Meghan Markle rumors stir The Gentlemen premiere

Rumors that Meghan Markle was in talks for a role in Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen sparked plenty of discussion at Wednesday’s international premiere of the second season, with lead actor Theo James saying he was “intrigued” by the speculation, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Giancarlo Esposito, the Breaking Bad star, said that having someone with such a high profile in the series could be “a great advantage or a great disadvantage,” while Hugh Bonneville dismissed the rumors as a “brilliant marketing” move, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

“I pitched Keir Starmer for the role, but apparently nobody was interested,” joked Hugh Bonneville, known for Downton Abbey, referring to the former British prime minister.

At the end of August, several reports linked Markle to a role in the third season of the crime drama, shortly after she and Prince Harry announced their intention to move back to the United Kingdom. However, subsequent media reports suggested that the proposal had been dropped following a “backlash” over the speculation.

Matthew Read, the series’ co-writer and executive producer, emphasized that Ritchie has “a great tradition of casting actors from unexpected places,” adding that the level of interest in potential cast members shows how attached audiences have become to the series.

Following the success of the first season in 2024, The Gentlemen returns with Eddie Horniman, played by Theo James, as he attempts to expand his criminal empire one year after inheriting his family’s vast fortune and title.

James, who rose to fame with his role in Divergent, told Reuters that the new season explores the effects that “centuries of landed nobility” and enormous inherited wealth can have on a person. “(Horniman) starts to realize that violence gives him a certain sense of power and he is willing to resort to violence to get where he wants to go,” he revealed.

In the latest season, filmed in locations including Lake Maggiore in Italy, Horniman teams up with drug empire heiress Susie Glass and her father, Bobby, played by Ray Winstone, who sees him as a natural fit for the criminal underworld.

Winstone, a veteran of crime films, said the series resonates because it blurs the line between organized crime and the social and political system. “Who are the gangsters? Is it really the kid from the street, or is it the hierarchy, the aristocracy? Because, first of all, how did they get there?” he said.

The second season introduces several new cast members, including 365 Days star Michele Morrone, The Leopard actress Benedetta Porcaroli, and British television presenter Maya Jama.

Theo James joked that the newcomers had to be “trained” before filming about Ritchie’s unconventional directing style. “We always say... imagine you have a script and then you burn it, because you’re never going to say any of those lines,” he said.

The second season of The Gentlemen premieres on Netflix on Thursday.

Photo: Instagram/meghan