Original-Cin Q&A: The Son Also Rises as Harris Dickinson Plays The King's Man's Heir Apparent

The King's Man is the new action spy film directed by Matthew Vaughn and is the third installment in the Kingsman film series, which is based on the comic book The Secret Service.

In this prequel, we meet Conrad Oxford (Harris Dickinson) son of Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes). The film focuses on the early years of the Kingsman agency which is formed to stand against a cabal plotting a war to wipe out millions.

Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with up-and-coming young British actor Harris Dickinson about bringing his character to life. 

The King’s Man opens in theatres Wednesday, December 22.

CLICK HERE to read Thom Ernst’s review of the movie.

Harris Dickinson takes knife-fighting lessons from Djimon Honsou as Gemma Arterton looks on.

ORIGINAL- CIN:  The King’s Men is extremely popular. When you found out that you were going to play Conrad Oxford for the prequel, had you already been a fan or did you immediately brush up and watch the previous films? 

HARRIS DICKINSON:  I had seen the first one, but I haven't seen the second one. A friend of mine was in the first one. So I was excited about that but I’ve always been a huge fan of Matthew Vaughan’s work. He makes really wacky choices within these kinds of films, so I was thrilled that I got cast in this one.  

The best thing about it was that it is a prequel so there were no preconceived notions as to how I needed to play Conrad. So we had the chance to go off and create something new.  

I know that Matthew really wanted to dive into new territory with this film. So it was great to have that as a backbone and not have any pressure in that respect. 

O- C: It’s nice to have the luxury of building a character from the ground up, especially in an established franchise. There had to have been a lot of physical preparation though? 

PROUDLY SUPPORTS ORIGINAL-CIN

DICKINSON: When I first got involved, Matthew and I spoke about the fact that, first and foremost, Conrad is someone who has an aristocratic background and is a very privileged young man. 

For me it was trying to figure out that world, because I don't know that world. I didn't grow up in that environment. So it was trying to pinpoint the source of this life, these people, how they lived and why they made certain choices  and I think that was a good starting point. 

Then  I focused on the dialect, which was  something I worked on very closely with Neil Swain, a brilliant dialect coach here in the UK. The final preparation was the physical training with  military servicemen. It was intense and quite honestly  I didn't quite realize how much I would have to do to prepare for that. I ended up having to train every day for four months leading up to filming. 

O-C: This cast is quite extraordinary and comes with a lot of experience. Djimon Hounsou, Rhys Ifans, Gemma Arterton. And having Ralph Fiennes play your father had to have been a huge treat. 

DICKINSON: It was really special. In all honesty, I was intimidated at first to work with Ralph. Not because of him as a person, but because of his work and because of how impressive he is. 

I'm always intrigued about how people work and how they conduct themselves and how they've gotten so far in this industry. It's no secret that Ralph Fiennes is not only a veteran but a heavy hitter in this industry. So yeah, it was special to be a part of it. Being in scenes with him and everyone else was pure joy.

I grew up watching Djimon, and he was someone who inspired me to want to get in shape and take part in martial arts from watching so many of his amazing movies. It was a dream. 

ORIGINAL-CIN:  Your character Conrad goes through a period where he is being coddled and is over-protected by his father, who has his reasons for doing so. How protective were your parents when you told them that you wanted to be an actor? .

DICKINSON: (Laughs) Well, they were typical parents! They  were supportive and have always encouraged me to chase my dreams. But I think there's always a little bit of fear surrounding the arts because of the instability and the lack of security.

But they gave me their blessings.  Thankfully I didn't quite have to rebel as much as Conrad did in The King’s Man.