Jack Lowden interview: ‘Slow Horses’

“Because he’s disgraced,” reveals actor Jack Lowden while describing what drew him to the role of River Cartwright in the Apple TV+ series “Slow Horses.” “A lot of these [shows] are made in the world of espionage, you know, we see them quite often. But if you prefix it with ‘disgraced’ or ‘rubbish’ or ’embarrassing’ I think it was sort of a no-brainer.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.

“Slow Horses” is a quick-witted spy thriller that follows a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman). The spies must navigate the espionage world’s smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces. It is based on Mick Herron‘s 2010 novel of the same name.

SEE Gary Oldman (‘Slow Horses’) on playing a flatulent spy and reuniting with ‘Darkest Hour’ co-star Kristin Scott Thomas

Oldman signing on for his first TV project felt like a “stamp of approval” for Lowden. “Getting to just be on a set with him in sort of a competition winner sort of way would have been enough. But to get to be opposite him was sort of ridiculous and still is.” The key to their onscreen chemistry is having fun, even if it means cracking some jokes. “I would be doing this scene and I would cross my eyes [like this] and Gary would piss himself laughing. It was really refreshing to see a legend like him shooting from the hip in that kind of way.”

For as well as Lowden and Oldman get along offscreen, their characters aren’t friendly onscreen. “I’d like to say [Jackson] doesn’t like [River] because he’s tall and blond,” the actor says with a grin. “Jackson’s like a complete mess. Even more of a mess in the books. Gary makes him look like Tom Cruise compared to what’s actually written in the books. But he’s still very revolting.”

The actor also discusses the fun he had doing his own stunts. “I said, ‘It’s going to be annoying because nobody’s going to believe that’s me in the car because you can’t see it.’ But I do like to drive! That’s half the reason I wanted that part. That’s ridiculously exciting to do those things. We had a whole airport terminal to play around in.”