Slow Horses star teases Lord of the Rings' Hugo Weaving's "scary" villain in season 4 of the Apple spy show: "That’s not the elf I know"
Sep. 6, 2024Exclusive: Star Christopher Chung admits he was “taken aback” by Hugo Weaving’s terrifying performance as Slow Horses' first ever villain
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Slow Horses season 4 is finally here meaning one of thebest Apple TV Plus shows(and arguably one of thebest TV showsof the past few years) is back on our screens. Now in its fourth season,Apple’s masterful yet underseen spy seriesis raising the stakes by introducing the show’s first ever proper villain, in the shape ofLord of the Ringsstar Hugo Weaving’s mysterious new character Frank Harkness.
This season sees our beloved group of MI5 rejects, led by Gary Oldman’s witty Jackson Lamb, encounter Harkness whilst diving into a conspiracy that is rather personal for Jack Lowden’s hapless agent River Cartwright.
Whilst the show has featured antagonists before, it has never had a traditional villain-type character like Weaving’s Harkness, who according to ourSlow Horses season 4 reviewis the series' “best threat to date” with “his mere presence sending chills down the spine”.
And it wasn’t just us Weaving impressed, as his co-star Christopher Chung, who portrays Slough House’s resident tech expert and asshole Roddy Ho, admits he was also “taken aback” by the actor’s menacing performance. Speaking to GamesRadar+, Chung admits that it’s not what he expected having grown up watching Weaving as the elf Elrond in the Lord of the Rings movies.
As the fellow Australian actor explains: “When I heard Hugo was doing it I was like that’s amazing, we are getting another Aussie on the show! But I think you are right that this definitely takes a more focused approach of having a villain as you say. He’s scary! I was really taken aback by it when I watched the first pass of the series - that’s not the elf I know!”
Now, we won’t get into spoilers here of course but let’s just say that with Weaving’s character Harkness comes a huge twist, that is unravelled during the show’s jaw-dropping finale. Although readers of Mick Herron’s series of novels, which Slow Horses is based on, will already be aware of just how startling it is.
For Chung, watching that conclusion impressed upon him how much work goes into a single episode of the show, ensuring that key moments like this are absolutely nailed. As he concludes, also teasing the scale of the finale: “You know, seeing it play out on the screen my jaw was on the floor - it’s such a testament to the locations, the stunts, the months and months of prep that go into shooting a certain scene that we as actors are never privy to. Seeing it play out gave me such an appreciation of how much goes into the show. It really did in so many ways blow me away.”
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Slow Horses season 4 is now out on Apple TV Plus with new episodes airing weekly.
For more upcoming television that needs to be on your radar, here’s our guide to the bestnew TV showsto watch out for.
As Entertainment Editor at GamesRadar, I oversee all the online content for Total Film and SFX magazine. Previously I’ve worked for the BBC, Zavvi, UNILAD, Yahoo, Digital Spy and more.
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