McCallum remembers U.N.C.L.E.
Actor David McCallum weighs in on 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' reboot and the classic 60s TV show
Director Guy Ritchie has a fan in actor David McCallum, who called the reboot of classic 1960s spy series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." a "wonderful and exciting movie."
McCallum, who played Illya Kuryakin in the original series, spoke to FOX411 about Ritchie's stylized action flick.
"[They] have produced a wonderful, exciting movie that in no way encroaches into what we did back in the '60s and at the same time, uses a lot of elements that Norman Felton and Sam Rolfe created within the old 'Man from U.N.C.L.E.,'" McCallum said.
The original TV series focused on the unlikely duo of American spy Napoleon Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and Kuryakin (McCallum), working together to thwart threats from shadowy criminal organizations.
"It was a very agonizing time in the United States because of the Vietnam War, the Cold War," McCallum said. "People managed to escape for an hour with a Russian working with an American which was totally unheard of in those days."
The upcoming Ritchie film is also set in the early 1960s at the height of the Cold War. Henry Cavill takes on the role of Solo and Armie Hammer plays Kuryakin. But McCallum has special praise for Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, who plays Gaby in the film.
"We had a lot of very beautiful, wonderful ladies and actresses who came by on 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,' McCallum told FOX411. "I must say that in the new film, Alicia Vikander is probably the most gorgeous and luscious one I've seen yet connected to 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'"
Trending
Who's making headlines in television, music, movies and more from Hollywood to the Heartland.