This Is Why Alan Ritchson Signed Up for ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’
Apparently, a Zoom call with Guy Ritchie goes a long way.
THE BIG PICTURE
Alan Ritchson’s success on Reacher has opened doors for his film career, landing him a role in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming spy caper.
Ritchson’s experience working with Ritchie on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was a new and exciting challenge for the actor.
The film, described as one of Ritchie’s best, is set to hit theaters on April 19th and features a star-studded cast including Henry Cavill.
Alan Ritchson has used his time on Reacher well. Not only is the series one of the most viewed streaming shows around, but he’s used that success to build himself a burgeoning film career. Next up for the giant of a man is The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a spy caper from Guy Ritchie.
Based on the book by Damien Lewis, the story follows a secret organisation which was formed in 1940 after a request from Prime Minister Winston Churchill and was used to arrange covert operations designed to take down the Nazis.
Ritchson co-stars with Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, Eiza González, Alex Pettyfer and Hero Fiennes Tiffin. In the movie, Ritchson plays Anders Lassen, modelled after a Danish soldier who was highly skilled using a bow and arrow.
Ritchson told The Hollywood Reporter that, due to the success of Reacher, he gets a lot of offers for films which allows him to be picky about what jobs he takes. However, when it came to speaking with Ritchie, his eagerness almost couldn’t be hidden, so when the chance to speak with the director via video call came up, it was almost a case of “when will the offer come?”
“I am very selective about what I do. We got on Zoom. He was in London and I was in Toronto filming, and we just talked about barbecues, grilling steaks, his favorite pub. We just got to know each other as two dudes for 45 minutes.
I kept thinking, ‘When is the question going to come about the movie and what we are going to do?’ At the end, he said, ‘I really like you. I think we can have great fun together. Do you want to do a movie with me?’ Of course I said that I would love to. He’s a legend. A couple weeks later, an offer comes in for Anders Lassen.”
‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ is “Guy Ritchie’s Best Film in a Long Time”
It was a whole new experience for Ritchson. A man who was so used to knowing every word of dialogue on the page was entering the world of fast-paced, British banter and he soon learned the ebb and flow of what worked on a Guy Ritchie project.
“I wrapped a night shoot on Saturday morning in Toronto, and was scheduled to be filming with Guy on Monday in Turkey,” said Ritchson. “By the time I landed, I was an archer and had the script memorised. But then, on the first day, somebody came to fetch me for a meeting with Guy in his trailer.
Henry Cavill was there and they were talking about scene work for that day. A little confused, I said, ‘Wait what are we doing now?’ They said, ‘Forget the script, we’re not shooting the script. We’re going to come up with something better.’ It was a blast. This is the coolest movie and one of Guy’s best in a long time.”
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare opens in theaters on April 19th.
