Harris Dickinson Gives Details On Flirting With Rhys Ifans As Rasputin In The King's Man - Exclusive
"The King's Man" is a film which occupies two spaces simultaneously. On the one hand, it is the story of a father and son at odds with one another over the best way to comport oneself in times of war. The father, Orlando (Ralph Fiennes), is a pacifist while his son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) believes fervently in giving one's life to protect queen and country during World War I.
And yet, "The King's Man" is still a card-carrying member of the Kingsman film franchise, so it also features bombastic and often ridiculous spy thriller conceits. In the realm of "The King's Man," for example, the first World War is instigated by an angsty Scotsman whose ax to grind with England causes him to assemble an his evil league of evil — one which includes real-life historical villain Rasputin (as played by Rhys Ifans).
One way in which Orlando and Conrad work together is through espionage. At one point, the pair must infiltrate a party and attempt to poison Rasputin. Conrad's part in the mission is that he must flirt with Rasputin.
Naturally, when Looper had the chance to speak with Harris Dickinson, we asked him what it was like flirting with Rhys Ifans in full Rasputin garb.
The great (and surprising) honor of flirting with Rasputin
You might assume that attempting to feign a desire to get freaky and/or deaky with Rhys Ifans while he's dressed in Rasputin cosplay is difficult, but nothing could be further from the truth. In the scene where Conrad is meant to flirt with Rasputin during dinner, he does such a terrible job of it that Ralph Fiennes' Orlando has to step in and (admirably) get 'er proverbially done. However, Harris Dickinson seemed to have a lovely time during the process of filming the moment.
"Well, Rhys is the most wonderful, lovely person, so I had a lot of fun," reveals Dickinson. "I think everyone can attest to this as well. We all loved doing those scenes with Rhys, but yeah, it was funny because he really transformed for this in every way. His voice was different, his physicality... he really put in a lot of work for it. Rhys is a lot of fun in real life and in person, he's got a great sense of humor and stuff. You kind of have to make that quick sort of distinction between, okay, now I'm with Rasputin and now [I'm not], but he's incredible."
As for what specific emotion Dickinson felt while flirting with Ifans' Rasputin, the answer is honored. "He created such a powerful presence, but it's also hard to have that and also keep it comedic and dance between that sort of intimidation, and that's a really hard thing to do," says Dickinson. "Rhys just did it perfectly, so I was honored to sit across from him and flirt with him."
"The King's Man" is now playing in theaters.