JOHN STEED
So we’ve talked about the inspiration on the character of Eggsy in terms of his gritty, London origins and eventual stylistic look, but what about Harry Hart, Colin Firth’s erstwhile Kingsman mentor? On the face of it, Bond serves as the obvious template, but honestly Harry has much more in common with John Steed, hero of The Avengers.
No, not *that* one, rather the 1960’s bonkers as butter British TV series which starred the late Patrick Macnee as Steed, a gentlemen spy for The Ministry, replete with bowler hat, umbrella and impeccable tailoring. Where Bond drinks hard, plays hard and swaggers about, Steed is the epitome of “manners maketh man” as goes Harry’s instantly iconic catchphrase, later adopted by Eggsy. The Kingsman style may be Bond, but the English gentleman cool is all John Steed.