RadioTimes.com<\/a> that his portrayal was at least in part based on the historical record.<\/p>\n\u201cMost of what we know about Rasputin anyway is arguably fictionalised,\u201d he said. \u201cHe does remain in our culture as a kind of anti-superhero already, so he lends himself wonderfully to a vehicle like the what-if-ness of the Kingsman franchise.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he has such a specific look as well that\u2019s instantly recognisable \u2013 even if you know nothing of Rasputin generally, that kind of silhouette is instantly recognisable.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then it was a case of learning who he was or what we know about him,\u201d he added. \u201cWe know he was mysterious, he was very powerful, he was physically very strong, he had zero table manners, he was very difficult to kill, and he was a healer \u2013 arguably a very successful one. There\u2019s a lot of what-ifs around Rasputin himself basically, so it\u2019s on a plate a little bit in terms of what you have to play with as an actor.\u201d<\/p>
He continued: \u201cThe film gives us more information about Rasputin than we might think it\u2019s doing, and what we might assume is fictionalised actually isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two examples from the top of my head: in Rasputin\u2019s assassination there were<\/em> actual members of the British Secret Service present in the planning of and the execution of the assassination. And then Rasputin famously had awful table manners and ate like a pig. But where we part ways is he wasn\u2019t obviously a champion Cossack kung fu dancer. But then again \u2013 who knows?\u201d<\/p>\nOne star who plays not one, not two, but three<\/em> historical figures in the film is Tom Hollander who stars in the triple role of King George V of England, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. In the first act, the film gives us a brief history lesson as to the relationship between the three monarchs, all of whom were first cousins, and although much of what happens thereafter is fictionalised the background itself is based in fact.<\/p>\n\u201cThere\u2019s a book called The Three Emperors by Miranda Carter, that was very, very helpful about the whole period,\u201d Hollander explains when asked about the true history behind the characters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had also played George V once before, so I\u2019d done a certain amount of research about him,\u201d he added. \u201cBut when you\u2019re playing a historical character in someone else\u2019s version of a bit of history, they\u2019ve made a lot of the decisions about the presentation of that character.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes when you do research you encounter details which are not consistent with the version of the character that you\u2019re being asked to play \u2013 and you need to focus your work on the script to make that version of that character work. But Miranda Carter\u2019s book helped me, it just stimulated my imagination to know what the real people were like.\u201d<\/p>\n