Jack Lowden: The Courage to Pivot and Find New Opportunities

Jack Lowden has been a rising star in the U.K. for the last decade, racking up eye-catching roles in movies like "Fighting With My Family" and Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk."

But Lowden is now perhaps best known for playing downtrodden MI5 spy River Cartwright in Apple TV's "Slow Horses." The drama has quickly become one of the best British spy shows ever made, largely because it acts as an antithesis to James Bond's familiar suave antics on the big screen. For related coverage, explore our detailed analysis on Technology and Digital Systems.

Finding Courage in Perseverance

Lowden recently shared his thoughts on perseverance and calling it a day during an interview with the "An Actor Despairs" podcast. He emphasized that there is courage in persevering, but also in knowing when to stop pursuing something that's no longer serving you.

It's almost more honest to me when you see someone who is trying to be somebody else.

" — from a 2020 interview with Gentleman's Journal

Quote Jack Lowden Details and Timeline

Scottish actor Jack Lowden has been a rising star in the U.K. for the last decade, racking up eye-catching roles in movies like "Fighting With My Family" and Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk." But Lowden is now perhaps best known for playing downtrodden MI5 spy River Cartwright in Apple TV's "Slow Horses." The drama has quickly become one of the best British spy shows ever made, largely because it acts as an antithesis to James Bond's familiar suave antics on the big screen.

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While 007 gets embroiled in globetrotting conspiracies featuring explosions, superyachts, and love interests, the team in "Slow Horses" is more or less confined to the Slough House office in North London.

The first trailer for "Slow Horses" Season 6 revealed that Cartwright and the team are on the run because of something murky that MI5 First Desk Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) has gotten into. The show, which is already renewed for Seasons 7 , returns with Season 6 on Wednesday, September 16 .

To help tide us over as we await the next installment of "Slow Horses," we turn to Lowden for today's quote of the day.

"There is courage in persevering, but there is courage in calling it a day as well... I have more admiration for people that pivot and use [their skills] in a different way." Jack Lowden's quote comes from a 2024 interview he did with the podcast " An Actor Despairs " while promoting "Slow Horses" Season 4.

He explained how some of his friends in the film and TV industry resolved to suspend pursuing acting as a career to focus their efforts elsewhere. Lowden applauded those people for taking the skills they had learned as actors and using them in other positions within the industry.