Slow Horses is an Apple TV + TV adaptation based on a book series by award-winning author Mick Herron. Slow Horses Season 4 is adapted from the fourth book of the series. The show follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground section of MI5, called Slough House.
Kdaif Kirwan joined Slow Horses In season 2 as Marcus Longridge. He has been in many television shows but is perhaps best known for his roles as Pete Wilson in DodoAaron in Chewing gumAnd Jason in Time wasters. All six episodes of Slow Horses Season 4 is now available to stream on Apple TV+. The series will return for season 5.
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Screen Rant Interviewed Cadiff Kirwan, discussing the trials and tribulations that Marcus went through during season 4 of Slow Horses. He talked about doing his own stunts, what he was most excited to explore this season, and how it felt for the series to be embraced by an audience. Kirwan also reveals what it’s like working with Gary Oldman and the rest of the incredible cast.
Cadiff Kirwan does a lot of his own stunts on slow horses
“The fight sequence in the garage? I think I still have a couple of bruises from that.”
Screen Rant: What are you most excited to explore this season?
Kadiff Kirwan: Shirley and Marcus’ dynamic has grown with the amount of pressure they are both under. And then the surprising nature of who is after the horse this season. That was pretty amazing. And the level of skill that the bad guys have come up with. Marcus has been through the ringer. The action sequence in the garage? I think I still have a few grudges about it.
Screen Rant: Do you do a lot of your own stunts?
Cadif Kirwan: I did a lot of stunts myself and I also had a brilliant stunt double. But my stunt double, he was like, I think maybe 20 years older than me. So I was like, no, no, no, I’m going to do it. No, no, no, no, no. It was great pushing myself and pushing my body in any way I could. But yes, the action sequences are amazing. Really great.
Screen Rant: Is there anything you were most excited to film this season?
Kadiff Kirwan: For me it was the shootout at Slough House in the season finale. Those two weeks when we were shooting, it was just like, I didn’t realize it was this little boy’s dream to do this. But it was because I felt so strong and so sleek.
Author Mick Herron has been around for the filming of Season 4
“It’s been a really nice collaborative season.”
Screen Rant: Have you read the books?
Kdaif Kirwan: I read the books. And what’s been nice is Will Smith, our showrunner, is always on set, but also this season, Mick Herron has been around a lot more. So we’re able to really pick their brains about motivations and things we love. “Can we get more of this?” or “What do you think about this?” and “What do you think of this offering?” It was a really beautiful collaborative season.
The Slow Horses cast has a group chat
“Literally, I saw Chris Chung, who plays Roddy Ho, 25 minutes ago. We talk every day.”
Screen Rant: What was it like working with this cast?
Kadiff Kirwan: I literally saw Chris Chung, who plays Roddy Ho, 25 minutes ago. We talk every day. It’s a group chat. Of course, we see each other on set and everything, but it was beautiful, and it was top down. Gary, he’s known for playing a wide spectrum of characters, but in reality he’s just a really big cuddly bear. He is very, very funny. He is very good. He gives great advice. And he tells a good anecdote.
We all learn from each other, and we’re constantly trying to outdo each other with stories and really make what’s on the page sing. So all the off-screen stuff really helps when we’re doing the big group scenes at Slough House. It was really special. The question I get constantly is what does Gary smell like? Because he looks awful like a lamb. My answer is always, he smells like he has an Oscar, so he smells beautiful.
Cadif Kirwan learned a lot from Gary Oldman
“Often we can throw things away, but he really pays attention to the punctuation of a sentence in a script. It was nice to be close and see that.”
Screen Rant: What did you learn from working with Gary Oldman?
Kdaif Kirwan: I had a notebook of things I learned from Gary. I mean, there are so many things I can dive on, so many things I can’t. It was just the close and personal relationship with him and see how it works. The detail he squeezes out of every word, the views. He just inhabits the character from top to bottom, like completely. He is constantly trying to uncover the motivation of things. He attacks the dialogue with such pathos and such clarity.
It’s just to see that everything means something. Often we can throw things away, but he really pays attention to the punctuation of a sentence in a script. It was beautiful to be close and see that. He is truly one of the best people I’ve ever seen up close and personal. He is just phenomenal.
Cadiff Kirwan loves the wide range of the Slow Horses fan base
“You get sons and fathers and daughters and grandmothers and aunts, it’s just beautiful.”
Screen Rant: Slow Horses has a constantly growing fan base. How did it feel to be fully embraced like that?
Kadif Kirwan: Honestly, it’s unbelievable. The fans are so amazing. It’s to see what kind of fans we have. Often you can tell based on your work or when someone comes up to you, like, this person likes chewing gum, or they’re like, this is going to hurt. But with Slow Horses, it’s everyone. You get sons and fathers and daughters and grandmothers and aunts. It’s just beautiful.
And at the Emmys a few weeks ago, we saw the amount of famous people who wanted to come and talk to us and try to find spoilers. We were like, “No, sorry, can’t tell you that.” This was crazy. I was like, wow, I’m actually having a conversation with Stephen Colbert about Slow Horses. This is crazy. And he absolutely loves the show. Oh wait, there’s Reese Witherspoon. I think she likes our show too. It’s crazy. It was a joy because everyone was trying to do their best. It is always a joy. No one goes back to their trailer.
Cadiff Kirwan was surprised by a lot in Slow Horse season 4
“As a fan of the show, besides Marcus, it was finding the trajectory of the Rivers family and who means who to whom in the family.”
Screen Rant: Is there anything that surprised you this season?
Cadif Kirwan: There were many things. As a fan of the show, besides Marcus, it was finding the trajectory of the Rivers family and who means who to whom in the family. It was like, what, what? And then the shootout at Slough House, and what happens in that sequence? When I read the scripts, I was like, “How are they going to do that? Because this set is crazy. This set is purpose-built. Are they really going to be able to blow it to bits?”
And we did. You feel the intent that’s on camera. Like, you’re sweating because there are so many lights on you, and you know there are explosives 10 meters away from you. It’s all safe and above board, but the beauty of it is knowing that each department is trying to top itself. So you go, I’m going to top myself too. It was bloody brilliant.
About Slow Horses Season 4
Slow Horses is an adaptation of CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning Mick Herron’s first novel in the “Slow Horses” series, which follows a team of British intelligence agents serving in a dumping ground section of MI5 – Slough House. Gary Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but irritable leader of the spies who ends up in Slow House due to their career-ending mistakes.
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