Jackson Goes for Thrills in ‘Kingsman’

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Based upon the acclaimed comic book and directed by Matthew Vaughn (KickAss, X-Men: First Class), Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

When the father of five-year-old Gary “Eggsy” Unwin sacrifices his life in the line of duty during a classified military exercise, his family is given an unconventional medal – and a phone number they may use only once, should they need a favor of any kind.

Seventeen years later, Eggsy (TARON EGERTON) is an unemployed school dropout living a dead-end existence in his mother’s flat. After he is arrested for joyriding, Eggsy uses the medal to secure his release from jail, and finds himself rescued by Harry Hart (COLIN FIRTH), an impeccably suave spy who owes Eggsy’s father his life. Dismayed to learn of the path Eggsy has taken, yet impressed by his better qualities, Harry offers Eggsy the opportunity to turn his life around by trying out for a position with Harry’s employers: Kingsman, a top-secret independent intelligence organization.

Eggsy must make it through the highly competitive and often perilous series of tests that each prospective new Kingsman agent must pass, while also dealing with the emotional struggle of being a social outcast in an environment where everyone else is well-educated, well-connected and well-mannered.

Meanwhile, Harry is trying to solve the mysterious disappearances of several prominent academics, scientists and entertainers, and hunt down the man he believes to be responsible–Richmond Valentine (SAMUEL L JACKSON), a tech billionaire and disillusioned eco-campaigner whose desire to save the earth at any cost has led him to devise a scheme that will have devastating consequences for everyone.

Every good spy needs a suitably evil villain, and in Samuel L. Jackson’s Valentine, the genre may well have discovered its most maniacal antagonist. A billionaire genius, whose plan to “save the world” involves wiping out the human race, Valentine is forged in the mold of classic spy movie bad guys. But the tech-savvy entrepreneur is also inspired by the world’s newest superpowers: the CEOs of giant media conglomerates and tech behemoths.

A voracious comic-book fan, Samuel L. Jackson had already read the books by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons when he heard Vaughn was interested in him for the part of Valentine. “The Kingsmen were different kinds of gentleman spies,” he reflects. “I thought the concept was great and I always thought it would make a wonderful film.” Jackson loved Vaughn and Goldman’s script, and says he immediately understood Valentine’s motivations. “The really crazy thing was that it totally made sense,” he laughs. “The film is full of great visual images, and I felt a thrill taking the ride.”

Valentine’s logic posits that the global population has swelled to uncontrollable levels, so it requires culling. His deadly plan is to produce SIM cards that he will distribute freely around the world, and which will both stimulate aggression and reduce inhibition. They’ll literally cause people to tear each other apart, save for a select few chosen for their intelligence, power and beauty. With protective chips implanted into the heads of these elite, Valentine has rounded them up and transported them to his secret base.

Explains Millar: “I ‘borrowed’ the idea from a professor I met from Glasgow University. He had explained to me that if the Reptilian complex at the very base of the human brain was activated, we would be extremely territorial and aggressive, and ultimately destroy each other. There’s a radio frequency that drives everyone nuts.”

Jackson describes Valentine as a moral, pragmatic man. “He understands that you have to make certain choices in order for things to work, and in order for the world to succeed, sacrifices must be made, and somebody has to be willing to make them.”

Argues Firth: “Valentine is genocidal! He’s a mass murderer and a psychopath. He may have the greater good in his mind but if that involves the death of millions of people, that ideology is unlikely to be shared by the rest of humanity.”

Still, he understands why Jackson found a reason for Valentine’s actions. “I think it’s perfectly appropriate that Sam doesn’t see his character as a villain. As actors our job is to inhabit our characters, and you have to see them the way they see themselves – but with my own character’s subjectivity, Valentine is a villain in the classic tradition.”

Vaughn says Jackson was “everything we wanted and more. The same way Nicolas Cage brought something totally unique to the character of Big Daddy in Kick Ass, Sam brought ideas to the rehearsal that we played around with, and while they scared me at first, he really pulled it off.”

One of the film’s highlights is a dinner scene in which Valentine and Harry swap their contrasting philosophies and discuss classic movies in the context of who they wanted to grow up to be. “When I was a kid,” says Valentine, “that was, like, my dream job — gentleman spy.” Replies Harry: “I always felt the old Bond movies were only as good as the villain. As a child I rather fancied a future as a colorful megalomaniac.”

“Well,” retorts Valentine, “isn’t it a pity we both had to grow up?”

“It’s thrilling to get two contrasting characters and put them together,” says Firth.

“They’re evenly matched. They’re both formidable, dangerous and have a great deal of power. But their tools are entirely different, and to see those pitched against each other is part of the dynamic Matthew has set up.”

Agrees Jackson: “We’re playing this cat-and-mouse game, where Harry pretends not to know who Valentine is and Valentine pretends not to know who Harry is, until they actually sit down and say it. Game on; let’s see who comes out victorious.”