Guy Ritchie on directing David Beckham, picking Charlie Hunnam to play King Arthur

Guy Ritchie —Ruben V. Nepales

LOS ANGELES—Guy Ritchie’s eyes are as expressive as any of his talented actors. Asked how good he is with a sword, the director of “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” could have just let the naughty glint in his eyes and the bemused smile on his face suffice for an answer.

But he voiced his reply anyway: “There are all sorts of metaphors in there, aren’t there?” Then, he added, “I never picked up a sword.”

Noted for being a natty clothes horse, Guy even stood up to dutifully answer who he was wearing in this recent interview in New York: “It’s a Brunello (Cucinelli) jacket, a very light cashmere. You get poured into this jacket; you don’t step into it. The tie is Ralph Lauren—I’m a big fan. Then, I have a tailor who makes my trousers. This is a rather nice pair of flax trousers. The shoes are by Ralph, socks by Burlington (laughs). I have a tailor who made my shirt.”

Madonna’s ex, now married to model Jacqui Ainsley (with whom he has three kids; he has a son, Rocco, with the pop superstar) since 2015, playfully took his wedding ring on and off his finger throughout our talk. That prompted a question.

“I do lose my ring,” he replied with a smile. “In fact, I was just on a holiday in the Maldives. The ring disappeared into the old laundry and, miraculously, it came back in a neat little packet. I haven’t told the wife that.”

The night before this chat, we saw Guy—dapperly-dressed, of course, and his “King Arthur” star Charlie Hunnam—walking and talking in Manhattan.

“I keep forgetting that Charlie is rather good-looking,” Guy said with a laugh. “When we get mobbed on the street, everyone ignores me and goes to converse with him.”

The 48-year-old British filmmaker, noted for his visual flair and bracing dialogue (evident again in “King Arthur”), will direct next a live-action version of Disney’s “Aladdin,” with Will Smith in talks to voice the Genie, memorably voiced by the late Robin Williams in the 1992 animated classic.

Excerpts from our chat, peppered by his English humor:

If there’s a sequel to this “King Arthur,” who’s going to play Guinevere? Ah, Guinevere. Well, who says King Arthur is straight? (laughs). Charlie’s going to enjoy that one.

Talk about directing David Beckham. David Beckham, like most athletes, is actually very easy to direct. Because athletes have spent so many years being directed. So, it wasn’t anything more than fun. I didn’t want him to bounce you out of the movie, so we covered him up as much as we could. I used him in my last movie. He has star quality.

And you made a cameo in this movie. Yes, I did pop up—because what happens is, invariably, you run out of extras. I have my soundman in there, too. The DP and the focus puller are in there. All the different talents who work on a film set are in there somewhere.

In the end, I was the only person that wasn’t in there (laughs). So that’s what it came down to. We needed this guy. We looked around and went, “What about you, Charlie?” He goes, “You can’t use me.” In the end, the only person left was me (laughs).

You also gave Vinnie Jones his start. Now, David, too. What is it about footballers that you like to cast them in your movies? You’ll have to ask old Becks about that. I like working with athletes because they’re so disciplined. They respond to direction. They’re both guys I like. I like the idea of feathering David into certain things, but not to the point where he bounces you out.

At what point did you decide on using the so-called Guy Ritchie speak in this film? I quite fancy the idea that I can make these rather long-winded scenes [into shorter ones]. Long scenes are what serious directors do. I had a go at doing it and whenever I watch it, I get bored. For some reason, it doesn’t work.

Arthur faces all these adversities in the film. Do his struggles resonate with you in your life? That’s a very interesting question, because that’s the essence of the film which is, having all the unpleasant things in your life as an alchemy. That isn’t specific to me or anyone. I would argue that the negative stuff can be turned into [something] positive. Those challenges make the man.

For you, what was important about The Mage role, as played by Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey? I didn’t want a conventional romantic narrative. That would have been one too many things to deal with. So, we chose the role of The Mage. Although I didn’t try to draw that much attention to the fact that she was feminine. She happened to be feminine by default. I quite like that.

I am nervous about casting people because they’re something rather than the fact that they are because they are. The position was essentially not to make it romantic but to make it, you are who you are, and oh, by the way, you happen to be a woman.

Talk about how you chose Charlie Hunnam over the other finalists for the role. Charlie chose himself to be King Arthur. I wasn’t familiar with his work. Charlie insisted to his manager that he was going to fly himself over—and he did. It only seemed respectful to give him an opportunity for a screen test. Honestly, he did 10 screen tests and just grounded everybody else out of the frame.

It seemed obvious that he became the right guy. I also have a shorthand with him. He understands what I am talking about, and I understand what he is talking about.

He’s a very technical actor. He is not scared of hard work. He is generally a magnificent pleasure.

“Snatch” has been made into a TV series. Did they talk to you at all? Have you seen the series? I have nothing to do with it. A friend of mine has something to do with it. He asked me. I could see that he was going to do it, anyway. I haven’t seen it. They are odd, those things, aren’t they? You never know how you’re going to feel about them.

Do you still have The Punch Bowl pub? It’s not my pub anymore. It hasn’t been for two or three years. But I’m getting a new one. I’m not going to tell you this yet, because I haven’t quite closed the deal (laughs). But I very much want another pub.

Will there be another “Sherlock Holmes” film?

Honestly, I have no idea why there isn’t already another “Sherlock Holmes.” There has always has been a will from every member in the film (to do another one). When the guys want to make it, I am your man. At some point, it’s going to get so pregnant that it’s going to have to give birth (laughs).