The King’s Man premiere: On the red carpet with Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Tom Hollander, Charles Dance, Rhys Ifans, Harris Dickinson and Matthew Vaughn

The King’s Man is the prequel to Kingsman and the third movie in the franchise. Directed once again by action film veteran Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Layer Cake), it takes the story back to the early 20^th century to explore the origin story of how the British spy agency was first formed during the first world war. The period set film features high-velocity action but also an emotional family drama with real historical figures woven into the story.

Vaughn has assembled an all-star cast with Ralph Fiennes playing a pacifist Duke who wishes to protect his son, rising star Harris Dickinson playing said son, Conrad, the lovely Gemma Arterton in the role of operation mastermind Polly, the always brilliant Tom Hollander as Nicolas II of Russia, Charles Dance as Herbert Kitchener and Rhys Ifans as the cult figure of Rasputin.

This week, the cast and creatives hit the red carpet in central London for the film’s premiere.

Arterton shared how excited she was to finally show the film to fans, how her character of Polly is the matriarch and brains behind the operation despite being in a male-dominated world and that she’s a massive fan of Vaughn and his singular voice in the industry.

Fiennes spoke about his belief the cinema experience should not be lost, why he thinks Vaughn is an auteur director in a commercial context and playing the pacifist Duke of Oxford in the film.

Dickinson reflected on the long wait for the film to be released, his character of Conrad and working with Fiennes and Vaughn.

Hollander spoke about playing Nicolas II of Russia, the different tones of the film and how fans can expect to be amazed.

Ifans shared why we all need a good night out, having to get super fit for his stunts and reading up on Rasputin ahead of playing the figure. 

Dance reflected on the complexity of the story, explained a bit about his character of Herbert Kitchener and his epic moustache and how Vaughn is a one-man machine.

And Vaughn spoke of the need to fight to keep cinema alive, wanting to make an epic historic adventure and how his cast were a dream come true.

Watch more of the action and arrivals on the red carpet below:

Sarah Bradbury

The King’s Man is released nationwide on 26^th December 2021.

Watch the trailer for The King’s Man here: