EXCLUSIVE: Gary Oldman on playing ‘rude’ yet redeemable Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses

After starring in Oscar-nominated works such as Darkest Hour, Mank among others, Gary Oldman’s latest project is the AppleTV+ series Slow Horses. The show starring him alongside Jack Lowden, Olivia Cooke, Saskia Reeves and Kristin Scott Thomas is based on Mick Herron’s novel by the same name revolving around a group of discarded MI5 agents. 

Ahead of the show’s streaming release, Pinkvilla attended Slow Horses‘ Virtual Press Day and during the roundtable interviews, spoke to the lead star Gary Oldman about coming on board for the show and taking on a character like Jackson Lamb who is a brash boss with zero sense of personal hygiene, leading a bunch of agents who are dumped into Slough House for their career-ending mistakes. 

It’s a character that Slow Horses author Mick Herron described in an interview with Waterstones as someone who is “driven by self loathing.” When asked if he felt the same while taking on this role, Gary said, “Yeah, there’s definitely an element of that. To not be so concerned with other people’s opinions of you, there’s certainly an element of self-loathing there. I mean his hygiene, just look at him, he’s sticky.” To which his co-star Jack Lowden further added, “Sticky. Like a pub floor” with Oldman immediately agreeing to it. 

Describing why it’s still fun to play such a character, the Oscar winner further quipped, “There’s something redeeming that you’ve got to find. There’s something in a character that you’ve got to like and enjoy. I think Gary as the actor enjoys playing a character who is so liberated, so rude. Rather than saying ‘Thank you very much close the door behind you’, I say ‘F-Off’. It’s a lot of fun to play that as an actor.” 

Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb is seen as a jaded spy agent on the show who enjoys day drinking, has abusive language and is introduced on the show in his first scene with a loud fart. The show also boasts of some amazing performances by Jack Lowden of Dunkirk fame who plays River Cartwright, an agent badly trying to get out of Slough House after botching up a training exercise. 

Slow Horses is adapted from Mick Herron’s novel by Will Smith (writer of Veep). The series’ first season consisting of six episodes has been directed by James Hawes. A second season for the show has reportedly already been greenlit. 

Watched Slow Horses yet? Share your views with Pinkvilla in the comments below.

ALSO READ: Slow Horses Review: Gary Oldman’s boorish boss & his team of MI5 outcasts entertain in a unique spy story