IT’S CLEAR there’s no shortage of cameraderie between Ralph Fiennes and Rhys Ifans – and the scene unfolding as they promote their latest film, The King’s Man, is proof.
The film, directed by Matthew Vaughn, acts as a prequel to the previous two films (Kingsman: The Secret Service, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, starring the Academy Award-winning Colin Firth and Golden Globe winner and Rocketman star Taron Egerton) depicting the creation of England’s first independent intelligence agency.
Talking about the project, Welsh actor Ifans (54), is staring intently at his co-star, Oscar-nominated Fiennes (58).
“Somebody asked me before, ‘what does Ralph’s leg taste like?’ And I said, ‘Oscar’,” declares Ifans triumphantly, lightly placing his hand on Fiennes’ thigh, as if to recreate a scene he’s referenced.
“I haven’t washed my leg since,” quips Fiennes without missing a beat.
As a snapshot of what to expect from the third, action-packed instalment of the Kingsman film franchise, The King’s Man is as much about ridiculing the leaders of history’s great superpowers, as it is about frenetic and unrelenting action sequences.
It sees Bafta-nominated star Ifans transformed into a fictionalised version of early 20th century Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, complete with a mass of dark, unruly hair, accentuated by liberal smudges of kohl eyeliner – a role far-removed from other parts he’s inhabited in films, like The Amazing Spider-Man and Notting Hill.
But playing a sexual deviant was an opportunity to “unleash the beast” in what Ifans describes as “a safe environment”.
“I think we all have our own inner Rasputin – the forbidden self, that’s what we call it,” he says in a near-whisper, with a mischievous grin.
It’s a reflection of the deadpan deliveries that make Ifans and Fiennes’ on-screen interactions so compelling, in a project that’s once again written and overseen by Kick-Ass and Layer Cake director Vaughn, who helmed the previous two films in the franchise.
The cast list for the film reads like an A-Z of international acting talent, with additions of The Night Manager’s Bafta-winning Tom Hollander, Bafta-nominated Alienist actor Daniel Bruhl and Quantum Of Solace star Gemma Arterton only further cementing the film’s credentials.
“What’s great about Matthew is he has a very clear idea of what he wants,” says Ifans of the director. “Because he’s so confident in what he wants, he’s also able to allow his actors to play and tinker when it might be useful.”
It’s a view shared by Hollander (53), who goes on to describe Vaughn as “a force of nature”. Tracing his admiration for the director back to his work as a producer on hit Guy Ritchie film Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, the actor says Vaughn has become “a true original” who audiences should “cherish”.
A tale set in the midst of growing global conflict during the early 20th century, The King’s Man sees Hollander step into the shoes of not one but three interconnected characters.
Depicting England’s King George, German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm and Russian Tsar Nicholas II, the casting, described by Hollander as “a very good joke”, is a comical nod to the interlinked bloodlines and power-hungry nature of Europe’s ruling elite.
“It was sort of an instruction – as things often are in Matthew’s world,” recalls Hollander of his casting. “I had played one of the characters before, so I was familiar with the idea that they were all related to Queen Victoria [and] two were first cousins. The royal families of Europe were all related at that point and so the first World War, if you want to look at it that way, is a disastrous family feud with too few genes spread over too large an area.”
We meet Fiennes’ character Orlando Oxford, who is crippled by grief following the loss of his wife, and the former soldier subsequently makes it his life mission to protect his son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) from the perils of war.
Supported by Arterton’s character Polly and right-hand man Shola played by Djimon Hounsou, the trio go on to form the foundation of the Kingsman intelligence agency, hoping to foil the leaders’ plans and avert international conflict.
35-year old Arterton likens her character to a “rock and roll Mary Poppins”, as combining intelligence and quick wit with a warm and comforting North Yorkshire accent, her character “drew inspiration” from countless women supporting the war effort during the early 20th century.
“In the Second World War, there was the Bletchley circle and these women that were code crackers and absolutely exceptional mathematicians. There were undercover women that were helping with the war effort. [Polly] is kind of inspired by them,” she explains.
The former Bond girl, who played Strawberry Fields alongside Daniel Craig’s Bond in 2008’s Quantum of Solace, recalls the “joy” of her on-set experience – no thanks to the contrast between Ifans’ own demeanour and that of his on-screen Rasputin character.
“I know Rhys as a friend, and he’s the loveliest man – he’s such a gentle soul. I was getting ready one day and I hadn’t seen him as Rasputin yet, and there was this guy outside my trailer having a coffee and I was like, ‘Who’s that?!’ It was Rhys – with this long hair and beard with his eyeliner on – and he just looked so scary.”
The King’s Man arrives in cinemas on December 26.
