Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden has been signed up as the new Mr Darcy and he can’t wait to represent the classic character as the first ginger to take on the iconic role
Gary Oldman’s co-star Jack Lowden has spoken of his pride at being the first ginger Mr Darcy.
The Slow Horses star said that being a redhead is “one of the great last barriers to break down” in playing the classic character. He will assume the famous role in a new six-part adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for Netflix.
Jack, 34, said: “I quite like the idea of being a ginger Darcy – I think that is really breaking down barriers.” He made the comment when he was being interviewed on the BBC alongside Martin Freeman, who he will join on the West End stage next month.
And he joked that he might “copy” some of the techniques used by others who have played the part of Mr Darcy before him. Jack said: “I quite like the idea of me coming along and doing something else with it.
“Or just copying one of them because some of the guys who played it are amongst the best. Matthew Macfadyen, to me, is one of the best actors on the planet. So if I just try copy him – maybe that’s alright?”
At that point Martin, 53, quipped: “But ginger?” Jack replied: “Ginger – yep, change it up.”
The Essex-born actor, who wed Irish actress Saoirse Ronan last year, is best known for playing River Cartwright in hit drama Slow Horses. He also revealed he was trained in the skills of spycraft by a former real-life spook in order to master the role.
Jack said: “We did a day with an ex-MI6 officer who was helping us to train in the art of surveillance and counter-surveillance. Walking along and following a mark.
“He gave us a lecture for a bit and then said ‘right we are going to go outside and do this’. But then he pulled the shutters up on the window and saw that it was raining and he went ‘oh no maybe we shouldn’t’.
“So MI6 don’t operate a lot in the rain – maybe it’s cause they’re abroad a lot.”
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