Actors Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden shared an emotional hug on set in Central London as filming wrapped on season six of Slow Horses.
Lowden, 36, appeared close to tears as he embraced co-star Oldman, 68, while the cast and crew applauded the conclusion of shooting on the upcoming series.
The touching moment occurred after the production team finished filming a police car chase featuring Jackson Lamb's beaten-up yellow Honda in the streets of Central London. Oldman was also pictured laughing and holding a prop cigarette during the London shoot.
The warm farewell marked a sharp contrast to the hostile relationship between their onscreen characters in the Emmy-winning Apple TV television show. Oldman plays slovenly, flatulent spy chief Jackson Lamb, who constantly insults his protege, disgraced agent River Cartwright, played by Lowden.
In one memorable exchange from the series, Lamb underlined his disdain for Cartwright by telling him: "If they threatened to kill you... I would buy them a beer and a bullet." Hostility between the two characters has been a central feature of the narrative since the show premiered four years ago.
Emotional farewell on the London set
Both men showed visible emotion as they said their goodbyes to colleagues on set. Lowden shared a warm and long embrace with Oscar-winner Oldman and other crew members before departing to a round of applause from the entire team.
Lowden, who is married to actress Saoirse Ronan, has recently been tipped by commentators as a candidate to star as the next James Bond. Speculation over who will succeed Daniel Craig in the iconic role of secret agent 007 has grown since Craig's departure from the franchise. Lowden's wife, Ronan, is an acclaimed Irish actress who has earned four Academy Award nominations for her roles in films including Atonement, Brooklyn, Lady Bird, and Little Women.
Oldman, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, leads the cast of the spy drama alongside Kristin Scott Thomas, who plays MI5 head Diana Taverner. Oldman is also widely recognized for his roles as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series and Commissioner James Gordon in The Dark Knight trilogy. MI5 serves as the United Kingdom's domestic security and counter-intelligence agency.
Slow Horses tells the story of a team of disgraced MI5 agents who have been relegated to dead-end administrative duties at Slough House under the command of their maverick boss. The series premiered on Apple TV in 2022 and has since earned widespread critical acclaim and major television awards.
Upcoming storylines and future projects
The series is based on the spy novel series written by British author Mick Herron. Season six, which is scheduled to screen from September 16, sees the disgraced agents on the run after Taverner embroils them in a fatally high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge.
The upcoming sixth season adapts material from Joe Country and Slough House, which are the sixth and seventh books in Herron's novel series. A seventh series has already been commissioned by producers, which will adapt his eighth book, Bad Actors.
Beyond his role in Slow Horses, Lowden is set to appear on screens as Mr Darcy in a six-episode Netflix television adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride And Prejudice. The upcoming period drama features an ensemble cast including Olivia Colman as Mrs Bennet, Rufus Sewell as Mr Bennet, and Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet.
