Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The King’s Man!
The King’s Man prequel film tells the origins of Kingsman’s independent spy ring, with the cast largely portraying characters based on real-life historical people. While Kingsman’s spy franchise is inspired by classic spy films like James Bond, the movies are fictional takes on international crime rings, which is what makes The King’s Man so different from its predecessors. The King’s Man takes the franchise back to the spy ring’s origins in World War I, with the founding members working together to stop a group of real-life and fictional antagonists who manipulated historical figures into starting the war.
Matthew Vaughn’s third film in the Kingsman series reveals that while the spy ring is supposedly independent from the government, the foundation of the agency began under the leadership of an English nobleman, a king, and various world leaders. Only a few of these characters are fictional, with The King’s Man prominently featuring some of the most influential World War I figures from both sides of the action. Although The King’s Man’s plot is fictional, its World War I setting and the majority of its characters are derived from real history.
As a prequel set 100 years before Kingsman’s first film, The King’s Man doesn’t feature any actors from the first two movies in its cast. Rather, The King’s Man has recruited actors with a history of spy, action, comedy, and thriller roles to bring their real and fictional World War I characters to the screen. Here’s a breakdown of The King’s Man’s star-studded cast and a comparison to the real-life characters that many of them play.
Ralph Fiennes As Orlando Oxford
The Duke of Oxford who teaches his son, Conrad, the values of being a gentleman and a pacifist, even though Orlando is equipped with fighting skills himself. After The Shepherd manipulates world leaders into starting World War I, Orlando takes it upon himself to gather a team of spies and take down the rogue villains, thus forming the movies' Kingsman agency. In real life, the Earl - not duke - of Oxford during World War I was H.H. Asquith, who was also the Prime Minister of the UK when the war began. As such, it doesn’t seem that Orlando Oxford truly has a real-life counterpart. Academy Award-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes, who plays Orlando, is best known for playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter films, Amon Göth in Schindler’s List, Gustave H. in The Grand Budapest Hotel, and M in Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies.
Harris Dickinson As Conrad Oxford
The son of Duke Orlando who yearns to fight in the war, although his father disapproves of such a path. A tough fighter who loves Arthurian legends, Conrad does eventually ship off to fight in World War I. As with Orlando Oxford not being based on a real-life figure, Conrad is largely fictional for The King’s Man's movie, though he may have been partially inspired by the real Earl of Oxford’s son Raymond who died in action during World War I. Conrad is portrayed by Harris Dickinson, who is best known for starring in Beach Rats, Trust, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Matthias & Maxine.
Gemma Arterton As Polly
The Oxford’s loyal housekeeper who has a hidden talent for spycraft and action, as she becomes integral in forming the Kingsman alongside her boss. Polly is The King’s Man’s intelligent marksman, who helps recruit the servants of noble and powerful households into the spy service. Like The King’s Man’s Oxfords, Polly isn’t based on any historical figure in specific, as Arterton revealed she was inspired by several suffragettes of the time. Polly is portrayed by Gemma Arterton, an English actress most notable for her roles in Clash of the Titans, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Netflix’s Murder Mystery, and the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.
Djimon Hounsou As Shola
Shola is another of the Oxfords’ head servants, who typically trains Conrad for fighting and chauffeurs the family. Just like Polly, Shola is revealed to be an accomplished fighter, strategic planner, and loyal serviceman underneath his typical gentleman persona. Shola is also an entirely fictional character in The King’s Man, though he largely repeats the role of Merlin from Kingsman’s first two movies. Djimon Hounsou is no stranger to high-intensity action films, as he has previously starred in projects like The Gladiator, Blood Diamond, A Quiet Place 2, Furious 7, and the Shazam! movies.
Tom Hollander As King George, Kaiser Wilhelm, And Tsar Nicholas
One role wasn’t enough for Tom Hollander in The King’s Man, as the actor portrays three important real-life historical characters—cousins King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Tsar Nicholas. These three relatives are integral to the beginning of World War I in both real life and The King’s Man, where King George would be pitted against his cousins Kaiser Wilhelm, the leader of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II, the leader of Russia. While Wilhelm and Nicholas’ empires were lost in real life, it wasn’t at the doing of international agents. Tom Hollander is known for starring in About Time, Pirates of the Caribbean, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Pride & Prejudice.
Rhys Ifans As Grigori Rasputin
Already an enigmatic figure in world history, The King’s Man’s Rasputin is a fairly despicable and weird character, who was intentionally played up so as to return to the satirical tone of the previous Kingsman films. While The King’s Man’s Rasputin villain was instrumental in manipulating Tsar Nicholas into pulling out of World War I as instructed by The Shepherd, the real-life Grigori Rasputin was a self-proclaimed mystic and adviser to the Tsar who did, indeed, gain considerable influence over his family during the war. Just as in The King’s Man, Rasputin acted as the healer of Nicholas’ son, Alexei, but in real life, he didn’t poison him in an attempt to get Nicholas to withdraw from the war. Rhys Ifans is notable for starring in Notting Hill, the Harry Potter movies, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Elementary.
Matthew Goode As Captain Morton
The English military captain served under Herbert Kitchener until he was seemingly killed at sea while headed for Russia. Morton is later revealed to be The King’s Man’s main Scottish antagonist, The Shepherd, who manipulated the start of World War I and recruited international agents to his cause, which was based on getting revenge for England’s crimes against his country. Morton isn’t based on a real-life historical figure, but it’s definitely in Kingsman’s wheelhouse to make a Scottish cashmere farmer responsible for the Great War. Morton’s actor Matthew Goode has also been seen in Watchmen as Ozymandias, Brideshead Revisited as Charles Ryder, The Crown as Antony Armstrong-Jones, and The Good Wife as Finn Polmar.
Daniel Brühl As Erik Jan Hanussen
In The King’s Man, the real-life Erik Jan Hanussen fed into the Kaiser’s hatred of his cousins in order to increase his war efforts against England, eventually sending out the real-life Zimmerman Telegraph to distract the English and Americans. After The Shepherd dies, he takes over The Flock and, in the mid-credit scenes, recruits a young Adolph Hitler. In real life, Hanussen wasn’t very active in German military pursuits and leadership until World War II, when he became an adviser for the performances of Hitler and various Nazi officials. He was also notable as a performance artist with supposed talents of mind-reading, hypnosis, and clairvoyance, which made him a prominent German figure around World War II. German actor Daniel Brühl is best known for playing Fredrick Zoller in Inglourious Basterds, Baron Zemo in the MCU, and Dr. Laszlo Kreizler in The Alienist.
Charles Dance As Herbert Kitchener
Lord Herbert Kitchener was England’s Secretary of State for War who was notable in real-life and in The King’s Man for his expansion of concentration camps in the Second Boer War and leadership at the beginning of World War I. In The King’s Man prequel movie, Orlando tried to convince Kitchener to keep Conrad out of the war, with Conrad’s later fatal mission having been to deliver a message to the army officer. Similar to the circumstances in The King’s Man, Kitchener was killed on the HMS Hampshire while on his way to Russia to negotiate with Tsar Nicholas II. Charles Dance is best remembered for his roles in The Crown, Game of Thrones, Alien 3, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
The King’s Man Supporting Cast & Characters
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Archie Reid: Although not based on a real-life figure, Archie Reid is important as the soldier Conrad traded identities with in World War I. Taylor-Johnson is known for starring in Kick-Ass, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tenet, and Sony’s upcoming 2023 Spider-Man film Kraven the Hunter.
Joel Basman as Gavrilo Princip: The Shepherd’s Flock member based on the real-life Bosnian Serb of the same name who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. The Swiss actor has also starred in films like Hanna, The Monuments Men, and A Hidden Life.
Valerie Pachner as Mata Hari: The Dutch member of The Shepherd’s Flock notable for her seduction. In The King’s Man, she seduces Woodrow Wilson and blackmails him with the proof, whereas in real life she was executed after being convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. Pachner is known for her roles in A Hidden Life, All My Loving, and the upcoming show The English.
Alexandra Maria Lara as Emily Oxford: The mother of Conrad and wife of Orlando who is tragically murdered in The King’s Man’s opening scene. Lara has also appeared in Geostorm, Downfall, The Reader (also opposite actor Ralph Fiennes), and Rush.
Olivier Richters as Huge Machinery Shack Guard: The large guard for The Shepherd’s headquarters who battled Orlando, Shola, and Polly. Richters previously played Ursa in Black Widow and will have an undisclosed role in Indiana Jones 5.
Todd Boyce as Alfred I. DuPont: An American member of The Shepherd’s Flock, whose inclusion doesn’t make as much sense as the rest of the villainous agents. In real-life, DuPont was notable for his family’s Delaware gunpowder manufacturing plant and investments during World War I, but there’s no hint that he was running with underground criminal alliances during the war. Boyce has had roles in Kick-Ass 2, Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express, The Restless Years, and Coronation Street.
Ron Cook as Archduke Franz Ferdinand: The real-life leader of Austria who was friends with the Oxfords until he was assassinated by The Shepherd’s Flock, thus kicking off World War I. Cook is known for acting in Secrets & Lies, Chocolat, and Hot Fuzz.
Stanley Tucci as United States Ambassador: The fictional unnamed ambassador from the United States who works with Orlando and his associates to take down Shepherd’s Flock. Tucci is known for his roles in films like The Devil Wears Prada, The Hunger Games, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Lovely Bones.
David Kross as Adolf Hitler: The despicable real-life German leader makes an appearance in The King’s Man’s mid-credits scene, which likely sets up The King's Man 2. Kross is known for The Reader, War Horse, and Race.
Ian Kelly as President Woodrow Wilson: The real-life president of the United States during World War I, though The King’s Man changes his involvement, setting up his participation due to blackmail from pictures with another woman. Kelly has also been seen in Howard’s End, In Love and War, and The Mission.
Branka Katic as Empress Alexandra Feodorovna: The real-life wife of Tsar Nicholas II. Katic has previously starred in Black Cat, White Cat, Public Enemies, and the HBO TV show Big Love.
August Diehl as Vladimir Lenin: The real-life Russian revolutionary who overthrew Tsar Nicholas II’s reign; though in The King’s Man he is recruited to do so by The Flock. Diehl is known for playing Gestapo major Hellstrom in Inglourious Basterds, Michael “Mike” Krause in Salt, and Franz Jagerstatter in A Hidden Life.