Jack Lowden has claimed “sexy” spies in TV and film help recruit more people to real-life intelligence agencies.
The 33-year-old actor got to meet with former undercover agents as part of his research into playing River Cartwright in ‘Slow Horses’ – which follows a group of dysfunctional MI5 outcasts overseen by Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb – and was amazed to learn about the impact fictional drama has on their recruitment processes, but joked he thinks his own show has probably put people off.
He told the Sunday Times Culture magazine: “My favourite thing that they revealed was their reliance on our industry for their recruitment.
“TV and film make spies sexy and that’s why people join. I’d love to speak to them now that Slow Horses is out there, making it look grubby and boring.”
Despite being styled as a spy thriller, Jack believes ‘Slow Horses’ is more of a workplace sitcom and was happy to find the squabbles his character and his co-workers have on the show are just the same in real life.
He said: “The few interactions we had with ex-spies, it was really wonderful to know that our intelligence services really are full of people [moaning] about wanting a corner office rather than a cubicle or why don’t they get sexier assignments?”
The Scottish actor admitted he’s amazed ‘Slow Horses’ has been so successful around the world because it feels very British.
He said: “It’s such a British brand of irreverent comedy developed over hundreds of years.
“That’s why I really hope there is a season where someone comes in from the CIA. I would love Lamb to be sitting in the corner eating a doner kebab while some American is doing something fancy on a whiteboard to do with drones. That is perfect ‘Slow Horses’.”