This article contains spoilers for the first four episodes of Season 4 of “Slow Horses”
Jackson Lamb, Gary Oldman’s gruff, grizzled spy in “Slow Horses,” cares more about the agents under his command than he lets on, as the actor told TheWrap in a recent interview.
In the Season 4 premiere episode, the audience is led to believe that River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) has been shot and killed by his own grandfather David (Jonathan Pryce). Lamb identifies the body — which is unrecognizable thanks to a shotgun blast to the face — as Cartwright, leading the rest of his agents to believe that River is really dead.
We later learn that the dead man is a French assassin who only resembled River. And that River is now in France trying to trace the assassin’s steps.
“That’s what we do, We kill people off,” said Oldman with a smile over Zoom.” So we have that going for us. I hope people think for a moment, at least a second, ‘Oh my god, they killed him off.’”
Read the rest of our interview with Oldman, in which he agrees that Lamb is, indeed, very much like the banged-up taxi he commandeers for a strategic rescue.
TheWrap: This season, there’s some loss and some some hard moments for Jackson, and there are times when he looks genuinely affected, but there are also times where he really does seem like this enormous bastard who doesn’t care about anybody himself. Where do you fall on that?
Gary Oldman: I think he cares terribly. But when is he serious and when is he just sort of putting it on? I think he uses the hygiene, or the lack of hygiene, the insults, it’s all weaponized. It’s all spycraft. I think he’s sort of, “Please judge the book by its cover, underestimate me.”
He doesn’t ever want to be seen to care who lives and who dies.
I think he gives the impression to people that he doesn’t care. I think he probably cares more than most. All those Slow Horses downstairs thinking he’s upstairs drinking himself stupid sitting in a chair with his feet on the desk, dozing and having a snooze. And I think that’s when he’s working, when he’s got his feet up and his eyes are closed, that’s when what I call the motor, is working, because at the height of the peril, when things are really at stake and the Slow Horses are energized and frenetic, they’ll often come in and find Lamb in the office with his feet on the desk, appearing not to care or not to be particularly bothered. And that is him …what’s the word? Cogitating.
It’s sort of fermenting. I love the fact that he doesn’t have a filter. It’s not only fun to play, but I’ll give you a brief example. In the first scene, when he meets Emma Flyte [Ruth Bradley], who he’s taken with, it’s the first time we see that side of Jackson Lamb, really. She says, “I’m the replacement for Duffy,” to which he says, “You’re already an improvement,” which could be sexist. He’s sort of flirting with her. He’s giving her a compliment. And then he immediately covers it with, “On account of not being brain dead.”
That’s the thing about Lamb that I really enjoy.
Lamb comes to the rescue a few times this season, including when an assassin is trying to take out some of your agents, he gets behind the wheel of a taxi and just runs the guy over.
Yes, I do come to the rescue. I become a cab driver.
It’s interesting because it struck me that, no pun intended, that the banged-up taxi is kind of a metaphor for Jackson himself, because it’s seen some damage, but it still gets the job done.
[Smiles] Yeah, that’s… I couldn’t have put it better myself. That is… that’s fine. So I am. You know, when you’re in the thick of it, you’re doing it. You’re not always conscious of that creativity in a way. It doesn’t work like that. You’re in your instinct and you’re in the moment… I would say that that’s bang on, yeah. And a fitting vehicle, isn’t it really, for him to do, sort of, it’s like Fred Flintstone, yeah.
The series finale of “Slow Horses” Season 4 premieres on Apple TV+ on Wednesday.
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