MI5 has a certain image in both reality and fiction, as do its agents. But beyond the swanky offices and suit-clad spies that they are known for, the agency has a side that people don’t often get to know of. Apple TV+’s spy thriller series Slow Horses brings this lesser-known department of MI5 to light and looks at intelligence agents from a very different perspective. These Slough Housers might not be your quintessential (fictionalized) stiff-upper-lipped, sharply dressed, tough to crack, poised, and charming agents. But each of them is talented and skilled enough to handle the most challenging task. Though bad timing and bad luck brought them to the Slough House, they have the ability to prove their merit, time and time again.
First released in April 2022, the series follows a group of failed intelligence agents who were rejected by MI5 and sent to spend the rest of their career in purgatory in the forsaken department called the Slough House. The story is derived from British novelist Mick Herron’s novel series called Slough House which features Jackson Lamb, a significant and recurring character in both books and the streaming series. After the success of their first mission, as seen in the first season, Slow Horses Season 2 brings back these agents for another tension-filled mission, as they stop a group of Russian sleeper agents from wreaking havoc on the United Kingdom.
Check out who plays who in this offbeat, thriller series that would burst your bubble of spies and spy craft and show you what real agents are made of.
Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
Jackson Lamb is one of the major characters of Herron’s novels who appears in the Slough House books, as well as in the Slow Horses series. He is the head of Slough House, but he is the least of what you expect an experienced, senior agent to be. Lamb is perhaps the most disgruntled and disenchanted employee you would have ever seen, and yet, there's more behind the façade than he gives out. Mostly he’s drunk and a slob, with a perpetually disheveled appearance, and doesn’t give a squat about his job. But his visible persona contradicts his Spidey sense and observation skills. Although he’s always discouraging his team members, he somewhat cares about them, or at least he’s gotten there after the first season.
Award-winning actor and filmmaker Gary Oldman plays the character of Jackson Lamb and he seems to fit like a hand in glove in this miserable boss role, just as he did when playing George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which was a very different kind of spy. A winner of Academy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards, Oldman is recognized for his illustrious acting career in films and television since his debut in 1982 with Remembrance. He is best known for his roles as James Gordon in The Dark Knight trilogy and as Sirius Black in Harry Potter series, voice role for A Christmas Carol, and for winning the 2017 Academy Award for Best Actor for Darkest Hour. Though this is a lesser-known fact about his career, Oldman has also appeared in music videos for David Bowie and Guns N’ Roses. Gary Oldman will appear next in the upcoming biopic Oppenheimer, slated to release in July 2023.
Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner
She’s no M but she’s an equally tough one. Diana Taverner is the Deputy Director-General of MI5 and head of operations codenamed "Second Desk". She’s also a former colleague of Lamb and supervises the projects of Slough House. She controls the swankier, high-ranking team of the agency, full of successful, top-notch field agents; the exact opposite of Slough House. As described in an interview with Collider, Diana Taverner “will stop at nothing” from getting what she wants and “has no redeeming quality.” She is steely and powerful, which explains why she is where she is and Lamb is not.
Five times BAFTA nominee Kristin Scott Thomas plays the role of Diana Taverner where she reunites with her Darkest Hour co-star Oldman. Scott Thomas is best known for her breakout role in Four Weddings and a Funeral for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She is also recognized for her performances in Nowhere Boy, The English Patient, Gosford Park, I've Loved You So Long, and Sarah’s Key, among others. Scott Thomas will be next seen in the upcoming movie, My Mother’s Wedding, which is also her directorial debut with her own screenplay.
Jack Lowden as River Cartwright
One could say that Cartwright is the reason why there’s been a sudden stir in the otherwise uneventful Slough House. The up-and-coming MI5 agent ends up in exile to the Slough House after a botched training mission. But as you would expect, the young and ambitious spy is not cut out for a paper-pushing, trudging role, when he would rather be out in the field facing challenging tasks. His desperation leads him to discover a threat that could put the nation (or maybe the whole world) in danger. To prove his merit as an agent, and return to where he belongs, Cartwright gathers the other Slough House agents and plans a mission to stop the threat. In the second season, he’s back with his team to stop another catastrophe. But he's still very much a part of the Slough House.
Playing the role of River Cartwright is Jack Lowden. He shot to fame with the BBC miniseries War & Peace, followed by a major role in Christopher Nolan’s epic drama, Dunkirk. He has also appeared in other popular movies like Mary Queen of Scots, Capone, and Benediction, and television series like The Long Song and Small Axe, among others.
Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish
In Herron’s book series, Catherine Standish is a recurring character in most of the Slough House stories. She is the office administrator at Slough House and Lamb’s secretary and takes care of all the odd jobs at the office. Catherine is known to be a recovering alcoholic and has been suffering the misery of her boss for a long time, not to mention the trauma in her personal life that led her to alcoholism. From the first season, we get an overview of this woman’s character and personality. Despite the disdain she and Lamb share for each other, they also have an odd kind of mutual affection. This is revealed in the first season, where Lamb seems to look out for her in the wake of a dangerous mission. In a Collider interview, her character is described as “not glamorous, struggling, with full of secrets and opportunities.”
Saskia Reeves plays the role of Catherine Standish. The British actor is best known for playing various roles in television series like Frank Herbert's Dune, Midsomer Murders, Luther, Silent Witness, and Shetland, among others. Reeves is also recognized for her film roles in movies like Close My Eyes and Our Kind of Traitor.
Jonathan Pryce as David Cartwright
David is a retired MI5 officer and also River’s grandfather. All we know of him is that he has some mysterious history with Lamb. In the books, David is somewhat of a legend within MI5 and has raised River since the boy was abandoned by his mother. So, in the second season, we can expect more of David’s background as both an agent and a father figure to be revealed.
Veteran actor Sir Jonathan Pryce plays the role of David Cartwright. Pryce is most recognized for his breakthrough performance in Brazil followed by other films like Evita, Tomorrow Never Dies, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Two Popes, and many more. In television, he is best known for his roles in Game of Thrones, Taboo, Tales from the Loop, etc. Pryce is currently playing Prince Phillip in The Crown Season 5 and is also set to appear in the sixth season, along with the films Scrooge: A Christmas Carol and One Life.
Dustin Demri-Burns as Min Harper
Min Harper is an agent thrown into the Slough House after he made the mistake of leaving a top-secret document on a train in one of his previous assignments as an MI5 agent. Harper is played by British actor, comedian, and writer Dustin Demri-Burns, who is best known for his work on the television series Cardinal Burns, along with series like Drunk History, GameFace, and The Great, and films like Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and The Spy Who Dumped Me.
Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy
Louisa Guy, who was assigned to the department after an operation went badly. She is played by film and stage actor Rosalind Eleazar, best known for her roles in television series like Rellik, Howard’s End, Death in Paradise, Harlots, and her debut film role in The Personal History of David Copperfield.
Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho
Roddy Ho is a detestable computer expert and former hacktivist who seems to be the technology rescue guy at the Slough House. He is played by Australian actor and singer, Christopher Chung, who has earlier appeared in television series like Neighbors and Waterloo Road.
Olivia Cooke as Sid Baker
Sidonie “Sid” Baker, who is surprisingly a competent MI5 agent and (spoiler alert) no one understands why is assigned to watch over River Cartwright at Slough House when she could be with the other top agents at Regent’s Park headquarters. Sid’s journey ends with the first season, since she dies or, as her colleagues think, is “made to disappear”. In the books though, Sid stays dead for a few books and returns later. Sidonie Baker is played by Olivia Cooke, an actor best known for her roles in series like Bates Motel and Vanity Fair, and films like Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Ready Player One. Currently, Cooke plays a major role in the Game of Thrones spin-off series, House of the Dragon. She is next set to appear in the upcoming film, Mother’s Milk.
In other roles, there’s Samuel West as Peter Judd MP, a right-wing Conservative politician, Freddie Fox as James “Spider” Webb, one of the high-level MI5 agents from the Regent’s Park office, Chris Reilly as Nick Duffy, the head of MI5's internal affairs and its tactical unit codenamed "The Dogs". Other characters, who appeared in important roles in the first season of Slow Horses but will not be returning for the second season, are Struan Loy played by Paul Higgins, Jed Moody played by Steven Waddington, Ingrid Tearney played by Sophie Okonedo, Hassan Ahmed played by Antonio Aakeel, Robert Hobden played by Paul Hilton, Alan Black /Moe played by Sam Hazeldine, Zeppo played by Stephen Walters, Larry played by David Walmsley, Curly played by Brian Vernel, Agent Singh played by Bally Gill, and Agent Pierce played by Joey Ansah.
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