Chris Connor chats with Slow Horses star Ruth Bradley…
Within the world of Slough House and the Slow Horses, the head of the dogs is a major role previously occupied by the infamous Nick Duffy. The newest occupant of the role is Emma Flyt previously of the Met. We sat down with star Ruth Bradley to discuss the latest addition to the cast and what she brings to the table. We dived into how she found acting opposite Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas and some of her favourite sequences to shoot.
How do you feel Emma slots into the dynamic of the show?
That’s a nice question. I guess she kind of comes like, at this late stage. I mean, it’s not late in the books, but in this season, she’s different to everybody else in that she is not playing games. She’s pretty straight and direct. It’s nice to see that, I think, for the audience, somebody who’s really not used to these people and isn’t planning on operating in this underhand way, and thinks people are just going to be on her side if they’re on her team. But in fact, they aren’t. So she’s kind of slots in that she’s so different to so many characters in there.
What do you feel the main differences are between Emma and Nick Duffy, the head of the dogs previously?
Well she’s straight in a way that he definitely wasn’t. Also, I can’t imagine her trying to beat up Marcus in an underground bunker.
One of the things people have enjoyed this series is the back and forth between Emma and Kristin Scott Thomas’ Taverner, how have you found that?
Amazing, I’ve been a massive fan of Kristen Scott Thompson since I was a kid. That relationship is so well drawn in the books, and then in the scripts, it was just a development. And then as an actor, when you get on set, she’s just so incredible. She’s so talented. And, yeah, just developing further upon what’s on the page. Because obviously, when you put the two actors in the room, something else happens. So that’s just been a joy, kind of from beginning to end, and what Emma’s coming in with, and what Taverner is coming back with, and it’s been a real highlight.
Emma wants to make a mark for herself, but people are constantly messing her around how did you find that dynamic to her character?
Well she can only deal with what she’s being given. And she’s definitely this got to be one of the worst days of her life, because she starts at thinking, “God, I finally arrived. You know, my whole career I’ve worked at this point and and now here I am, and it’s all going to be brilliant”. It ends up that nobody cares, nobody’s really interested in her and her position, and she has absolutely no power. Even when she finally catches River, he’s making demands of her, you know, she’s like, “God, this is supposed to be my moment of glory, and he doesn’t even have any respect for me”. So I think during the course of this one 24 hours, she really learns so many difficult lessons and is kind of humbled.
Our first interaction to Emma is with Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb. How was that scene to do as an introduction to your character?
Amazing. I mean, he’s like a legend. He’s an absolute icon. And I grew up kind of wanting to be Gary Oldman. The scene was just so brilliantly written, and so much of it was taken directly from the books as well. He’s just a consummate professional. When we got into the scene and the meat and bones of it, it was just kind of playing, which he’s so amazing at still.
You’ve mentioned the books did you chat with Mick Herron at all?
I did meet him. We didn’t really chat about the character actually. I felt like I probably knew him, because I’d kind of been studying and researching the book so much and he’s just such a gorgeous person, really. He’s just so full of warmth. And it felt more like a party. I forgot to ask him about Emma Flyt, but I must ask him next time I see him. A bit late now, but that’s all right.
Your first sequences with River are a particular highlight having spent so long chasing him. How was that sequence to shoot?
Great fun. I mean, that was really intense. It took us about, I think, about five nights we shot that over, and it’s like we lived in that car. And also, because of the incredible shot, we kind of became part of the camera team. Sometimes we had to duck under the camera, or step out of the way, because they were just in the car with us all the time. It was really great fun. It was a real highlight that whole sequence.
It must be hard to keep a straight face shooting some of the sequences like that one?
You know, it was hard but also the actor who plays Patrice is so amazing. It was also quite terrifying. Sometimes, at one stage I got it and Adam, our amazing director, was like, when you get out of the car, don’t start shooting until you’ve come around. But I was so terrified. I just was thinking no, no, it’s not a real gun. This isn’t real.
Were there any influences on how you portrayed Emma with her background coming from the Met?
I think probably just in my research that it’s quite a male dominated world the Met, and that she would have been brought over to being head dog would have been a traditionally male role. So everything that she would have had to deal with in the Met in that structure and that climate, how she would have to deal with her femininity, cover it, dress it down, you know, be hard, or all the different ways she would have to play herself, depending on the context, really influenced how I wanted to play her, yeah, and have her come across.
The series opens with the Westacres attack but Emma is tasked with looking into the Cartwright’s how did you find channeling that frustration?
That was what I really wanted to project extreme frustration along the course. Well, I guess because West Acres is obviously such a huge tragedy that happens at the off she thinks, surely that’s where I’m supposed to be, not chasing some ex-spy around and then his grandson. It seems so menial to her when she’s this new, got this new great position. And in episode one, she’s definitely got a little, maybe a little bit of hubris about it. And then she’s like, I’m, you know, I’m here, and I’ve arrived, and it just gets taken away. So, yeah, frustration definitely. And it turns out that she is actually on a really important case because you should never underestimate these slow horses.
Buzz around the show seems to grow all the time, what is it for you that makes it work so well for audiences?
That’s a great question. I think the books are amazing. So you’ve got an amazing blueprint there. I think Will Smith the showrunner, is just an absolute genius. The way he manages to weave both in to be completely faithful to the books, but also do something new. Gary, Kristen, Jonathan, the amazing cast. I think what’s really unique and wonderful about it is that there’s a new director on each season, so you’re not kind of having different people come in. There’s a real vision, which is why I think when you watch it, the season seems to have a different feel. It’s the same world, but there’s a different spice to it, and it means that it’s like a really high budget independent film or something. You know, there’s like one vision throughout the course of it.
Thank you so much for your time Ruth and congratulations on this season of Slow Horses.
SEE ALSO: Read our exclusive interviews with Slow Horses stars James Callis and Joanna Scanlan
Chris Connor
