'KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE' - 12 THINGS WE LEARNED ON SET

Colin Firth and Taron Eagerton in 'Kingsman: The Secret Service'. Credit: 20th Century Fox

We went behind the scenes at Leavesden Studios to investigate more…

1: They’re More Than Just Spies

The “Kingsmen” of the movie are “a distant species of the superhero” according to Firth, saying they’re “essentially a highly finessed vigilante group”. “They consider themselves not only better than the government, but also less compromised by the politics and bureaucracy.”

2: Societal Strata Plays A Part

Class clash is a big theme for ‘Kingsman’, with both Colin and Taron describing the script as a ‘Pygmalion’ story (that’s ‘My Fair Lady’ to most of us). Taron’s character Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin is the son of a former Kingsman and a self-confessed Chav, thrown into the elitist world of gentlemen’s espionage. “But at no point does it suggest that being a gentleman is more valid that being a down-on-his-luck lad,” says Taron.

3: A Star Will Be Born

With only two TV credits to his name before ‘Kingsmen’, newcomer Taron says he nearly passed out when he found his co-stars would be Colin Firth, Michael Caine and Samuel L. Jackson. “They’re all these kind of giants of the industry - Colin is the English gentleman, Michael is this kind of working class hero and Samuel is the super cool Yank.” He laughs, “I don’t know where I go from here!”

4: It Has A Furious Villain

Sick of seeing us Brits portray every Hollywood bad guy? So were the ‘Kingsman’ team, who cast US-born effing and jeffing legend Samuel L. Jackson as the villainous Valentine – just to mix things up a bit.

5: Strong Accents

Speaking of British-born bad guys, oft-typecast menace Mark Strong plays Merlin – this spy flick’s Q character to Firth’s Bond. Fronting a soft-spoken (and impressive) Scottish accent, Matthew Vaughn regular Strong has swapped the brooding menace act for Kashmir jumpers complete with tweed elbow patches. But we’re pleased to say the Geography teacher looks definitely suits him.

6: Gimme Moore

Vaughn and production designer Paul Kirby wanted to make the film “the best of British”. Kirby admitted that you can’t do a British spy film “without considering Bond,” but that it was the pantomime of the Roger Moore years they wanted to capture. “[‘Bond’] has gone a little bit dull while they chase the ‘Bourne’ franchise,” he quipped. “’Bond’, ‘Bourne’, ‘Mission: Impossible’… they’re all pretty interchangeable now,” added Matthew.

7: It’s Royally Cool

Taron boasts that director Matthew’s most amazing quality is that “He knows what is cool. He knows what appeals to the big kid in all of us”. Mark Strong feels the same way, claiming “This [movie] will be to ‘Bond’ “what ‘Kick-Ass’ is to superhero movies”.

8: Vaughn Is The Secret Weapon

Mr. Darcy himself (you choose which one) Colin Firth is actually a bit of a Matthew Vaughn fanboy, calling the director “a very skilled entertainer”: “He uses a lot of very familiar genres, satisfies one’s appetite for those, but he plays games and subverts them as he goes along. Not least with casting choices! You know, you’ve got me as a killing machine and Robert De Niro in women’s underwear [in ‘Stardust’]!”

9: Fitness Firth

Stunt co-ordinator and second unit director Brad Allan boasted how rom-com regular Colin Firth had only ever had one decent on-screen fight – famously tackling Hugh Grant into a fountain in ‘Bridget Jones 2’). However Allan was proud to say the usually refined star performs 80% of his own stunts in ‘Kingsman’, while co-star Strong claimed Firth had been training for six months.

10: There’s Puppy Power

Spy movie fans with a soft spot for dogs will be satisfied – ‘Kingsmen’ features a solid man to best friend ratio. “As part of the training that the recruits undergo they’re given a puppy to look after,” smirks Taron about his “little-un”. Matthew Vaughn doesn’t share Taron’s adoration though - dryly admitting after a canine-heavy scene that “dogs aren’t fun” to shoot.

11: A Fresh Crusade

Matthew Vaughn says ‘Kingsman’ should be compared with what Steven Spileberg did with ‘Raiders Of The Lost Ark’, where the director took the movie he grew up on and made it in a “modern, fresh, accessible way”. Just like the ‘Indiana Jones’ movies, Matthew also hopes ‘Kingsman’ will launch a franchise. “Well, that’s the plan… otherwise someone’s going to lose a lot of money!”

12: The Cameos Are Out

Apart from a confirmed spot for Mr. Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, in the movie, several celeb cameo rumours have courted ‘Kingsman’, including Lady Gaga, Adele, David Beckham and Elton John. Director Matthew Vaughn shrugged off the speculation saying ‘they’re all bulls**t’… I wrote a draft with celebrities in but it got too confusing, so we binned it.”

Do we believe him? Maybe, but he is making a pretty secretive movie.

‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’, directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Michael Caine, Mark Strong and Samuel L Jackson is out in Australia 23 October 2014.

Mark Lankester writes for Yahoo Movies UK&IE.