Director Guy Ritchie and stars Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Alex Pettyfer chat with The Hollywood Reporter all about their new film 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.' Ritchie reveals what made these actors the perfect group of "ungentlemanly" men and the cast share the most surprising thing they learned while researching their characters. 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' is out everywhere on April 19th.
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00:00 You guys looking at me like...
00:02 It's just little Alex.
00:04 Little Al. Big Al.
00:06 Henry Cavill is leading a ragtag group of ungentlemanly men in Guy Ritchie's latest film,
00:12 The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
00:14 The film, based on real historical events, follows Operation Postmaster,
00:18 where a top secret combat unit known as the Special Operations Executive
00:22 used unconventional practices to battle the Nazis during World War II.
00:26 The SOE also influenced the classic James Bond novels from Ian Fleming.
00:30 The cast, including Cavill, Henry Golding, Hero Finds Tiffin, Alex Pettifer and director Ritchie,
00:36 spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about rounding up this group of misfits.
00:40 What makes this group, Alan, the Henrys, Alex and Hero, the perfect, ungentlemanly men?
00:46 There was some great director that said...
00:48 [laughs]
00:50 Directing is really 90% of its casting.
00:54 So, as long as you cast the requisite miscreants for this particular endeavor,
01:02 then really the rest of it takes place, takes care of itself after that.
01:07 The film is, of course, loosely based on history, with many of the characters created for the film.
01:12 However, Cavill and Pettifer's characters were based on real-life historical figures.
01:16 What was the most surprising thing you learned while researching these characters?
01:21 I've just recently learned that Major Gus Marsh Phillips was an amateur poet and author.
01:27 And he wrote a novel based upon the adventures that he had been on with the SOE.
01:35 And had he not died during World War II, he might have beaten Ian Fleming to writing a Bond-like series of books.
01:42 I was waiting for a poem.
01:44 [laughs]
01:46 I haven't memorized that.
01:48 Do you have any of these poems memorized? Can you recite one for us right now?
01:52 Yeah, go on. Give it a go.
01:54 No, I don't.
01:56 [laughs]
01:58 Another cast member based on history was Alan Richson, who plays Anders Lassen,
02:03 known for definitely using some unconventional fighting methods during the war.
02:07 What was the fight training like for you all?
02:09 Did you all do most of your own stunts, or how did that work?
02:12 Alan did all the hard work there.
02:14 Sadly, you don't have Alan today.
02:16 Yeah.
02:18 And Alan is the man you need to ask that question.
02:21 Henry, Golday, I was going to ask, I didn't know if any of your sword training from Snake Eyes helped out for this at all.
02:28 No, no, no. Sadly not.
02:30 Like the boy said, a lot of the close hand-to-hand combat, Alan got a lot of it.
02:36 But actually, Alex was a bit tasty on screen as well. He had a couple bits.
02:40 I think you'd be jealous of what he did.
02:42 I was so jealous that I was put in a bolt hole, and then unfortunately I decided when I was watching Alan doing what he does best,
02:50 I felt the need to want to have maybe 2% of the activities.
02:56 Henry, you called Alan "Big Al" on Instagram.
03:00 Is that an alter ego he had on set? And did any of the rest of you guys get any fun nicknames?
03:06 No, I've never called Alan "Big Al" apart from that one time.
03:10 And as I said in the post, it just felt appropriate in the vacuum that is Instagram.
03:17 We had two Henrys. We had Hero's character name was Henry, and Alex, I won't tell you what his nickname was.
03:24 Bit rude.
03:26 Uh-oh. We've got to hear it.
03:28 I mean, yeah, we definitely had nicknames.
03:30 You guys looking at me like...
03:32 It was just "Little Alex".
03:34 Little Al. Big Al.
03:36 And while they may be playing the most ungentlemanly of men, the cast is anything but.
03:41 What would you say is the most gentlemanly thing about the man sitting next to you?
03:46 Would I do Guy or would I do Henry?
03:48 You will do Henry and then we'll go around and then Alex can do Guy.
03:52 Okay. Better be good.
03:54 I like this.
03:57 Henry Cavill stands up whenever a lady walks into a room.
04:02 And he's been consistent with that all the way through.
04:05 I made two movies with him and I'm in a room with him all the time when I'm making those movies.
04:10 And you have never failed to stand up when a lady walks in the room.
04:13 There you go.
04:15 Henry's manners are impeccable.
04:17 He's always incredibly polite.
04:20 There's no point where he's losing that sense of decorum and effing and blinding on set.
04:26 My hero is everything I wanted to be when I was his age.
04:31 I think he's got such a strong head on his shoulders.
04:34 An amazing career ahead of him.
04:36 Quite jealous of the fact that he's so young and handsome.
04:40 But the most humble, humble young man.
04:44 The first night that we all met each other at the hotel we were staying at the night before filming,
04:49 Alex was the one who organised the WhatsApp group and got us all together and put it to table and got us to sit down.
04:54 And he'd done his homework on all of us and was very complimentary.
04:58 And I remember going back to my room from that dinner thinking, "What a stand-up guy."
05:03 Good luck.
05:05 [Laughter]
05:08 Go on.
05:10 Stick it to him.
05:12 Josh.
05:14 I think opportunity.
05:18 Guy presents opportunity for people and guides you in a way that I can't put into words or articulate.
05:27 Well, you want to.
05:29 I want to, but yeah, he has given me an opportunity that I will forever be grateful for
05:36 because I sit on this couch, per one, with a band of brothers that I can honestly say I love.
05:42 And I had the most fun experience on this set that I've ever had on any film.
05:49 And that is genuinely because of Guy.
05:52 [Laughter]
05:55 It's very good.
05:58 For more on this interview, head to THR.com.
06:01 And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter News.
06:06 [Closing music]