Jackson Lamb is an Englishman who solves mysteries, but he's not your typically elegant, charming type. One clue is that he often passes gas, rather loudly.
Lamb 鈥 portrayed by Gary Oldman 鈥 is the beating heart of Apple TV+'s 鈥淪low Horses,鈥 a critical darling that seems to have gained traction in the U.S. only lately, now in its fourth season. Ignored at the Emmys for two seasons, it goes into Sunday's telecast with nine nominations, including for best drama series.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 been a slow burn,鈥 says Oldman, who earned an Emmy nod for his Lamb. 鈥淢ore people are now coming up to me and saying, 'I really like the show.' I鈥檝e become that guy on TV, which I kind of like, actually.鈥
Lamb is the comically unpleasant leader of a band of dejected British spies nicknamed the 鈥淪low Horses鈥 because they work at lowly Slough House, far from the gleaming center of power in London. They鈥檝e messed up their careers in a variety of ways, including botching surveillance operations, gambling addictions or leaving a top secret file on a train.
Lamb鈥檚 hair is unkempt and greasy. He wears a ratty, dirty raincoat and his stocking feet are forever up on his desk. He smokes too much, drinks scotch on the job, is violently un-politically correct and is blunt to the point of rude. His voice mail says: 鈥淭his is Lamb. If I didn鈥檛 answer it鈥檚 because I don鈥檛 want to speak to you.鈥
He鈥檚 also fiercely loyal to his team and is the sharpest 鈥 if the most unclean 鈥 knife in the drawer. He can tell from just a footprint the person鈥檚 salary and is at least three steps ahead of anyone else. He refuses to follow rules 鈥 a petulant middle finger to the establishment.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 a sign that says 鈥楴o smoking,鈥 Lamb will smoke,鈥 says Oldman. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just a bloody pig. We just like watching. Maybe we鈥檇 would love to be so direct.鈥
Will Smith, the showrunner and executive producer, says we're meeting Lamb late in his career after he has run afoul of the hierarchy and been dismissed by others.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a puzzle. He鈥檚 an enigma because he鈥檚 not like what you鈥檝e seen. I think the character is intriguing on that level,鈥 says Smith. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e meeting him at the end of his arc 鈥 he's burned out 鈥 and then you鈥檙e kind of unpacking what made him this way and given little glimpses of the man he was and can be when he when he has to be.鈥
Many of the series' most delicious scenes are when Lamb meets with his nemesis, the perfectly coiffed Diana Taverner, played by Kristin Scott-Thomas, who is in many ways Lamb's opposite: polite, politic and striving to get to the top of MI5.
The series also stars Jack Lowden, Jonathan Pryce, Christopher Chung, Rosalind Eleazar, Aimee Ffion-Edwards, Kadiff Kirwan and Saskia Reeves. One high-profile fan of the books is Mick Jagger who co-wrote the theme song.
鈥淪low Horses鈥 is about underdogs and there's something appropriate about the series emerging from the cold to be recognized at the Emmys.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a nice thing when the reviews come in and people like it and, and it and it gets a nod,鈥 Oldman says. He's looking forward to catching up with his co-stars on Sunday around a table 鈥渁nd have a laugh.鈥
鈥淪low Horses鈥 is based on Mick Herron鈥檚 Slough House novels and Oldman gives Herron much of the credit for creating such an enjoyable Lamb. 鈥淚 just immediately responded to it,鈥 says the actor.
Critics have fallen under its sway, with the Los Angeles Times asking of the attention and accolades: 鈥淲hat took so bloody long?鈥 and Empire magazine saying Oldman steals "every scene he鈥檚 in either with acidic sardonics or acid indigestion.鈥
鈥淟amb is about as far away from the tuxedo-wearing, Savile Row-tailored James Bond as you can get and yet, he鈥檚 the best spy we鈥檝e had on screen for years,鈥 declared New Musical Express.
Smith is feeling the love 鈥 a nice headwind as the show's actors put the finishing touches on season five.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of evangelical fans out there who really have done a wonderful job of bringing the audience. It seems it鈥檚 sort of reached some sort of critical mass,鈥 he says.
Lamb is among the gallery of memorable characters who Oldman has created, which includes Sid Vicious, Lee Harvey Oswald, Count Dracula and Winston Churchill. "In terms of characters that I鈥檝e played, he鈥檚 up there," says the actor.
It is not the first spy he's played 鈥 Oldman once portrayed John Le Carr茅鈥檚 much more elegant George Smiley. 鈥淪ome wit said I鈥檇 gone from George Smiley to George Smelly, which I which I wish I鈥檇 thought of,鈥 he says.
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