Alan Ritchson explains why he asked The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare director Guy Ritchie to include far more violence than planned.

SUMMARY

 Alan Ritchson pushed for more violence in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare to accurately portray his character’s hatred for Nazis.
 The intense scene Ritchson suggested showcases Anders Lassen’s mission to destroy the enemy.
 Ritchson’s understanding of Lassen’s psyche and history as a real Danish soldier adds depth to his performance in the upcoming film.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare star Alan Ritchson says he wanted more violence in the film. From acclaimed action director Guy Ritchie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare tells the story of a group of British military personnel who are recruited to strike against German forces during the height of WW2. In addition to Ritchson, the film features a leading cast including Henry Cavill, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza González, Cary Elwes, Henry Golding, and Babs Olusanmokun.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Ritchson explains what he thought of the action needed in the film. According to the actor, he approached director Ritchie to say that the upcoming The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare should be more violent.

“We should see malice in the knife,” Ritchson reported saying to Ricthie. To Ritchson, it felt like the film should be “gory” and “expose innards,” since his character “hated these Nazis” and “had a mission” to destroy them. Check out the full quote from Ritchson below:

I came into his trailer and I said, ‘Here’s my perspective on the action. Anders Lassen hated these Nazis. This was not just a dutiful soldier. This guy fucking had a mission. He wanted to murder these guys. He didn’t just want to kill him. He wanted hate kills. We should see malice in the knife. It should be gory and we should expose innards as he cuts people. We shouldn’t hide anything. It should all be in your face. I was insane. He said he would think about it.

We designed some stuff the next day. We’d been rehearsing and planning all night long. Guy came in and sat in the corner out of the way. We unleashed this scene that is now in a moment in the trailer where you can see Anders in the tower killing these dudes in hand-to-hand combat.

We spent the whole day shooting the scene, and it was all very improvisational. I was thinking, what if on the way up the stairs, you see these red strands dripping with blood and you realize Anders has hung a dude by his intestines?

What about if he had a heart in his hands? We just kept thinking of how do we make this vision come to life? The props guy couldn’t get intestines in time but we had a pig’s heart. We did the best we could with what we had, but it was a blast.

Alan Ritchson’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Character Explained

From this description, it sounds like Ritchson succeeded at least in part in his encouragement of violence. Using a “pig’s heart” in a scene certainly sounds like an intense moment of blood and gore for the main character.

What is notable about Ritchson’s request is it comes from a character-driven place. Ritchson is not proposing more violence for stylization or spectacle, but rather because he thinks it is realistic to the character of Anders Lassen. This makes it seem like Ritchson has a deep understanding of Lassen’s psyche, boding well for his performance.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is based on the 2015 Damien Lewis book of the same name, which is a non-fiction historical account. Lassen was a Danish soldier who became isolated from his home country during a 1940 German invasion. After that point, he voluntarily joined forces with the British in an effort to defeat the Nazis.

Lassen’s history helps contextualize what Ritchson is saying about the character’s motivation. The fact that Lassen elects to be a part of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare British team says a lot about his intrinsic values to fight in the war, which extends beyond merely the support of his own nation’s troops. This trait will make for an interesting character in the film, and hopefully, one that Ritchson can pull off well.