ALAN RITCHSON WANTED TO ‘PAY RESPECT’ TO REAL-LIFE WWII HERO IN MOST RECENT ROLE
REACHER star Alan Ritchson is honoring the real-life World War II hero he portrays in his most recent movie, THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE.
In the film, “inspired by a true story and missions that took place during World War II,” Ritchson plays Danish soldier Anders Lassen.
The actor explained that he was nervous to take on the role because he wanted to portray Lassen well.
“I really wanted to pay respect to Anders Lassen and to the team of people that paved the way for the rest of us to have real freedoms and equality,” Ritchson told Entertainment Weekly. “That story matters, even though it’s definitely got this almost fanciful spin on it with the Guy Ritchie fingerprint — we’re still talking about the thematics that are really important, so I wanted to get this guy right. And he was an animal. He was the first to campaign to make the bow and arrow an official weapon of war, and got it done.”
THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE earned a -2 content score from Movieguide® due to strong violence. However, the review highlights the movie’s “Strong moral worldview with very strong patriotic content and very strong opposition to German National Socialism and antisemitism during World War II.” Part of Movieguide®’s review reads:
THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE is a war movie and spy thriller based on a true story from World War II. In January 1942, an elite force of British commandoes and spies conducted a mission against a German merchant ship off the west central coast of Africa. The ship regularly supplied weapons and food to German U-boats preventing trade ships from reaching Britain. The commandos are reckless, but courageous. When the mission suffers complications, they find ways around the problems with panache and humor, laced with a little bit of insanity.
THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE is an exciting, ripsnorting adventure movie and spy thriller. It’s as much a spy movie as it is a war movie, so it’s not filled with wall-to-wall action. Nevertheless, it has many combat scenes, lots of fighting and a high body count. Director Guy Ritchie and the cast do a great job. The movie isn’t very gory, but there are some bloody images, such as a slit throat. UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE also has two “f” words and one strong profanity. So, strong or extreme caution is advised.
Ritchson’s commitment to the role meant he practiced his archery skills while filming REACHER Season 2.
“Me and my stuntman, Ryan Tarran — who’s been a double of mine for a while now — would go train together at an archery course to the point where we would be prepared for any scenario that we’d find on set,” he explained. “I could run and dive and slide and shoot arrows from any position, moving forward or backwards.”
With no time to spare, when filming for REACHER wrapped up, Ritchson was on set for THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE.
“I wrapped REACHER season 2 on a Saturday, I flew on Sunday, landed at 11:30 at night in Turkey, had to go straight to the fitting so that I had wardrobe for the next day, because I went to bed, got up in the morning at 7:00 and I’m on set,” Ritchson described the hectic schedule. “And the first thing Guy has me do is, he’s like, ‘See that twig over there? I want you to shoot that twig and then shoot these guards and then march down to the fence.’ All right, here we go.”
Movieguide® previously reported on how Ritchson hopes to share the Gospel through non-Christian roles:
After facing backlash for playing the titular character in REACHER, Alan Ritchson explains how he takes on non-Christian roles to spread the Gospel.
“I love playing Reacher. I love telling this story. I love playing a character who creates a kind of moral ambiguity that we should struggle against as we consider whether or not what he’s doing is good all the time or morally right,” Ritchson said in a YouTube video.
“A lot of people, supposed Christians especially, criticize me for playing Reacher as if the only TV that should exist is seeing people silently folding their hands in the pew of a church. I mean, what kinds of stories are we supposed to tell?” he continued. “If we look at scripture, what do you find? You see a thousand years of an infinitely holy God holding tension with human beings as He tells the story of who He is.”
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