There’s something dangerously infectious about the enthusiasm of the cast of Kingsman: The Golden Circle. They’re so stoked about their own movie, which sees independent international spy agency Kingsman team up with their American cousins the Statesman, that you can’t help but get carried along.
“It’s got what the first film had but with a shot of adrenaline, like that scene in Pulp Fiction,” says Taron Egerton, who reprises his role as Eggsy Unwin. “It’s a classic spy thriller in one way, but there’s so much comedy and irreverence. The music is a character in and of itself. There’s so much in this movie you’ve never seen before, because Matthew Vaughn has really pushed it to the limit,” adds Halle Berry, who plays Ginger Ale.
“I think it just has a very distinct personality. It’s very Matthew, it’s his kind of approach, with that irreverence and provocation,” Egerton agrees. “He likes to surprise you. If he didn’t pull any punches the first time around, he’s hitting you in the face with a sledgehammer this time.”
We think they’re suggesting we might just get a kick out of this one…
“It sounds really arrogant, because I’m in it, but I do think it’s brilliant. It’s really exciting to see everyone get hyped up about it. Even if you only liked the first Kingsman movie, you’re going to love this,” Egerton assures us, before Berry tips the scales even further: “People are going to love this. And they’re going to want to see it again. I saw it for the first time and I was immediately like, ‘When can I see it again!?’”
Where do we find Eggsy at the start of the second movie?
Taron Egerton (TE): At the start if this story he’s far more assured. He’s now an established gentlemen spy, a Kingsman, who has adopted the mantle of Galahad. He’s also in a relationship and now has a girlfriend – he’s living with the Swedish princess from the end of the first movie. He is trying to juggle the life of being a spy with maintaining that relationship. Obviously this presents problems because he’s trying to obey certain responsibilities, like meeting her family and making social engagements, but he keeps having to run off and save the world because that’s what he does now. Everything is going very well and then – without going into too much detail – Kingsman is obliterated. And through a specific series of events, Eggsy and Merlin [Mark Strong] end up in America, with a sister organisation called the Statesman.
What are the Statesman like in comparison to their British counterparts?
TE: We’ve managed to rope in some little known actors to play those roles. No, the finest actors in the world have come to join the party and what’s great is that the world of the Statesman is every bit as fully realised as the Kingsman was. They both complement each other very well.
Halle Berry (HB): Looking at the two worlds – the Americans and the British – how alike we are in our jobs but how culturally different we are, makes for some really good fun.
Halle, your character Ginger Ale is the brains behind the organisation?
HB: It was actually a challenge for me to be the cerebral character, because I can’t say I’m always chosen to be that, so it was a departure from what I usually do.
Is there some rivalry between the two agencies?
TE: Channing [Tatum] gives me a run for my money in the cheeky chappie swagger department. They’re tough guys. I’m still annoyed about the outcome of my fight with Channing. That guy is strong and he’s a lot bigger than me. Because their front is the alcohol business, they also have lots more money than we do.
Is there really going to be an official Kingsman bourbon?
TE: There is. Matthew had this whole idea of having products and props and costumes from the movie and selling them. I’ve tried the bourbon and it’s very good.
Halle, did you actually down half a pint of it at San Diego Comic-Con?
HB: It was Channing’s fault, he poured it. Never dare a girl like me to do anything like that because I’m a girl that will not say no to a challenge, especially in front of a Comic-Con audience.
How would the fight between you and Channing go in real life?
TE: Yeah, I’d take Channing. I’d take Tatum any day of the week. [Laughs]
Any great protagonist needs a great antagonist. How does Julianne Moore’s Poppy stack up?
HB: Julianne Moore is one of the best villains I’ve seen in a very long time. A very long time.
TE: In the first movie we said that any spy film is only as good as its villain. And we were blessed to have Samuel L Jackson play Richmond Valentine. This time I think Matthew recognised that we needed both a character and an actor who was second to none. So we have this insane American sweetheart-gone-wrong character called Poppy. I can’t tell you what her plans are, but Julianne is just amazing. She looks beautiful, she is saccharine and maniacal and legitimately terrifying. Not as a person, she’s lovely in real life! Just as a character. But as a villain that character is fantastic and disturbing.
Halle, you’ve actually been in a Bond film. So Taron, did it feel like you were living out your James Bond fantasies from when you were a boy?
TE: Being on the set of Kingsman is like being a little boy again. But you’re not imaging anything because it’s all really there! There’s a driving sequence in the film, which we used snippets of in the trailer, and that is one of my favourite things about the movie. It’s so anarchic and mad, it’s a proper thrill ride. The music and the score of the whole thing – this movie kicks into gear probably in the first 25 seconds, when everything goes crazy. And I doesn’t let up for the whole run time. It’s incredible and I’m so proud of it. I think there’s a strong argument to say it’s better than the first one.
HB: The stunts were really crazy in this movie. Matthew is really pushing the envelope and he’s gone really far forward with some of the things you see in this movie.
What about doing Bond for real? When that list of potential actors who could take over the role from Daniel Craig is written, your name is on there…
TE: It’s crazy to see yourself on a list like that. It’s huge but it’s also very flattering. I’m probably still a bit boyish for Bond and I’m also very much team Idris. I think that would be amazing.
KINGSMAN/ARCHER MASHUP
Kingsman: The Golden Circle proved to be a hit with audiences in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con back in July, who cheered its action-stacked trailer (almost as much as they cheered Halle Berry’s boozy drinking dare). As big fans of spy spoof Archer, what blew our minds was the SDCC promotion that saw Eggsy come face-to-face with a very different kind of American counterpart in the form of Sterling Archer (you can find the video here). As fans of the show might expect, it was classic Archer.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is released by 20th Century Fox and opens in UK cinemas on 20 September 2017.
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