The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is now available on Premium Video on Demand and Premium Electronic Sell-Through from Lionsgate, and following its launch, we were able to sit down with star Babs Olusanmokun (Dune; Dune: Part Two; The Book of Clarence) to talk about his pivotal role in the Guy Ritchie-directed actioner.
In the film, Olusanmokun plays Richard Heron, one of the members of the team and works closely with Eiza González ("Marjorie Stewart") to take down the Nazis by land while the rest of the team head to the sea. He tells me about the importance of telling this story, his experience working with Guy Ritchie again, and a whole lot more.
Additionally, the film will also be available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 25!
Watch our full video interview with Babs Olusanmokun below and/or keep scrolling to read the transcript. Plus, please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exclusive content!
ROHAN: How excited were you to get the call from Guy to be part of this film and be able to tell the story of Africans that played a role in defeating the Nazis in World War II?
BABS: Yeah, no, I was very excited. I was very excited, absolutely, to work with Guy again. I had an idea of what was going on with the script for a while, you know, but I actually thought it was something that had gone away. But yeah, it was really wonderful when I got that call, and yeah, I was excited to help bring this story to life and just, you know, Guy, he gives people opportunities, and he tries to create a certain kind of dynamic, you know, like sometimes you don't find it on the page, but he really tries to bring it to the film, as he should. And so, I'm very thankful to him and the rest of the team that he had me in for this role, and yeah, it was really, really fun, and just having, you know, the Camp Billy character, and, you know, and Nigerian militia guys, and Heron, you know, helping to build a story and weaving through the story and setting the stage for things and being on that island of Fernando Po, setting up these Nazis. It was fantastic. It was fantastic to just inhabit a role that brought people to life that saw, you know, seeing Africans and men of color and women of color, and just people that were there. I always say, World War I, the British West Indies regiment, you know, so those were men from the British West Indies, black men that had to fight for the British Empire in World War I. So, just like you had African soldiers fighting for the French, in World War I. So, for me, that through line is there, where we might find a character like Heron doing his part to defeat Nazis in World War II. So, it was quite wonderful that we could do that, and that we do that on this film.
ROHAN: Since Heron is an amalgamation of probably several different real-life people from history, were there any specific people you looked at to create this character?
BABS: I mean, really, I'd say he left it quite up to me to do that, you know, and just the bit of history, that I gave you, is what informed my thinking and then it was just finding models from that time, you know, or just a bit after that time. And, just looking at our screen heroes, Paul Robeson way back in the day, and Sidney Poitier, and just imagining the people that were models to them, you know, because these are guys from the ‘40s, ‘50s, maybe you started seeing them on the screen in the ‘50s, and the way they spoke, the way they carried themselves. Yeah, so Heron was an amalgamation - He’s his own person, but an amalgamation of the models of these gentlemen that I just mentioned.
ROHAN: What was it like building your chemistry and rapport with Eiza González?
BABS: Yeah, it was really fun. It was really fun. It was really, really fun to work with Eiza and I found Eiza to be super collaborative and very open, and we would just build every day, trying to build this relationship and there was an ease about it, with which we went about it and she was trusting of me, I was trusting of her. And, you know, we gave each other space and just really going with the what if and the moment to moment, there's something from the very first day that we shot, you know, and just helping her out of a car, and walking up to Camp Billy and, trying to get him to believe in this woman. It was just a natural rapport, and it was done with ease. So, I very, very much loved working with Eiza.
ROHAN: Since this is an espionage film, there is a lot of tension throughout the film. Do you find building that tension to be a more challenging exercise as an actor or do you find the action scenes more challenging?
BABS: There's quite a bit that goes into it, you know, starting with the actor, and the trust - trust in the moment, trust in the what if of the moment. And, believe in that, and just the confidence of trust in your actions, the confidence of trust in the silence of things. I try to work with silence and stillness quite a bit, and I think that, in general, and specifically, tends to help with tension. So, it was really, really fun, really, really cool to work on those scenes. The train scene, you know, taking out the Nazis there with the pistol. Yeah, it was lovely.
ROHAN: Since you are a black belt and a jiujitsu champion, did you pitch any bigger fight scenes to Guy? Or were you happy to leave those brutal scenes to Alan?
BABS: No, no, we weren't really trying to go that way. I personally wasn't really trying to go in that direction with Heron. I felt that if the script called for it, of course, there would be something to bring, but I was very happy with the spy aspect of it. The understated aspect of it, the covert aspect of it. Let Alan chew up all the arrows, and, you know, so those guys have the fun. Yeah, with this one, I wanted Heron to just be cool.
ROHAN: You were also apart of the Dune films, which were incredible, what was that experience like working with Denis Villeneuve and getting the call for Dune: Part Two?
BABS: It was fantastic, really. Denis was just - I can't say enough about him. Just a beautiful man, just a very warm man. Masterful, masterful director and just really, really took me in so beautifully, you know, he welcomed me so beautifully. He said some of the most complimentary things I've ever gotten from a director. He was very generous with his words and his actions. Dune, really, I wasn't supposed to do more than the first and even a number of things, you know, the vision scenes weren't really there, you know, when he first brought me in. So, those were all things he added after he met me and sort of saw my work, so to speak. And yeah, so to build this rapport with him and have that trust of a director like Denis is absolutely something I'm extremely grateful for. So, yeah, so doing Dune: Part Two was fantastic. We shot more than you saw in the film, you know, because I was finally able to see the film, but it blew me away. I didn't expect anything less and yeah, I'm always excited to get a call or email from Denis.
Based upon recently declassified files of the British War Department and inspired by true events, THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE is an action-comedy that tells the story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials including author Ian Fleming. The top-secret combat unit, composed of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, goes on a daring mission against the Nazis using entirely unconventional and utterly “ungentlemanly” fighting techniques. Ultimately their audacious approach changed the course of the war and laid the foundation for the British SAS and modern Black Ops warfare.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is now available on Premium Video on Demand and Premium Electronic Sell-Through from Lionsgate. It arrives on 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray on June 25!