Stop The Search! We Found The Perfect James Bond Actor In ‘Slow Horses’
Raise your hand if you’re tired of all the James Bond fan castings (unless it’s Matt Berry, of course).
Film executives hate it too. The audience watches a movie, or TV show, with a performer and automatically thinks they’d be a good fit for another role. Yeah, it’s super annoying and cliche, because it doesn’t take into account other important factors, such as the tone of the script, the director involved, cinematography style, and cast chemistry. So, you know what I’m about to do about it? Nothing, except my own fan casting! What, you think I’m above it or something?
Apple TV+’s Slow Horses is the best spy thriller on the small screen right now. It might not have the bluster of Netflix or Prime Video behind it, but don’t underestimate this show. It’s fantastic. Each season unleashes a gripping case to unpack and investigate, starring the agents of Slough House – the place where MI5 agents who made a boo-boo go to be bored to death, because what’s more boring than working in government administration? But they won’t be, just as long as Gary Oldman’s cynical curmudgeon Jackson Lamb is around to shake up matters. Someone else who’s stationed at Slough House is River Cartwright, played by Jack Lowden.
River Cartwright is the impulsive but talented agent in ‘Slow Horses’
In Slow Horses Series 1, River gets drafted to Slough House after he bungles a training exercise for MI5. Yet, as the story unfolds, you figure out that it isn’t so much his mishap versus him being fed the wrong information. He probably should have throttled the person responsible, but he gets his own form of revenge in a way. Regardless, he’s situated at Slough House now, fighting an unwinnable battle between wanting to get back to MI5 headquarters and accepting his doomed fate in admin purgatory.
River is a major asset to Slough House, though. He’s one of the best field agents in Lamb’s team, with Lamb serving as something of a reluctant mentor to him, but River is also impulsive and fails to respect authority. This results in him getting into a lot of trouble. Sometimes, he gets out of it on his own; other times, he requires a little help from his friends. Whatever happens, though, he always keeps getting up and coming back for more.
Ahem. Is River not James Bond?
Understanding what Steven Knight and Dennis Villeneuve are cooking for 007
Fans rejoiced at the news that Denis Villeneuve is gearing up to direct the 007 reboot for Amazon MGM Studios. More importantly, he’s doing so from a script written by Steven Knight. If you don’t know who Knight is, he’s the head writer behind esteemed shows like Peaky Blinders, Taboo, SAS: Rogue Heroes, and A Thousand Blows. Judging by his work, one of Knight’s favorite themes is to explore the role of men in society. In an interview with Radio Times, he quoted a Rudyard Kipling quote to discuss the similarities between Peaky Blinders and SAS: Rogue Heroes. Knight said:
“There’s a great quote from Rudyard Kipling. He says, ‘For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an chuck him out, the brute! But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot.’ In other words, the people who are getting thrown out of clubs and restaurants and getting into terrible trouble in peace, when war comes along, they’re needed.”
This could also describe Bond. He’s a hero when he’s needed and saves the world, but if he was working for a corporation, he’d be an HR nightmare because he doesn’t play by the rules. Bond, as a character, possesses a love-hate relationship with authority. It’s something that the Daniel Craig movies explore, showcasing someone who grows disillusioned with the rigid bureaucratic system he serves. With Bond 26 being a reboot for the series, there’s the chance that the story follows a younger 007, who may be even more rebellious than his older self. Who’s to say he isn’t just like River Cartwright at this point in his life? He dreamed of being an agent, then finds out it’s filled with so much asinine rules and red tape to the point in which you need to fill in a form every time you need to go to the bathroom.
Yip, Jack Lowden is the right actor for James Bond
The role of River Cartwright should be considered Jack Lowden’s formal audition to become the next James Bond. He demonstrates all the qualities that you expect from 007 – innovation in the field, reckless abandon, disdain for authority, a sense of humor, and being a hit among the ladies. Plus, it helps that Lowden is a born and bred British actor for those adamant that Bond needs to be English.
At the age of 35, he’s also young enough to take the role and carry it for the next decade at least. In fact, if Lowden were to be cast as Bond right now, he would be the third-youngest to get the part behind George Lazenby and Sean Connery. It’s a no-brainer, really. So, Jeff Bezos, get your people to speak to my people and send the check for doing the casting director’s job, because Jack Lowden is the perfect choice for James Bond. Alternatively, a nice $50 Amazon voucher would suffice.
Need to see Jack Lowden and decide for yourself? Watch Slow Horses on Apple TV+.
