With starring roles in shows such as Slow Horses, as well as hit TV show The Gold and the new Martin Freeman play The Fifth Step, Jack Lowden is an actor whose talents are always in demand.
Lucky for us, he’s also got time for interviews. With a starring role in Mini’s advert Agents of Fun (which riffs of his part as River Cartwright), the actor sat down with us to chat about all things London.
What was your first job in London?
I worked behind the bar in the Clissold Arms in Muswell Hill. I couldn’t pour a pint. I basically poured a cloud, but I said I could. I just blagged my way into that. My first acting job would have been Black Watch, a play with the National Theatre of Scotland. I think we did two months at the Barbican in about 2010.
What’s the best meal you’ve had in the capital?
I’ve had really great meals at Elliot’s, just off London Fields. They do some mean things with Isle of Mull cheddar. Phwoar. I also went to The Wolseley recently. I love the old schoolness of places like that — and Balthazar. They have that French café feeling.
What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?
Elliot’s, just off London Fields, do some mean things with Isle of Mull cheddar. Phwoar
I’d ban jogging groups and cyclists from canal walkways. I would ban that in a heartbeat. When you’re walking, every 25 seconds you hear someone go, “Excuse me, get out the way.” And they’re puffing. I want to say, “Go run somewhere else”.
Who is the most iconic Londoner?
Paul Weller screams London to me. I’ve met him a bunch of times. He’s really cool. He’s also got that perfect pitch of being grumpy, which I think is very London, not really wanting to take much shit but also being very cool. He’s an icon of both music and fashion. He’s who I’d want to bump into. He’s who I’d want driving a taxi.
Where do you go and what do you do to have fun?
A lot of my favourite places in London are now Slow Horses locations. The Slow Horses office is above an Italian called Vecchio Parioli, near the Barbican. I was walking down the street about two years ago and this woman stopped me and said, “Oh, you’re from Slow Horses.” And she said, “Me and my husband are such massive fans of the show that for our 10-year wedding anniversary, we have booked the Italian restaurant under Slough House.”
I’ll also tell you what I love in London: Smithfield Market. I go and mince around there quite a lot. The huge spaces in London are architecturally amazing. The way the light comes in the ceiling in that place is gorgeous. Just opposite that is a really significant cultural thing for Scots — the plaque that marks the spot where William Wallace was executed. It’s always nice to go over and pay my respects there. I love that area around the Barbican. The old city in general is so fascinating.
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What’s the best thing a cabbie has ever said to you?
If you are in a hurry or if you want to be left alone in a cab, having a Scottish accent or any accent from outside the M25 is a bad idea. Cabbies always want to talk to you and tell you they’ve been to Scotland or they’ve got family in Scotland. So, sometimes I’ll put a Cockney accent on — and they never talk to you. It works nine times out of 10. It’s amazing.
Where do you go to let your hair down?
My favourite things to do in London are normally on my own. So, whenever I’m here, I head for the BFI Southbank. I’ll go and spend a whole day watching films. But if it’s a social place for fun, I’m a massive fan of an escape room. I’m doing a play at the moment, which is great fun, but it’s very repetitive. So I really wanted to do something where I didn’t know what the outcome would be. I ended up doing about three in one week.
What’s your London secret?
This can seem really bizarre, but because I don’t come from the city, quite often when I’m in London I’ll bring my car because I go home quite a lot, back up north. And what I’ll sometimes do is drive out to the nearest service station — I think it’s called London Gateway on the M1 — and I’ll go out there, just to experience being in a service station. Then you can look back and look at the entire city and go, “Haha, I’m outwith you, now.” There’s obviously things in a city that are fantastic, but if I’m here for quite a while —it’s not London- specific, it’s city-specific — I quite miss the things that it takes away from you.
I’ve never met a man who’s better dressed than Martin Freeman
What are you up to at the moment for work?
I’m in The Fifth Step with Martin Freeman at @sohoplace. It’s a two-hander about Alcoholics Anonymous and it’s one of my favourite things I’ve ever done. Working with him is amazing. It’s a surprisingly funny play. And Martin is an incredibly funny man. He wasn’t born and bred in London, but he’s always been down here, and I’ve never met a man who’s better dressed than him.
It makes you feel like you’re dressed like a wheelie bin whenever you’re standing next to him. We went out for a cast and crew dinner the other night and we went to the Wolseley. We went as posh as we could and the pressure was on to be dressed as smartly as Martin. I absolutely failed to compete with him.
Jack Lowden fronts Agents of Fun, a bold, espionage-inspired short film by MINI
