LOS ANGELES—If “Man of Steel” and “The Lone Ranger” work together, what do you get? “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer, two of the hottest Hollywood male stars today, are teaming up in Guy Ritchie’s movie version of the classic 1960s spy TV series that starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as evil-fighting agents.
Armie plays David’s character, Illya Kuryakin, a Russian spy. Henry landed Robert’s role, Napoleon Solo, after Tom Cruise gave up the part due to a shooting-schedule conflict.
“I would have loved to work with Tom, but at the same time, I’m also excited to do it with Henry, because it adds a different twist to the movie,” Armie said in a recent interview in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
At the time of our interview, Armie said he has not met Henry or David. “I’m excited about meeting both of them,” said the great grandson of the late oil tycoon and art collector, Armand Hammer. “Hopefully, I’ll get to meet David while making the movie. We start shooting in August.”
“I’m also very excited about playing a Russian,” Armie added. “I’m in the middle of my research phase now. I’m studying the political climate during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was a fascinating time globally. It’s such a great script (by Scott Z. Burns), and it’s so funny! Guy Ritchie has such a great take on it.”
