The mark of a successful actor goes beyond top billing, box office draw, trophies and name-dropping headlines. Perhaps the purest indicator of an actor’s success is when they show up on screen and the audience immediately trusts that they’re going to add something genuinely interesting to the story being told. Well, Babs Olusanmokun has belonged to this category of actor for quite some time now, and Guy Ritchie’s latest film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, makes excellent use of the Nigerian-American actor, including his innately enigmatic presence and the mellifluous rasp of his voice.
Olusanmokun and Ritchie previously worked together on the Jason Statham-led Wrath of Man (2021), and they nearly worked together again in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023). Instead, Ungentlemanly Warfare became their second go-round, and Olusanmokun received a major promotion, jumping from 26th billing on Wrath of Man to sixth billing. His undercover spy character, Heron, is a member of Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive (SOE), a covert organization of unauthorized commandos and spies who would color outside the lines in order to undermine Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II.
In the case of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the story focuses on the SOE’s effort to neutralize Nazi U-boats, and this recently declassified story ended up having a major impact on America joining the fold. Olusanmokun’s character owns a Nazi-frequented bar on the island of Fernando Po, and so he would transmit messages to his allies who were voyaging their way there to fulfill the greater mission. While Heron is a fictional character, Olusanmokun had no problem finding inspiration.
“There were Black men that fought France for the British Empire during the first World War. They were called the British West Indies Regiment, and knowing that they existed during World War I gave me the thread to take into World War II with Heron,” Olusanmokun tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So it’s not at all a stretch of the imagination to see a man like this operating within those circumstances. It’s just like when you grow up and realize that some of the best cowboys and greatest lawmen in the American West were actually Black men. So having that awareness and education meant that there was nothing to be panicked about in terms of the [fictional] character.”
Olusanmokun, as the Fremen warrior Jamis, is the first person shown in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise. Jamis then becomes the first person Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) kills en route to joining the Fremen and becoming Muad’dib. And in both Dune: Part One and Part Two, Jamis, through visions, serves as a guiding voice to Paul when he’s struggling to pilot an Ornithopter in a blinding sandstorm, or he’s debating whether he should drink the potentially lethal Water of Life in order to find his way forward. For a relatively small part, Olusanmokun’s character has had a tremendous impact on Paul Atreides’ arc and Villeneuve’s overall story.
To Olusanmokun, the size of the role was irrelevant given the respect that Villeneuve paid him at the start.
“The first time we met, he said, ‘At the end of [Dune: Part One], your guy is gone. If you don’t want to do it, Babs, I understand. I think you should be doing bigger things,’ and he touched my heart when he said that,” Olusanmokun recalls. “And I was like, ‘I will do this. I will serve this film.’ So when he called me up or emailed me for the second film, I was absolutely there to contribute whatever little I could contribute.”
A prosthetic mold was made of Olusanmokun’s body for Jamis’ funeral proceeding in Dune: Part Two, but Villeneuve insisted that he come back and play the scene in person.
“Denis, in his infinite wisdom, was like, ‘No, we have to have Babs there. It’s going to be a lot more real if we have Babs there,’” Olusanmokun recalls. “He was shooting something else, and it seemed like it was just going to be a perfunctory second unit sort of day, but then it was just like, ‘No, Denis said that he wants to be there.’”
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Olusanmokun also discusses the timely message of Ungentlemanly Warfare, as well as his unforgettable experience with Nicolas Winding Refn on Too Old to Die Young.
Where did The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare fall on your timeline of projects?
It fell right after I finished shooting some stuff for Dune: Part Two and The Book of Clarence by Jeymes Samuel. So the end of January 2023 is when I started this film.
Coming off of Wrath of Man, it must’ve been flattering to receive a return invitation from Guy Ritchie, especially when it’s a more significant part. Was this a rather validating phone call and compliment to receive?
Absolutely. In reality, there was a previous film, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, which we spoke about, but something else came into play. So, unfortunately, that didn’t work out, but it was lovely working with Guy and his team on Wrath of Man. So it was absolutely beautiful that he came back around for Ministry, and as you said, the Heron character is a wonderful role. So I’m very grateful.
What did Guy bring out in you on Ungentlemanly Warfare that’s unique from your other experiences?
I always come as prepared as possible, but I’d say that it was the sense of play within this espionage world. There was a gravity to this situation in World War II, and yet there was still this sense of play and ease within my surroundings and environment. It was also lovely to step out of this convertible and receive Marjorie’s [Eiza Gonzalez] hand. There were little things on the train and the play of words. [Guy] would say, “Hey, we’re not using that stuff in the script. This is what we’re doing.” (Laughs.) So, every morning, there were new pages, and he’d sometimes work through those lines of dialogue as we’re reading them. And he’d say, “That doesn’t work, that works.” He was always at play, and so the sense of play was what I really loved and got from Guy while working in these amazing settings.
This film is based on a remarkable true story about how a small group of unauthorized commandos and spies changed the course of World War II, and your spy character, Heron, assists the effort by gaining intelligence through his Nazi-frequented bar on Fernando Po. Such stories have to take artistic license, but were you able to track down any real-life figures that somewhat resembled Heron’s role in this operation?
Heron is a fictional character, but knowing that there were Black men that fought for the British Empire during the first World War, I took license with my imagination, saying, “This is how I’m going to build this character.” There were Black men that fought France for the British Empire during the first World War. They were called the British West Indies Regiment, and knowing that they existed during World War I gave me the thread to take into World War II with Heron.
He’s a guy who is well traveled. He’s seen some things. He speaks more than one language, and he just has this awareness of the world. He has this level of ability and education and perspective that makes a guy like M [Cary Elwes] trust him to be part of this amazing covert unit that the British war cabinet did not want to exist and, for a while, did not realize existed. So it’s not at all a stretch of the imagination to see a man like this operating within those circumstances. It’s just like when you grow up and realize that some of the best cowboys and greatest lawmen in the American West were actually Black men. So having that awareness and education meant that there was nothing to be panicked about in terms of the [fictional] character.
Babs Olusanmokun as Heron in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Lionsgate
Of course, it’s make believe, but when you were filming each of Heron’s missions with Nazi characters all around him, could you actually feel some of the pressure and tension with so much at stake?
Absolutely. The lives of tens of millions of people depended on these kinds of operations. We brought to life just one operation in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, but there were several others. And what’s at stake is nations, cultures and tens of millions of lives. So, absolutely, and I infused Heron with that sense of gravity. He worked with representatives of the British Empire to try and salvage something of this world that a group of people have decided to essentially destroy and take over, but really destroy in their own way. And I think the film has that. For as much playing as we did and for as much fun as we had, the tension and the gravity of the period and the moment was always there. So that was definitely something I carried.
It’s a complicated time in the world, and while this movie is mostly meant to be an exciting action movie, does its story make you feel a bit more optimistic that we’ll someday hear declassified stories about the heroic people who staved off disaster right now?
Absolutely. We’ve got to always remain optimistic. That’s the only way out, really. A bit of optimism can take you a long way, as long as certain people are working in concert and properly. This film reminds us that at a certain point in time, those that came before us were faced with this entity that was completely out of its mind, trying to take over countries and steal people’s things, really. That’s what it always boils down to, and the world responded in a certain kind of way. It’s a lesson that the world of now needs to learn — that Nazis are not people that need to be embraced. It is not an opinion that should be, “Oh yeah, your opinion is super valid and mine is super valid.” No … So we’ve got to be optimistic that we can actually respect one another and care for one another, because it’s the only way out. Optimism is very, very important, and this film is a reminder that people can come together and fight properly for the right thing.
Was Dune: Part Two one of the only times where you’ve jumped at the chance to play dead?
Believe it or not, I actually did a whole body cast that they were going to use for that, but Denis, in his infinite wisdom, was like, “No, we have to have Babs there. It’s going to be a lot more real if we have Babs there.” He was shooting something else, and it seemed like it was just going to be a perfunctory second unit sort of day, but then it was just like, “No, Denis said that he wants to be there.” And that went on for an hour or two: “Denis said he wants to be there. He’s going to be there.” So, [as a dead character], it was a powerful moment to try and not hear these people crying for Jamis.
As soon as I started shooting the first part with him, Denis has been very, very kind and warm and complimentary with his words. He’s just fantastic. Every couple of months he would email me and say, “Babs, I’ve written this thing. Can you please come and shoot it?” He did that literally two or three times for Dune: Part One. And for Dune: Part Two, he brought me in, and then we shot some other things that I don’t know made it into the film.
But the first time we met, he said, “At the end of this film, your guy is gone. If you don’t want to do it, Babs, I understand. I think you should be doing bigger things,” and he touched my heart when he said that. And I was like, “I will do this. I will serve this film.” So when he called me up or emailed me for the second film, I was absolutely there to contribute whatever little I could contribute.
When Jamis challenged Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) to a duel in Dune (2021), did he view it as a win-win situation? If he won, he rid the Fremen of an imposter. If he lost, he helped kick-start a prophecy that his people have talked about for ages.
I would like to say that, but in the moment, he very much believes that this child cannot be The One and that Stilgar [Javier Bardem] is really not doing his job properly. “Maybe it’s time for Stilgar to be pushed aside, and I will test this individual and his mother.” So Jamis worked with a kind of certitude in his thinking, and he was always ready to put it on the line, because he truly believed in his culture and loved his people.
Your extended last laugh on Too Old to Die Young still haunts me. What was your takeaway from your Nicolas Winding Refn experience?
(Laughs.) Oh man, Nic was really cool and really wonderful to work with. I’ve been quite blessed. Sometimes there are people I’m about to work with and you have all these thoughts in your head about how they’re going to be, but then you get there and they’re super collaborative. So he was very open like that, and it was wild. He’d make Miles [Teller] and I do endless takes. There was a lot of silence between pieces of dialogue within each scene, and we ended up loving it.
He’s got a specific kind of style in how he wants things to be done, and then you as the actor have to make that as truthful as possible. There was just no rush whatsoever in trying to create and find the truth within the specificities of movement. When you touch the table, when you look at the character you’re speaking to in the scene, he was very, very specific. And so, it was a process to find my truth within that, but it was really beautiful.
With the last laugh, he said something really wonderful as I was laying there doing it, and I’m not going to repeat because it just sounds like you’re kissing your own ass. (Laughs.) But it was a wonderful out-of-body experience to a dark ending.
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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare opens in theaters on April 19.
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