Virtually overnight, Eddie finds himself torn between living up to his upper-crust inheritance and learning to navigate the labyrinthine pathways of the criminal underworld, and he proves to be a natural. Eddie’s discoveries make for a thrilling and hilarious journey that unfolds over eight kinetic episodes. For James, the British actor known for his starring turns in the acclaimed series The White Lotus and the Divergent film franchise, taking Eddie from military man to budding kingpin made for a truly enjoyable artistic challenge, as he was frequently called upon to toggle between action and comedy, sometimes in a single scene.

“The idea of man-versus-beast — and both forming part of a man’s nature — runs through The Gentlemen, and Eddie has strong elements of both,” James says. “He’s a good man, yet you can also believe that once he’s stepped into the dark side, he could easily remain there and become quite a dangerous person, which was fun and fascinating to play.”

Entering Guy Ritchie’s world was exciting for James, who saw Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as a teenager and was taken by Richie’s taste and style, which bleed into the work. On set, he was initiated into the director’s way of filming. “If you haven’t worked with him before, you read this [script] and you’re like, ‘Okay, but where’s this bit? Where’s that bit?’” James remembers. “And he’s like, ‘Nah, don’t worry about it. We’ll sort it out.’ So you have to take a leap of faith in that way. With comedy, the off-the-cuff nature of it really helps. It makes it more zingy, faster faster-paced. You can find things within the moment.”

Susie Glass actor Scodelario found Ritchie’s spontaneity to be well suited to crafting her character, the daughter of incarcerated drug lord Bobby Glass (Ray Winstone). “I like to be in the moment and react to all the surroundings, the costumes, the emotions, and the other actors,” she says, “and Guy’s style really lends itself to that.” 

Known for her work on Skins and in The Maze Runner, Scodelario brings smoldering sex appeal and deadpan attitude to Susie, a performance which has been recognized with a Gotham Award nomination. “That dry, dark humor and that sarcasm is something that we Brits do uniquely well and is probably why Guy grounds himself in British projects,” Scodelario says. “We all really loved being able to play into that absolute dryness — I know I did. I’ve never enjoyed getting to roll my eyes so much on camera.”

Upon meeting Scodelario, James immediately recognized she was the ideal person to play Eddie’s foil, inducting the newly minted duke into the seedy family business. “She has that great pithiness that was so perfect for the tone of the drama,” he says. “Really, she was born to play Susie Glass.” 

Eddie and Susie’s onscreen chemistry is palpable, if ultimately platonic, and their schemes and goals propel the series forward. The dynamic between the two characters grew organically from the unspoken connection Scodelario found with James upon first meeting. “The first time we met we were discussing our characters with Guy at a welcome drink,” says Scodelario. “We’d only just said hello, but without looking at [James], I handed him a glass of champagne. He said thanks and sipped it. We were already speaking without words, which was how we worked together through the show. It worked brilliantly.” 

The final ingredient to the cocktail of humor and intrigue, and the actor tasked with delivering the series’ most overtly comedic moments — including the one involving that chicken suit — was Daniel Ings (Lovesick, Sex Education). As the eldest Horniman sibling, passed over by his father as heir, Ings relished the opportunity to work with the sprawling ensemble cast and keep them laughing. “Everybody is super funny, great at ad-libbing and improvising, and just making things feel loose,” he says. “One of the fun things about [acting] is feeling comfortable enough to change things around, throw in little jokes here and there. Guy is super open to those contributions. He’ll always tell you when something’s just the wrong side of the line or just not quite far enough, when to push it and when to pull it back.”

In Freddy, Ings was given a character with deep-rooted insecurities that bubble up through eruptive histrionics. “He’s a man with no filter and he’s quite an extreme character,” says Ings, “which is super fun to play. He’s always pushing for more: more coke, more money, more status, more laughs. Underneath it all, though, he is a sensitive boy who never got the approval he sought from his father. And now he’s seeking that approval from his brother and trying to make his mark on the world.”

As brothers, James and Ings are quite the duo, effortlessly capturing the family dynamics. While the relationship between Eddie and Freddy is fraught with tension and condescension, the one between the actors was much more congenial. “Dan and I loved working together,” says James. “He’s very funny and happy to take risks, so we were able to improvise and cook stuff up and find things on our feet. There were some really pivotal scenes with Dan, and Guy was able to push the envelope with him into a darker space while maintaining comedy — a trademark of all his films. It’s funny, but it’s also pretty dark, and Dan achieved that balance perfectly.”