Theo James enters Guy Ritchie’s world in ‘The Gentlemen’
For Theo James, it’s clear that despite his star billing, “The Gentlemen” remains very much Guy Ritchie’s show. Ritchie, once wed to Madonna, became known for his British gangster movies (“Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “RocknRolla,” “Snatch”). He returned to that turf with his 2019 hit “The Gentlemen” starring Matthew McConnaughey, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant.
With this Netflix series, Ritchie’s spun off his original into an 8-episode action yarn. An entirely new cast is led by James (“White Lotus 2”), Kaya Scodelario, Vinnie Jones, Giancarlo Esposito and Joely Richardson.
“The central conceit is it’s this aristocratic element, the crumbling façade of the British Empire — whatever that means — pushed against the underbelly with Guy crashing those two together with comedy and humor. The very Brit humor I love: sardonic, wild and lots of tea drinking,” James, 39, explained Wednesday in a virtual press conference from London.
James’ Duke — he actually has a title and a grand “pile” or mansion — is in classic James Bond tradition both stylish and deadly.
As to how that mix is actually done, James pointed to Ritchie’s humor. “With Guy there’s a lot of sending itself up. As soon as you lean into any kind of drama, he likes to quickly undercut it.
“Which I like in dealing with a show that’s primarily a comedy but is dealing with insane situations. The swagger of it is what we like about Guy’s work — and the way he’s shooting the clothes and how he lets the music elevate the show.”
“Gentlemen” rides along on the love/hate combustible pairing of the Duke and his coke-addicted, idiot older brother Freddy (Daniel Ings), rightfully known as The Liability and whose wildly out there performance nearly walks away with the series.
“That relationship,” James said, “sets up the mood and the stakes in the first episode. We wanted them to have a real relationship within the universe of Guy Ritchie.
“They love each other but also hate each other and that was rich for us. We were able to mine that as much as possible.”
Scodelario’s Susie Glass is (rightfully) known as the criminal operations’ Boss. She was impressed with Ritchie’s keen understanding.
“The angle that interested me is seeing a female character in this universe. For me, I didn’t want to make her a powerful woman, just a powerful person.
“She’s also a grown-up when we meet her. She’s a woman, she’s intelligent. She knows what she wants. She is interesting. I love the idea of playing someone who’s already established!
“She doesn’t need to prove herself to anyone in the room and it’s rare to have a female character like that.”
“The Gentlemen” streams on Netflix March 7.