Kingsman fans have been waiting for the prequel movie The King's Man for over two years now but the film is finally in theaters. Directed by Matthew Vaughn with a screenplay by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek and a story by Vaughn, the movie is the third installment in the Kingsman film series, based on Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons's comic book The Secret Service. The film arrived at the end of 2021 after being rescheduled from November 2019.
An epic period action movie with an ensemble cast, The King's Man features a whole lot of interesting characters. And if you'd like to brush up on the cast and characters of the movie ahead of watching it, we've put together this handy guide that goes into detail about all the most important ones. So, shall we begin then?
Ralph Fiennes as Orlando, Duke of Oxford.
The Duke of Oxford is the founder of the Kingsman organization as well as a formidable fighter and strategist. He is dedicated to protecting King and Country, unwilling to let things like bureaucracy get in his way. Orlando is the lead character of the movie, taking on a role similar to Colin Firth's Harry Hart in the first Kingsman movie. Alexandra Maria Lara plays his wife, Emily, Duchess of Oxford
The character is played by award-winning actor, director, and producer Ralph Fiennes. An iconic actor, Fiennes is perhaps best known to audiences for his roles in the Harry Potter series and the James Bond series as well as movies like Schindler's List, Great Expectations, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Harris Dickinson as Conrad
A young man who is eager to join the war in Europe, Conrad is the son of Orlando and Emily and the latest recruit to be brought into the fledgling Kingsman organization. His role in the movie is similar to Taron Egerton's Eggsy. He is new to the world of espionage and is trained by the Duke as his protégé.
Harris Dickinson, who plays Conrad, is an English actor best known for starring in 2017's Beach Rats. He has also had important roles in County Lines, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Matthias & Maxime. Alexander Shaw plays a young version of Conrad.
Gemma Arterton as Polly
One of the Duke's members of staff and a Kingsman agent, Polly is a brusque, straightforward person with a witty sense of humor. From the trailers, it's clear that she can handle herself perfectly well in a fight and she appears to be quite level-headed even in stressful circumstances.
Polly is played by Gemma Arterton, who is perhaps best known for playing Strawberry Fields in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. Her other important movies include Clash of the Titans, Vita and Virginia, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
Djimon Hounsou as Shola
Like Polly, Shola is also a Kingsman agent who works in the Duke's service. From the trailers, it's clear that he's handy with a knife and takes on an active role in training Conrad.
Shola is played by Djimon Hounsou, who has had some amazing roles that have earned him multiple awards and widespread acclaim. He is best known for his work in movies like Amistad, In America, and Blood Diamond, as well as major superhero movies like Aquaman, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Shazam!.
Daniel Brühl as Erik Jan Hanussen
An Austrian mentalist and publicist, Erik Jan Hanussen was a historical figure who was very active in Germany during the Weimar Republic and the early years of the Nazi government. He is believed to have trained Adolf Hitler in dramatic performance. The movie's take on the character shows him as a member of the secret cabal that's orchestrating the First World War from behind the scenes.
Hanussen is played by Daniel Brühl, who is best known for his roles in Inglourious Basterds, The Bourne Ultimatum, and The Fifth Estate. He also plays the villainous Baron Zemo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, first appearing as the character in Captain America: Civil War.
Rhys Ifans as Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin was a Russian mystic and self-declared holy man who held considerable influence in the court of Tsar Nicholas II. He is a legendary figure who has featured prominently in films, books, and music (the Boney M song in particular). In the movie, he is depicted as a ruthless and hedonistic figure who is one of the main villains of the story.
Rasputin is played by Welsh actor, producer, and singer Rhys Ifans. Ifans is best known for his work in Notting Hill, Kevin & Perry Go Large, and Enduring Love. He is also widely recognized for playing Dr. Curt Connors / The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man, a role that he reprises in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Valerie Pachner as Mata Hari
Mata Hari was the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod, a Dutch courtesan and exotic dancer who was convicted of being a German spy during World War I. While her actual status as a spy has since been debated by scholars, she is a prominent historical figure. In the movie, it looks like she really is working for the Germans since she's also a member of the evil cabal against whom the Kingsman organization is going up.
Valerie Pachner plays Mata Hari in the film. Pachner is an Austrian actor known for her roles in Bad Luck, The Ground Beneath My Feet, and A Hidden Life.
Charles Dance as Herbert Kitchener
A senior British Army officer and Secretary of State for War, Herbert Kitchener is a divisive historical figure. While he was a decorated officer in his time, he is also notorious for violent acts that would today be considered war crimes, including the expansion of concentration camps during the Boer War. He plays an important part in the movie in his role as Secretary of State for War.
Charles Dance plays Kitchener in the movie. Dance is a notable English theatre, TV, and film actor whose credits include roles in Dracula Untold, The Imitation Game, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. He is perhaps best known to audiences for playing Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones and Lord Mountbatten in The Crown.
Branka Katić as Tsarina Alix
The wife of Tsar Nicholas II and the last empress consort of Russia, Tsarina Alix is yet another historical figure appearing in The King's Man. She was a favored granddaughter of Queen Victoria and devoted to Rasputin, which earned her disfavor among the Russian public.
The Tsarina will be played by Serbian actor Branka Katić, who is known for her appearances in films like Black Cat, White Cat and Public Enemies. She has also worked in television, with her credits including the shows Big Love, Anne Frank: The Whole Story, and Red Widow.
Aaron Vodovoz as Felix Yusupov
A Russian aristocrat, Felix Yusupov was married to the niece of Tsar Nicholas II. He is perhaps best known in history for his participation in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin. Whether he will be murdering the evil monk in the movie or not is something you'll have to wait and see.
Yusupov is played by Aaron Vodovoz. He is best known for his appearances in Killing Eve and Messiah.
Stanley Tucci as United States Ambassador
Stanley Tucci is an acclaimed American actor, writer, producer, and former fashion model. A prolific actor has worked extensively in film, TV, and theatre and he's perhaps best known for his roles in The Terminal, Road to Perdition, and Big Night. He is also known for having acted alongside Meryl Streep in some of her most popular films, including The Devil Wears Prada and Julie & Julia. Not much was revealed about his role in The King's Man ahead of the movie's release, apart from the fact that he plays an American ambassador.
Todd Boyce as Alfred du Pont
Alfred du Pont was an American industrialist and financier whose family owned one of the country's most significant gunpowder manufacturing plants. The company still exists under the name DuPont, though they are now engaged in other fields of business. Du Pont is played by Todd Boyce, who is best known for his role as Stephen Reid in the soap opera Coronation Street.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Archie Reid
Ahead of the release of The King's Man, there were conflicting reports that said that Aaron Taylor-Johnson was playing either a character named Lee Unwin or Archie Reid. The reason for the confusion was mostly because Eggsy's father was named Lee Unwin. Now that the movie's out, we can confirm that Taylor-Johnson plays Archie Reid, a young soldier and friend of Conrad's.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson has worked with Matthew Vaughn before as the lead character in Kick-Ass. He's also known for his role as Pietro Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron and his award-winning performance in 2016's Nocturnal Animals.
Robert Aramayo as Sergeant Major Atkins
Robert Aramayo appears in the movie as a new character called Sergeant Major Atkins. He is an English actor best known for playing the younger Eddard Stark in Game of Thrones and Rob in Behind Her Eyes. Aramayo is also set to have a major role in the upcoming Lord of the Rings Amazon Prime Video series.
Joel Basman as Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip is widely regarded as the man who set off World War I, though the actual historical facts are a bit more complicated. A Bosnian Serb student, Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg in 1914. A key figure in the history of The King's Man's time period, Princip's actions set off a domino effect, which led to the declaration of war.
In the movie, Princip is played by Joel Basman. Basman is a Swiss actor who is best known for roles in The Monuments Men, A Hidden Life, and Wolkenbruch's Wondrous Journey Into the Arms of a Shiksa.
Tom Hollander as King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Tsar Nicholas II
Tom Hollander pulls triple duty in The King's Man, playing the roles of King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Tsar Nicholas II, who were the rulers of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Russia respectively. All three monarchs were related to each other, which might be why they're all being played by the same actor. Or maybe Matthew Vaughn just likes Tom Hollander that much!
Hollander is best known for his roles in movies like About Time, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Bohemian Rhapsody. He has also had an acclaimed career on the stage and has appeared in a number of television shows.
Matthew Goode as Captain Morton
Morton is a British soldier and Herbert Kitchener's aide-de-camp. Details about the character were kept closely under wraps until the film's release, with speculations doing the rounds online that he might be either an enemy agent or an early member of Kingsman. He's featured prominently in the movie's promotional material and, now that it's out, we can confirm that he has a very important role.
Morton is played by Matthew Goode. Goode is an English actor who is best known for his appearances in The Crown, Downton Abbey, and A Discovery of Witches. He also played Ozymandias in the Watchmen movie.
The Shepherd
No one knows who's playing the Shepherd. No one knows who is the Shepherd. He's the big shadowy villain pulling the strings behind the whole story, a mystery to all but his closest associates.
Well, okay, we do know who he is now but we're not going to just tell you. The only facts about the Shepherd that were revealed ahead of the release of The King's Man were that he has a massive mustache and a thick Scottish accent. And, of course, that he's working with a group of historical villains to shape the course of the First World War in order to make a profit.
Apart from that, if you want more clues about the Shepherd's identity, you'll just have to watch the film. So keep your eyes and ears open when you watch the movie.