Director Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of Mark Millar and David Gibbon's The Secret Service comics is apparently now being called KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE, and EW has a few new images from the upcoming movie, featuring Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine and newcomer Taron Egerton. No word on why the title has been changed, but EW did get a chance to talk to Colin Firth about his new movie.
Check them out:
Colin Firth on his first big action flick:
I was afraid it was ridiculous. I think what’s brilliant about Matthew is that he takes people’s expectations and likes to mess with them. When we first met the year before, he said, “One of the reasons I’m casting you is because you’re probably the last person anyone could imagine kicking people and kicking off the villains.” And that was the surprise he wanted to pull. And he said, by the way, “You’re going to have to do it. Are you up to it?” That’s one of the reasons he got me so early, to start training. He said, “You’re going to hate me by the end of it,” and sure enough, the Jackie Chan training team comes to my house and they get to work on me. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed myself so much in my life. I realized that I’d made assumptions about myself that meant I had probably been neglecting something that I might have enjoyed for years if I’d got to it earlier.
On his training for KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE:
Well, Matthew had me on three hours a day of training, even when I went off to do another film. But it wasn’t eastern martial arts stuff. The guys that trained me were like the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in that they all had a particular superpower. Brad Allan worked with Jackie Chan. He’s a kung fu black belt and one of the best in the world. That’s his skill. But I also had Rudi Vrba, a Thai boxing world champion, stuntman Rick English, and I had an Olympic gold medal gymnast, Damien Walters. I had a team of people at the top of their field with very special skills coming to me. It was slightly uncharted waters.
Colin Firth was asked if he was injured at all while filming the new movie.
Oh yeah, I’d be ashamed to tell you I hadn’t. We were ludicrously proud of our bruises, however small. The first bruise I got, which basically changed the color of my arm, was photographed and everyone said, “That’s going to have to go on the DVD or some website, just to prove that you did this.” And I broke a tooth. I think one of the reasons why Matthew wanted me to do so much of it myself was because of the improbability in people’s minds. You feel anyone can have a scene where you cut to a stunt guy, but because no one expects me to do this, he really wanted to sell the idea that it was me doing it.
On what it was like dueling with Samuel L. Jackson:
Well, I’m not going to do any plot spoilers, but I don’t know if that’s exactly the right question. But working with him was obviously a thrill. You suddenly have a gallery of your favorite movies playing before your eyes when he comes into the room. And so I sort of feel, in some ways, I’m finally doing the kind of movie I enjoy watching.
On if there's any of his Mr. Darcy in his portrayl of an old-school spy in KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE:
Probably. Yes, I think it probably does. There’s something of me in Mr. Darcy and there’s probably something of that in a lot of things I’ve done. But I think this was one time where we were all quite conscious we used the baggage that people are familiar with in order to create this project.
If you've read the comics, you know KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE has the potential to be a very fun movie. Watching Colin Firth kicking ass should be a blast, and hopefully a trailer for Matthew Vaughn's new film will be released soon. Unless of course the studio is thinking about changing the release date…again.
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE will be in theaters on October 24th, 2014.