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THEO JAMES: I love ascension stories.
I also like the parallels.
And in doing so, becomes corrupted by violence and power.
Theo James in ‘The Gentlemen.‘Netflix
And then beyond that was sending up British class and aristocracy.
I thought that was a fun mashup.
And then also I think this idea of landed gentry.
James with Kaya Scodelario inThe Gentlemen.Netflix
So, commenting on that is rather delicious.
So, when he wins, its almost accidentally.
We built that into some of the violence as well.
Hes actually just trying to survive.
And in the gamut of the fight, he manages to win, but hes always about to lose.
And then he kind of pulls it together in the last minute.
That was always kind of the idea about it, and I love that.
DEADLINE: Tell me a bit about working with Guy Ritchie on the series.
JAMES: Yeah, he was very involved.
It felt like we just were filming one long film for the first two episodes.
Hes relatively collaborative, but then he also knows tonally exactly what he wants.
Just confirm you dont go too hard on the comedy because it becomes farce.
Dont go too hard on the drama because it becomes melodrama.
You make it too funny, and it becomes silly.
We dont usually see that as a comedic factor.
But the show is interested in the fallacy of it.
Ive never met anyone in those environments.
Its kind of alien to me only other than in film or literature.
It is the Duke of Beauforts estate.
Then you Google him and hes kind of a mad character himself.
So, these characters exist in real life.
The Duke of Beaufort owns a large swathe of Wales still, but they dont have heavy income.
They dont have cash.
But I think judging them as a character is not the right thing to do.
DEADLINE: You probably hear Netflix too and you automatically think its anotherBridgertonspin-off.
Thats what all the country houses are waiting for, the check forBridgerton3.
DEADLINE: The last thing that we saw you in wasThe White Lotus, as a very different character.
JAMES: Thats what appealed to me about it really, because Cameron inThe White Lotusrepresented Americana to me.
Not only his Britishness is very British, hes very buttoned up.
Cameron would speak without forming an opinion.
He listens, he takes in, then he calculates, then he speaks.
And afterThe Gentlemen, I did something completely different again.
DEADLINE: What did you do right after wrappingThe Gentlemen?
JAMES: I did an episodic thing on Pornhub… No, Im joking.
I did a film, which Ive finished not that long ago.
It was a Stephen King short, genre, about two brothers.
Its calledThe Monkey, and I get to play two characters.
One brother whos psychotic and the other brother whos damaged and extremely shy.
So that felt like a completely different direction in a fun way.
DEADLINE: …So not another comedy?
JAMES: [Laughs] Actually, there is comedy to it.
Its kind of likeGremlinsmeetsHereditary, so theres some humor in it.
DEADLINE: Other than that, the last two things that youve done have been comedies.
Is that something that you want to do more of?
JAMES: I love comedy and I would like to do more, 100%.
We would hustle on the street, we would pack the house.
And then we would adapt it and do the show again.
So, Ive been trying to do more of it ever since, really.
I think its so gratifying and Id love to do more and more of it.
JAMES: I think a couple of things.
And I think thats a very self-deprecating British thing to do, but its very valuable in comedy.
You could always undercut the value.
That can be key in comedy.
Youve got to be with the audience as opposed to apart from them or above them in any way.
DEADLINE: If a second season ofThe Gentlemenhappens, where would you want your character to go?
