“Guns, geezers and a weird obsession with aristos – this is peak Guy Ritchie,” said the Standard in its review of The Gentlemen, the British filmmaker’s first-ever TV project as a director, which is dropping on Netflix on Thursday.
The story, which is “a new slice of the world initially brought to life in Ritchie’s 2020 film of the same name” follows Theo James’ character, ex-soldier Eddie, who inherits his dad’s country estate and title after he dies.
It’s a lot for anyone to cope with. But when he returns home, he meets Kaya Scodelario’s Susie Glass, who duly explains that Eddie’s dad had been renting out his cattle shed to drug dealers. Eddie finds himself in the middle of a high-stakes game and has to stand his ground against the criminal gangs. Turns out, he’s quite good at it.
“It’s more of the same from a director who has been doing this on and off for a quarter of a century,” said the Standard. “But somehow, even in 2024, he still knows how to keep it entertaining.”
Here we breakdown who is playing who in the new starry series.
Theo James plays Eddie Horniman
Theo James has been smashing it recently. The 39-year-old British born actor started to become more widely recognised after roles in Divergent (2014), London Fields (2018), Sanditon (2019) and The Witcher (2019). But he has transformed into an all-out star over the last couple of years, with leading roles in The Time Traveler’s Wife (2022) and The White Lotus (2022).
In Ritchie' series he plays aristocratic Eddie, who finds himself at the centre of a weed empire when he inherits his father’s title of Lord of Halstead. “Lock, Stock was definitely part of my cultural zeitgeist as a teen,” James said in a recent interview. “Not that we would ever think to emulate The Godfather, because in my mind it’s one of the greatest movies of all time. But the idea of a relatively moral man returning to a family but then slowly his soul is corrupted – that was a touchpoint.”
Kaya Scodelario plays Susie Glass
Kaya Scodelario, meanwhile, is still best remembered for her turn as Effy Stonem in Skins (2007-2010), despite starring in Andrea Arnold’s extraordinary adaptation of Wuthering Heights (2011) and The Maze Runner films, and featuring in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), Crawl (2019), and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021).
In The Gentlemen she plays Susie Glass, the daughter of Ray Winstone’s character Bobby. Glamorous, intelligent and unscrupulous, Susie runs one of the crime gangs in lieu of her dad, who is in prison.
“I insisted that I have a conversation with the showrunners to make sure that she [her character Susie Glass] would be a constant thread throughout the story, that she would have her own arc, that she would be front and centre,” said Kaya in an interview. “I didn’t want her to be swallowed up.”
Ray Winstone as Bobby Glass
London legend Ray Winstone is back in a familiar role, playing a geezer crime boss who is in prison. But fans of Winstone fear not: Bobby gets plenty of screen time.
Hackney-born Winstone, 67, has built a stellar career playing bad guys, with roles in films including Ripley's Game (2002), The Departed (2006), Beowulf (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and Black Widow (2021). And although he’s best known for his gangster-style characters (as well as for his gambling ads), the actor has also played dysfunctional fathers, Henry 8th and Dickens’ Magwitch.
Speaking about why it has taken him so long to work with Ritchie, Winstone recently said: “We haven’t always had the best relationship, put it that way. It was back when we were younger, but then you grow up.”
Daniel Ings as Freddy Horniman
English actor Daniel Ings has had featured in everything from Peep Show, to Endeavor, to Lovesick, to Black Mirror, to The Crown over the years. Recently, he played Dan (the love interest of Gillian Anderson’s Jean) in Sex Education, and had roles in both I Hate Suzie (2020) and The Gold (2023).
In The Gentlemen he plays the drugged-up brother of Eddie, Freddy. “[He’s] a proud idiot who is convinced that he is worthy of so much more than life gives him,” said Ings.
Ings has also spoken about working on a Guy Ritchie set: “It’s crazy, it takes a minute to adjust. Particularly when you have got actors like Vinnie Jones there, delivering Guy Ritchie dialogue. I had a few surreal moments on set.”
Joely Richardson as Lady Sabrina Horniman
Joely Richardson, the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and sister of Natasha, has starred in dozens of films and series over the years including Nip/Tuck (2003–2010) The Tudors (2010) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).
Here she plays Lady Sabrina Horniman, the Dowager Duchess of Halstead and Eddie’s mother. Lady Sabrina has a fair few skeletons in her closet – though they’re all very well hidden under the tweed.
Vinnie Jones as Geoff Seacombe
Vinnie Jones’ Geoff Seacombe is the gamekeeper of Halstead Manor. He’s extremely loyal to the Horniman family, and becomes Eddie’s close ally.
“I’m the confidant of it all,” said Jones to Tudum. “The lads come to me. I’m the protector of the family, whether it's secrets or whether it’s burying bodies on the estate to hush it up.”
Jones, 59, famously starred in Ritchie’s celebrated Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000). He’s featured in over 80 films since then, including She’s the Man (2006), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Fire with Fire (2012).
Giancarlo Esposito plays Stanley Johnston
Copenhagen-born Giancarlo Esposito plays Stanley Johnston, aka Uncle Stan, a wealthy American who is passionate about the British aristocracy. He suddenly crops up out of nowhere, and it’s difficult to judge his true intentions.
Esposito has had roles in Spike Lee’s School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), and Malcolm X (1992). More recently he’s featured in The Jungle Book (2016), Okja (2017), and Stargirl (2020).
Ruby Sear as Gabrielle
The Gentlemen is British-American actor Ruby Sear’s first TV series. She plays Gabrielle, a mysterious woman who becomes involved in the weed farm.
Harry Goodwins as Jack
A couple of years ago you may have seen Harry Goodwins modelling in GQ, Rollercoaster Magazine and MOB Journal. Since then, the model has turned his hand to acting, with roles in Journey to Hell (2022) and Sunset Drive (2023). In The Gentlemen he plays Susie’s boxer brother Jack.
