Hammer describes Kuryakin: `He was cool’

Armie (the Dude) Hammer

Actor Armie Hammier, IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE HUFFINGTON POST to promote The Lone Ranger, has commented about the Illya Kuryakin character he’s slated to play in a movie version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

This excerpt starts with writer Mike Ryan asking Hammer about Kuryakin:

I feel that people unfamiliar with the show might not realize how cool that character is.
That’s very true. I had no idea before I got involved with it.

The actor who played him in the series, David McCallum, became a heartthrob because of this character.

Oh, dude, he had the way with ladies. He had all of the spy gadgets. He was tough. He was cool. He had everything. He was like the original Bond.

It’s an interesting movie because “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” was a popular show in the ’60s, but it hasn’t been a sustained popularity like something like “The Lone Ranger” or “Star Trek.” Do you think it needs to be completely reintroduced?

I try not to think about that. I mean, that seems to me — you know, Guy Ritchie, who’s directing it, that’s in his wheelhouse. I’ll let him worry about that. For me, like I said, my job lies almost exclusively between when the director says “action” and when he calls “cut.” So, it could also maybe be more freeing. That we do have a bit more artistic liberties to take with this. Because there are less people who are staunch fans of it.

Dude, some of the “less people who are staunch fans of it” might get nervous about the “more artistic liberties.” Then again, that appears to be an honest comment. Also, movies based on novels, television shows or comic books often make changes. Fans of the Superman comic book have been vocal about the ending of Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill, who is to play Napoleon Solo in the U.N.C.L.E. movie.

You can CLICK HERE to read the entire interview with Hammer.

UPDATE: Hammer also did an interview ON THE SLASHFILM.COM WEB SITE where the subject of U.N.C.L.E. came up.

What does Guy Ritchie have planned for that?

Guy Ritchie greatness. That’s all I can say.

There’s been a lot of turns with this project. “Tom Cruise is out… This guy is out…” You seem to have been there the whole time.

Like a fungus.

What is it about it that got you to stick around?

It was Guy. I mean it was a hundred percent Guy, and Tom was doing it at the time and that seemed like a cool thing, too. Getting to play a Russian KGB spy seemed like a really exciting thing. Getting to learn a lot about the Cold War, that sounded like a great idea. Now I get to work with Henry Cavill, which is really exciting with Guy Ritchie directing. I’m really excited to see what kind of frenetic spin he has in him. It should be really exciting.

The words “KGB spy” might cause a stir among fans. U.N.C.L.E. had agents from many countries. Kuryakin was shown in a first-season episode, The Neptune Affair, wearing a Soviet military uniform. In that episode, Kuryakin briefly confers with Solo in New York before returning to the Soviet Union because of a looming U.S.-U.S.S.R. crisis. However, there are some U.N.C.L.E. fans who insist Kuryakin must have been a defector.