"He's very very normal": When Jack Lowden shared his feelings about working alongside his Slow Horses co-star Gary Oldman 

Slow Horses is currently television's biggest spy drama hit, following its gritty approach to down-at-heel MI5 agents and the authoritative presence of Gary Oldman as the fantastic Jackson Lamb. He is aided by Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, a young agent trying to make his mark in the grimy Slough House world. The pair have played well on screen, but what is it like when the cameras stop rolling?

During an interview with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Lowden spewed out what it was actually like working with Oldman, and his answer was refreshingly blunt. He characterized Oldman as "very, very normal." According to the interview, he said,

"holy cow, it's Gary Oldman. No, because he's just very, very normal, and he comes from a theater background, which a lot of those people you mentioned come from. And so they're instantly more chilled, (1:58) and they have real company feel."

For most, the premise that an actor of Oldman's stature, an Academy Award winner admired for his chameleon-like on-screen performances, could be so down-to-earth could sound suspect. But for Lowden, everything was about the collaboration between them and the environment on the set of Slow Horses.

Jack Lowden's opinion on Gary Oldman

Lowden broke down that Oldman did not act with the airs one would expect from a seasoned actor. Rather, he was available and professional and made it seem easy to collaborate rather than intimidating. The comment "very, very normal" served to point out the disparity between Oldman's larger-than-life persona on screen and the unassuming co-worker Lowden found him to be on set.

In the Slow Horses world, this dichotomy is particularly noteworthy, as Jackson Lamb, Oldman's character, is far from ordinary.

The idea behind Slow Horses

Slow Horses is based on Mick Herron's Slough House novels, which deal with MI5 agents who have been stationed down due to career blunders. They are referred to as "slow horses" since they are normally assigned unexciting and meaningless tasks, but somehow become involved in some big cases of spying.

The TV show has taken the novels in order: Season 1 used Slow Horses, Season 2 Dead Lions, Season 3 Real Tigers, and Season 4 Spook Street.

Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb

Oldman's performance as Jackson Lamb is the center of Slow Horses. Lamb is bitter and rough and seems to be irresponsible, but under his rumpled exterior, he has a quick wit and unblinking skill at keeping his dysfunctional crew in line. Lowden's observation that Oldman is "very, very normal" off-screen indicates the huge difference between actor and role.

It is indicative of Oldman's flexibility to play a disheveled character like Lamb on screen and be low-key in more mundane interactions with co-stars.

On-set relationships and working together

For Lowden, sharing the screen with Oldman could have been daunting given Oldman's body of work. Instead, the actor's grittiness made a union for cooperation second nature. This is reflected in the genuine rapport between River Cartwright and Jackson Lamb, a key force driving the show.

The full complement, which includes Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, and Jonathan Pryce, enjoys this chemistry, keeping the show well-balanced between tension, comedy, and believability.

Why the comment is important

Lowden's account is noteworthy because it discloses a side of Oldman that movie stars are not generally entitled to. Fans tend to think of magnificent actors as aloof or distant, but Lowden's report defies that.

What he describes is a less self-important variant of the show filming locale, one where hierarchy gives way to collaboration even when the myth of an actor like Oldman is concerned.

The screen-life relationship

As much as Lowden's "very, very normal" assessment of Oldman is true to the down-to-earth colour of Slow Horses, the programme constructs itself around flawed, fault-ridden characters instead of dazzling heroes.

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The very same holds for Oldman's on-screen character. To viewers, it presents another dimension to enjoying the tense, complex, but human exchanges that propel the show.

Also read: The only Slow Horses Season 4 recap you need before the fifth chapter premieres this September

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