Jack Lowden really gets 'slapped around' on 'Slow Horses.' And he loves every minute

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Set us as preferred Early in Season 5 of “Slow Horses,” Slough House boss Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) yells at underling River Cartwright (Jack Lowden): “Your world stopped when your granddad went gaga and your dad tried to blow you up.” Lamb, blunt as always, makes a good point: It has been a tough slog for Lowden’s MI5 agent-in-exile.Having spent most of the previous season trying to look after his Alzheimer’s-affected grandpa (Jonathan Pryce) while chasing down his sociopathic father (Hugo Weaving), River now bungles a key assignment — though he ultimately saves the day.

“Any time River gets any kind of small win, I’m delighted for him,” Lowden said in a video chat from his parents’ home in Scotland.Emmy-nominated for supporting actor in a drama series for the second time, Lowden has come a long way since his early days as a shy Scottish kid who watched British sitcom reruns “religiously” while his brother Calum, now a principal dancer for the Royal Swedish Ballet, seemed to be the more obvious performer in the family.But Lowden went on to earn his fractured action-hero gravitas the hard way: summer classes at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, training at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and several years of stage work.

In 2018, after appearing in “Dunkirk,” he met his wife-to-be, Saoirse Ronan, while filming “Mary Queen of Scots.” More recently, Lowden played a recovering alcoholic opposite Martin Freeman in the National Theatre production of “The Fifth Step” and offered his take on Mr.Darcy in Netflix’s forthcoming adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice.”Lowden talked to The Envelope about savoring “Slow Horses’” brusque humor, keeping his character on the move and acting opposite master thespians who know how to go deep at the drop of a hat.Gary Oldman as Jackson ...