“Slow Horses” antagonist in the exciting season finale and in his role as Frank

All parts are there for you to grab Slow horses Finale – Season four antagonist Hugo Weaving agrees.

The Brit is best known for his role in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, joined the cast of Apple TV+'s hit spy thriller this season, based on the Slough House Novel series by Mick Herron. Weaving plays Frank Harkness, a former CIA agent turned cult leader whose goal is to populate the planet with trained killers (who are happy to do their father's sinister orders).

But as the season progressed, it became clear to viewers that Harkness may be none other than River Cartwright's (Jack Lowden) biological father – after all, there are physical similarities between River and “Robert Winters” aka Betrand, who Jonathan Pryce's David Cartwright shot and killed , are pretty scary.

Meanwhile, Gary Oldman's sleazy, drunken, yet incredibly smart Jackson Lamb is on a mission to track down the elderly Cartwright, who is suffering from dementia and losing his memory. Although Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves) wasn't too happy with Lamb's methods, the leader of Slough House pressed on and stubbornly convinced David that his grandson River was dead. When David admits he did everything “for her,” referring to his daughter, the former MI5 officer’s connection to Harkness becomes shockingly clear.

Isobel, River's mother (played by Anna Wilson-Jones), was kidnapped and impregnated by Harkness in Les Arbres. To get his daughter back, David explained that he swapped cold body passes with Weaving's character and supplied Les Arbres with weapons and money.

Meanwhile, Emma Flyte (Ruth Bradley), the new head of the dogs, tries to track down David. Kristin Scott Thomas stars as Diana Taverner, Naomi Wirthner as Molly Doran, Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy, Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander and Kadiff Kirwan as Marcus Longridge in the highly anticipated season four finale, “Hello Goodbye” (airing March 30). October). 9 on AppleTV+).

Below, Weaving speaks up The Hollywood Reporter about how to draw inspiration from Herron's books and why Frank Harkness helps focus our attention on what Slow horses It's really about what the audience can take away from the season finale while waiting for the already renewed fifth season: “For a viewer, I think it works. It’s a great end to the season.”

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I'm curious if you were a fan of the series before you got involved?

I had literally said to myself, “I have to be careful.” Slow horses.” I had heard about it and thought, I have to watch the first season because there are (many) things I want to see, you know? Then the next day I got an offer to play Frank with six scripts. And I thought, “Well, now I'm definitely going to watch it.” So I read the script and watched the first season almost on the same day.

It was a fantastic role and very easy to say yes to. One of the things I did before I signed was that I also wanted to read the books that Frank was in. I really wanted to read anything that had to do with Frank. I read three books just to get as much information as possible about Frank that wasn't actually included in the season currently on screen.

Have you found that this character from the books influences your portrayal on screen?

Yes, it has. I wanted to see what Mick Herron had to say about Frank, who he was from Mick's perspective. Because originally it was the man who created him. And then what is the difference between Frank in the book and Frank in the series? And there were definitely differences in emphasis. I always want to give each character as much complexity and contrast as possible. Because the more contrasting someone is, the more real they are. For me, all people are complex. So I've always been fascinated by the complexity of characterization and character, and Frank is a gift in a way because he's like a father figure. So he's supposed to be a teacher, an educator, right? But he is also deadly. He is also a murderer. You really would be incredibly careful if you had anything to do with this man. That's a fabulous dichotomy, I think. He's a great newcomer Slow horses family, and he is a fascinating man in his own right.

And your portrayal is extremely scary, but has so much depth. Is playing the villain an appropriate topic for you?

Although I talk about the villain, from an acting point of view, I never consider the character I play as a villain. I understand that the role may be within the construct of the film or television series. But I don't think that makes sense. It's useful to know, but then you can't do much more with it. Finding the person is what you have to pursue.

Do you find Frank to be very different from the characters you've played before?

Yes, I do. I think he's someone who works in secret. He's in the secret service. It's a secret and it's also off-piste. He is secretive, he is rebellious. He turned against his own organization, the CIA. He is in some ways sophisticated and unsentimental. He knows exactly what intelligence agencies do and what they sometimes have to do, and that some of the things they're involved in have to be completely denied, like, “We had nothing to do with the assassination of this world leader.” We have “Don’t do it.” He understands that, and I think that’s the world in which he operates. So his experience is really unusual. This is something that most people wouldn't have. And yet, as a human being, when we see him and he comes face to face with someone, he doesn't have to seem like that. Unless he wants to threaten, he must be friendly, polite, charming and obedient. He is extremely capable, but also hidden and hidden. These things don't reveal themselves very often because they don't have to and shouldn't. Otherwise he won't do his job properly.

I'm careful not to give too much away, but what can we expect with the finale approaching? Is there a confrontation between Frank and River? Is Frank Rivers' father, as viewers strongly suspect?

(I love) this whole idea Slow horses The focus is on a dysfunctional family. Slough House is a house where a whole host of children live and are looked after by a father figure, Lamb. And they all want Lamb's love, but they don't really do that either, and they also feel rejected by the other house they used to live in – the other parent, the mother. And in this world of need for attention and acceptance that we all feel is the reason why Slow horses is a great series. This season seems to be increasingly focused on family. David loses his mind, the one father figure loses his mind. Another father figure, Lamb, is still there. And then this (other) father figure comes into play. So something about the introduction of Frank Slow horses draws our attention to what Slow horses that's actually what it's about. And I find it really fascinating.

Can you give us a taste of what to expect?

River is kidnapped… We already know he was put in the trunk of a car. He is brought to this place by Patrice, the robot killer. The beginning of the sixth episode is the most fantastic thing. There's a lot of tension because there's a ticking time bomb element, but Frank also has a desire to take River with him. It's an absurd offer for River, but it's an extreme suggestion from Frank.

It's exciting. They're great scenes. They are really, really enjoyable scenes that were made and performed. They were great scenes to explore and for the viewer I think it works. I think it's a fantastic season. It's a great end to the season.

How did it work out with this line-up? It must be cool to see such a great Gary Oldman at work.

Unfortunately I didn't have any scenes with Gary at all. We were supposed to be on set about two days in a row, I think we were working on the same set, but Gary came down with COVID at the time and they had to reschedule his scenes. So I've never met him, but I hope I will.

I loved working with Jack. I've worked with Jack a lot and I've also worked with Naomi, who plays Molly Doran, a bit and she's lovely. Tom Wozniczka, who plays Patrice, and Kristen Scott Thomas, there's a scene in the sixth episode that was great with her too. So it was a great pleasure to meet and work with all these wonderful actors. Ruth Bradley – a fabulous, wonderful addition. Another great character. I really enjoyed working on the series. It's a very well-oiled machine, but also a very good-natured, human machine. A nice set to take part in.

Slow horses releases its sixth and final episode on Apple TV+ on October 9th.