emotions and feelings and a similar interior landscape to someone today. And yeah, the sword fighting is not something that we practice regularly today, so that is new and another skill. But there is always something, and it’s usually behavioural, that you have get your head and body around.”
Gemma, did you look at any kick ass historical nannies for this role? And also Ralph, you have met many members of the Royal Family throughout your career at various gala performances. Did anyone in The Royal Family inspire you?
Ralph Fiennes: “No, none of my references are Royal. There were various kinds of men from certain kinds of backgrounds that I could think of that were more useful to me, but not Royals, no. I mean, I have shaken The Prince Of Wales’ hand, but I haven’t hobnobbed with the Royals that much. [Laughter]”
Gemma Arterton: “I always have Mary Poppins, the character of Mary Poppins, in mind. There is a little bit of a nod to her, in terms of her preciseness and that she can do anything and get things done. My character Polly is very to the point and can put you in your place with a few words, just like Mary Poppins. But unlike Mary Poppins, Polly is the rock and roll version, she’s quite daring. But there was an homage to Mary Poppins; Matthew and I were talking about Polly, and we did say that she is the badass version of Mary Poppins. [Laughs]”
The first two movies had really over the top action sequences. Did you get to do any of these, and what was the most fun thing that you got to do?
Ralph Fiennes: “I have a fight with a giant, which was really fun. It was a real giant! He was a real guy! He was about seven foot five. [Laughs] And it was a complete barney…a mad, fun sequence. I enjoyed that sequence the most.”
Gemma Arterton: “I have a scene where I get covered in cheese. [Laughter] That was definitely my most ridiculous scene. I get splattered with Swiss cheese, so that was kind of memorable. [Laughter]”
Ralph Fiennes: “What was it made of?”
Gemma Arterton: “Ambrosia custard. [Laughs] It tasted nice. But even though it tasted nice, I just kept thinking, ‘Ugh, it’s meant to be cheese!’ I was a bit worried that I’d sink my nose in shards. I think Matthew had it in his mind. I remember him saying, ‘I really want you to get covered in cheese in this scene, and I thought, ‘You are just going to let him have that one!’ [Laughs]”
Gemma, how did you feel giving life to this amazing and empowering woman, the kind of woman that we really need in this moment?
Gemma Arterton: “Polly is the sort of woman that can sort anything out. She can get things done, much like many of the good female world leaders that we have. It’s always nice to play strong, capable people. But at the same time, she can have fun, and she’s got a glint in her eye. I am an advocate for strong female characters, but not all the time. It’s good to see other types of women and personalities. But in this particular film, yes, she’s very, very capable and very, very strong. You feel like you can trust her, and that you are in good hands with her. She will help, and she will sort you out and get things done.”
In the first movie, Colin Firth says “manners maketh the man.” So what does it take to make a Kingsman in this new film?
Ralph Fiennes: “I think it’s exactly the same. Manners is about thinking about other people, and it’s about an internal sense of serving others and helping others and supporting others. It’s about defending other people…people who are under threat, and under siege. Manners can cover not just how you hold a teacup, but also your awareness of other people. That’s the case for the Duke of Oxford, who is very much from the same tradition.”
The King’s Man is released in cinemas on January 6.
