Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman finds unexpected release on television, embracing the disheveled brilliance of Jackson Lamb and exploring the evolution of his craft.
By Steve Pond
Artwork by Drake Carr
When Gary Oldman appeared on the scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s, first in British theater and then in films such as Sid and Nancy, Prick up your ears And State of Gracehe seemed to be an unruly force of nature, imbuing a cast of rebels and misfits with a steamy, magnetic intensity. People noticed – he was nominated for his first BAFTA Award in 1988 for Prick up your ears– and he was given plenty of opportunity to show his range by an impressive pantheon of directors. There was Tom Stoppard with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are deadPhilip Kaufman with Henry and JuneOliver Stone with JFK AirportFrancis Ford Coppola with Bram Stoker’s DraculaTony Scott with True RomanceLuc Besson with Léon – The ProfessionalWolfgang Peterson with Air Force OneRidley Scott with HannibalAlfonso Cuarón and David Yates with three Harry Potter films, Christopher Nolan with three Batman films and OppenheimerJoe Wright with Darkest hourDavid Fincher with Mank… At some point he stopped being the angry young man, but he always remained an extremely worthwhile person.
And here he is now, six years after winning the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest hourin a most unexpected form. In showrunner Will Smith’s Slow horsesbased on the series of Slough House In Mick Herron’s novels, Oldman’s Jackson Lamb, sporting an unkempt mop of mostly unwashed hair, an ill-fitting raincoat, rumpled trousers and a half-fastened tie hanging over a protruding belly, looks like hell – and sometimes he is a boss from hell, berating, insulting and dismissing the discredited British intelligence agents relegated to the messy offices that Lamb defiles with his various swear words and his proud, blatant farts.
But Lamb is more than just an outward appearance, or Oldman wouldn’t be playing him. At 66, the actor has found his dream role as a sloppy, grumpy man who also happens to be a pretty brilliant spy. Oldman’s hair was a little stringy and his beer belly was bulging against his blue T-shirt when he sat down with TheWrapBook – but the actor, who took a break during filming of the show’s fifth season, dismissed the physical demands of the role. “When I’m not on set,” he says, “it just is what it is.”
You took part in a few television shows earlier in your career, but nothing compares to taking on the lead role in a series.
No. I did something when I was very, very young and I can’t even remember the name, it was so many years ago. I did a film called Memory for Channel 4. And a guest appearance on Friendsyou know? Not much.
Did you resist television?
Yes. There used to be a kind of snobbery about television, wasn’t there? You were either a film actor or a television actor. And just as the theater people looked down on the film actors, the film actors looked down on the television actors. Even though there were great individual pieces on television, we tended to look down on television. Now everyone wants to be in it. Everyone wants a show. We’re in that golden age now, aren’t we?
What kind of satisfaction can a series like this give you that a movie might not be able to give you?
What I often find frustrating in films is that the characters are sacrificed. I understand that; you have two hours to tell the story and often you feel like you have to wrap it all up and rush to the end. What I like about long films is that you can really delve into the salts and minerals of people, you know?
As a viewer, as a fan, I would watch those shows and think, it must be nice to be on a show, to reprise the character and work with the same people. When you get back into this business, you work with nice people and you often say, “We should do that again sometime.” And most of the time you never see that person again. Or you meet them at the Golden Globes or something and think, “My God, I haven’t seen you in 30 years!” So I was always a little jealous of the opportunity to do a long form.
And then this thing fell out of the sky. I was on a plane with (longtime producing partner and manager) Doug (Urbanski). I said, “What are you reading?” And he said, “I’m reading a character who’s about to become your best friend.”
I had even said to him before, “You know what, Doug? Wouldn’t it be nice to be in a show where there’s a good script, but I don’t have to imitate an accent, where I don’t have to wear bulky costumes or keep changing costumes, where I can just keep my own hair and not wear prosthetics?” And I said, “And ideally it would be great if it was a spy story, but in the Le Carré style.” That was my bucket list.
Slow horses comes pretty damn close.
Yes, exactly. So I love it.
It’s not like Jackson Lamb goes through a lot of character development, but do you learn more about him as the seasons go on?
Yeah, things are kind of coming together. Mick Herron, who writes the books, isn’t particularly forthcoming with information. He says, “If it’s not in the book, then I haven’t really thought about it.” So there’s not a lot of off-screen life to glean from. And for Lamb, the dice are pretty clear. I don’t see a big character change coming. But you learn little bits and pieces and get new insights into him. There’s a kind of reveal in season 5.
Is it as much fun to repeat some of his dialogue as it is to watch it?
Yes. It’s a big task to write a book in six hours and there are things that just slip by. When the scripts come in, I go into the book, take a couple of lines out and then say to Will (Smith), the writer, “That’s a really good line from the book. Where could we put it?” But yeah, it’s fun to get the scripts and then know the characters and actors as well as I do. I think, “Oh, I can’t wait to see Jack Lowden’s face when I give him that witty line.”
I mean, Lamb has no filter; he doesn’t care about being judged and he really has nothing to lose, so he doesn’t give a shit. It’s very freeing and cathartic to play someone who doesn’t give a shit.
In other respects, however, I think Lamb cares a lot more than he would ever admit.
Yes. I think he’s so hard on his team because in the world of espionage, mediocrity and incompetence are dangerous. It can get you killed. He gets these outcasts sent to him who might be very good agents. That’s not to say they’re completely useless, but they might have made a mistake once and then they get shuffled to Jackson Lamb. So he weeds them out. He’s hard on them and he’s hard on them – because ultimately it’s a matter of life and death. It’s serious business.
Also the whole thing with the greasy hair, the seldom bathing and the holes in his socks – all of this is meant to make people underestimate him.
Speaking of general sloppiness, do they give you control over the volume and tone of Lamb’s farts?
(Grin.) I’m a fart consultant. It sounds ridiculous, but we email each other back and forth about frequency and robustness. I mean, let’s be honest, if we’re in the back seat of a Rolls Royce, we’re talking really good leather. We need a more robust fart, and we could add a bit of echo to this one. (Laughs.) I have access to the daily clips, rough cuts and final presentations and have already written to the director: “I like the choice of fart!”
This is one possibility Slow horses is both very funny and dramatic. And I wonder if the distinction between comedy and drama is becoming increasingly meaningless on television.
Well, I think we walk that fine line very well. That was a big question at the beginning: Do you hire a director who is very good at directing comedies? How much of the comedy do you emphasize? How much of the drama do you emphasize? Do you make the drama a little bit more like KillingEvewhich is slightly heightened, or do you approach the drama very realistically and make the humor more incidental and casual? I think that’s where we ended up: There’s a lot of humor in the show, but we can’t expect anyone to laugh.
I will be more specific. In the first few days of the first season, there was some feedback that people were confused because it started with this The Bourne Identity a sort of chase scene at the airport. And then it goes to this rather dreary office and we slowly get to know these characters. We were told that some people were confused and not quite sure what show they were on. And I remember saying, ‘What if you see this? The Bourne Identity or a sort of James Bond opening, and then it cuts to Lamb waking up on a sofa, lighting a cigarette, coughing his head off, going to the toilet, peeing and while I’m peeing I fart? You know what show you’re on right now.” I said that spontaneously between takes on set and it evolved into me waking up in the office with a fart and then smoking a cigarette. A little different, but pretty much the same. And it seemed to work.⠁
Drake Carr
Drake Carr is a New York City-based artist and illustrator known for his energetic figurative paintings, drawings, and sculptures, which he has exhibited internationally.
