Actor Jack Lowden has said he likes the idea of “breaking down barriers” by playing a ginger Mr Darcy in a new Netflix adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
The 34-year-old made the comment during an interview on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Laughing, he described it as “one of the great last barriers to break down.”
Lowden appeared on the show alongside fellow British actor Martin Freeman, 53. During their conversation, the two discussed their new West End play and experiences with spy training.
Speaking about his role in the six-part Pride and Prejudice series, Lowden said he may draw inspiration from previous actors who played Mr Darcy.
“I quite like the idea of being a ginger Darcy,” he said. “I think that is really breaking down barriers — one of the great last barriers to be broken down.”
Sitting next to him, Freeman smiled and said he agreed.
Lowden added: “I quite like the idea of doing something a bit different with it. Or maybe just copying one of them because some of the actors who played Darcy are among the best. Matthew Macfadyen, to me, is one of the best actors on the planet. So if I just try to copy him — maybe that’s alright?”
“But ginger?” Freeman teased.
“Ginger,” Lowden confirmed. “Yep, change it up.”
Lowden and Freeman will soon appear together in The Fifth Step, a new West End play written by David Ireland. The production is scheduled to open at Soho Place Theatre on 12 May.
The actors revealed they had not met before agreeing to co-star. They will play an alcoholic and his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor.
Lowden said he enjoyed the dark humour of the play. He admitted that while it may sound “corny,” he believes laughter is “the best medicine” and a form of “self-healing.”
During the interview, Lowden also spoke about preparing for Slow Horses, the Bafta-nominated series about sidelined intelligence agents. He shared that he received training from a former MI6 officer.
“We did a day with an ex-MI6 officer who taught us surveillance and counter-surveillance,” Lowden said. “He gave a lecture and then suggested we go outside and practise. But when he pulled up the shutters and saw it was raining, he said maybe we shouldn’t.”
Lowden joked, “So MI6 don’t operate much in the rain. Maybe it’s because they work abroad a lot.”
Freeman then shared his own experiences with being followed.
“Sometimes people follow you around. They think you don’t notice, but you do,” Freeman said.
He described the experience as “less scary and more annoying.”
“It’s annoying because they think you don’t know they are doing it,” Freeman said. “So sometimes I just turn around and ask, ‘Look, what do you want?’ I try to be reasonable and remind them that I’m not a prop.”
