The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare Cast Talk Suits, Spies & Family Ties - Exclusive Interview

It's a motley crew that makes up "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare," but before Henry Cavill, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Tiffins Feinnes, Henry Golding, and Alan Ritchson can even think about gunning down or slicing up Nazis in Guy Ritchie's new action-packed entry, a select team of specialists need to help clear the path that's set to be blown to bits. The task requires delicate hands, sophistication, and the ability to look ridiculously sharp in a suit. It's a good thing, then, that they've got the essential backup in the form of Richard Heron (Babs Olusanmokun), Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González), and Brigadier Gubbins, aka M (Cary Elwes, whose grandfather worked for the real M during WWII).

For González, getting caught up in the action isn't anything new, given that her past few projects have been rife with it. Besides being haunted by countdowns in Netflix's "3 Body Problem," she's held her own in the likes of "Baby Driver" and "Ambulance." Elwes and Olusanmokun are no strangers to blockbusters either — or from a Guy Ritchie-directed romp, for that matter. Elwes' most notable works of late include getting caught up in "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" and, before that, "Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre."

As for Olusanmokun, he was last seen getting his knife chipped and shattered as Jamis at the end of "Dune: Part One" as well as being regularly beamed up as Dr. M'Benga from "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." In "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare," though, his character Heron is a much more calm and collected customer doing his best to fight back against the Nazi regime through the art of subterfuge and clandestine communication. Such tactics require him to hide in plain sight, which — as Looper was quick to point out in our exclusive interview — highlights just how cool he looks in every scene he's in, which his co-stars couldn't help but agree with.

Firstly, I want to congratulate you on the film. Really enjoyed it. Saw it yesterday. What I've got to highlight though, [to Babs Olusanmokun] you are the coolest dressed person in this film.

Eiza González: I agree.

Cary Elwes: Yeah.

Babs Olusanmokun: [laughs] Thank you, man.

So you've done films like "Dune," you've done "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," and both those characters had costumes that were sort of integral to your character. Did looking as sharp as you did sort of elevate your performance? Does that play any part?

Olusanmokun: Absolutely. Well, it added to the process and to inhabiting the character. And Loulou [Bontemps], our fantastic costume designer, she knows what to lay out in front of you and she knows how to guide you to something beautiful and something that's going to work well for the character. And that's what we did. And I do accept the award for the best-dressed man. Every morning, Guy [Ritchie] would come up to me [pretending to check my clothes] and say, "Where did you get this? Loulou!"

González: Yeah, he was fascinated.

Olusanmokun: So yeah, it's really integral to the character and the period, of course.

Eiza, you've built up quite a repertoire of action-heavy films. You've worked with Dave Leitch, Adam Wingard, and Michael Bay. How does Guy's management of action sequences differ from previous directors? I know that you're working on a new project with him as well. Has there been a shift in this film to that film in terms of action?

González: Oh yeah, 100%. I mean, I obviously can't talk much about this other movie that I'm filming at the moment, but it's way more heavy on action for me. In this one, I'm not very involved in the action. Mine is more of word-related scenes, as you know. But in [the other one] it's the most action I've ever done in a film. And so it's fascinating. I think that Guy, just what I find amazing, whether it's an action scene or a dialogue or whatever it is — and we've all worked with him before — is when he knows what he needs and he's got it, he's got it. There are people that double doubt, or you'll see someone go over and over it. I've seen him do two takes on something and be like, "I got it." And you're like, "But ..." "Got it." And it's just he knows exactly.

And then the next thing, what I also adore about Guy, and this is something really cool that happened on our set that he brought up the other day, is he'll cut the scene pretty quickly. Like by the next day, we'll have it, or in two days we'll be able to see the full scene. And by the way, he and James [Herbert], the editor, who's incredible, know and have an eye for what they need. And so the entire movie, I mean from when we would see it, they're cut to the final. It wasn't that far away.

Olusanmokun: Yeah.

González: And that means they're just so in tune with each other. They understand. It's tight. That relationship is there, and a great director needs a great team. And I think that he's nailed that. If you work with his team, you'll know everyone that he has been working with has been working with him for centuries now. So it's incredible. I'm just grateful that I get to play different roles with him, and it lets me see all the colors of Guy Ritchie.

Cary, you've done quite a few films recently ["Operation Fortune," "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning"] where you seem to be the man who knows the guy that can do the job, which is great.

González: [laughs] That's amazing.

Elwes: [laughs] Thank you for pointing that out. It's true. It's true. You're right.

I read that you actually have quite a connection to the character, familially with your grandfather. I was just wondering, did that sort of impact the character and differ from the previous ones that you've done that are quite similar, but in terms of "knowing a guy"?

González: [laughs] Now you know more guys than ever.

Yeah, your contact list must be amazing. But was there any sort of extra detail that you wanted to put in because of the connection?

Elwes: Well, but yeah, obviously it's personal for the first time for me. My grandfather was my hero growing up, and he was hired by the character I play in the film. So I felt a little bit more of a responsibility because I felt him on my shoulder, and I felt him guiding me. I went to the Imperial War Museum and found my character's diaries, and sure enough, he had an entry where he met my grandfather for lunch. So that was kind of cool. And yeah, it was the first time I've ever had a role where it was personal like that for me.

"The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" sneaks into theaters on April 19. This interview has been edited for clarity.