Jack Andrew Lowden (born 2 June 1990) is a Scottish actor. Following a four-year stage career, his first major international onscreen success was in the 2016 BBC miniseries War & Peace, which led to starring roles in feature films. Starring as River Cartwright in the Apple TV series Slow Horses since 2020, he has received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
Lowden played Eric Liddell in the 2012 play Chariots of Fire in London. In 2014, he won an Olivier Award and the Ian Charleson Award for his role as Oswald in Richard Eyre's 2013 adaptation of Ibsen's Ghosts.
In 2013, he began to have substantial roles in British television series and feature films, including The Tunnel (2013) and '71 (2014), and had leading roles in the BBC miniseries The Passing Bells (2014) and War & Peace (2016). Other screen roles include the title role as golfing legend Tommy Morris in Tommy's Honour (2016); the starring role of Morrissey in the biopic England Is Mine (2017); a main-cast role as an RAF fighter-pilot in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk (2017); a starring role in the Scottish Highlands thriller Calibre (2018, for which he won the British Academy Scotland Award for Best Film Actor); Lord Darnley in Mary Queen of Scots (2018); a starring role as a plantation owner in 19th-century Jamaica in the 2018 BBC miniseries The Long Song; and as Zak "Zodiac" Bevis in the 2019 comedy-drama WWE film Fighting with My Family.
Early life and education Jack Lowden was born in Essex in 1990 to Scottish parents. His parents went to England to have IVF treatment for the pregnancies and births of Jack and his younger brother Calum.Hayes, Martha. "From theatrical pedigree to an A-list girlfriend, Jack Lowden has all the hallmarks of a rising star". Evening Standard. 20 February 2019. He grew up in the Scottish village of Oxton. As a child, he attended dance classes but found that he was more suited to acting.Wilson, Benji. "Jack the likely lad". The Sunday Times. 2 November 2014.Kelly, Rona. "BWW Interview: Jack Lowden Talks Measure for Measure". Broadway World. 15 November 2018."Jack Lowden Bio: In His Own Words". NewsDog. 28 April 2017.Jamieson, Teddy. "Jack Lowden is Scotland's next big thing. And it's all because of Riverdance". The Herald. 24 June 2018.
At the age of 10, Lowden's parents enrolled him in the Scottish Youth Theatre in Edinburgh. As a 12-year old, he played John in a Peter Pan pantomime at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh."It's Fizzy, It's Ginger, It's a Phenomenal Show". The Southern Reporter. 5 May 2009.
Lowden attended Earlston High School, where he starred as Buddy Holly in Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story and performed in various concerts.Brown, Alexa. "It's Phenomenal!". Border Telegraph. 6 May 2009."Week Ended 26th October 2007: Buddy" . Earlston High School News Archive 2006/07. He was inspired to pursue acting professionally after seeing the play Black Watch on its first run in 2007."Black Watch: 'One of the Two Great Scottish plays of the Past 500 Years' Returns, But the All-New Cast Are Determined Not to Coast on That Reputation". The Scotsman. 15 September 2010.English, Paul. "Cast of Scottish Play Black Watch Set for their Toughest Challenge Yet ... Hitting the Stage in Belfast". Daily Record. 16 September 2010. While in high school, he studied during summer school at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London."Week Ended 7th March 2008: Jack's Success" . Earlston High School News Archive 2008. He also performed regularly at the Galashiels Amateur Operatic Society, where he played the lead in a 2008 production of The Boy Friend.Frater, Jill. . Border Telegraph. 5 Mar 2008.
Lowden received a BA in acting from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow in 2011.Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama – Acting Showcase: Class of 2011. Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Retrieved 9 September 2017."High School Bru-sical Debut Made". BBC News. 6 May 2009.
Career
Early beginnings (2009–2011) In 2009, at the age of 18, Lowden appeared in a television advertisement for Irn-Bru, sending up High School Musical.Irn-Bru Musical advert In 2010 he had a small part as the character Nick Fairclough on an episode of the Glasgow-set television series Being Victor.Being Victor – Season 1: Episode 3 of 6 (aired 19 October 2010). TVpixie.com. 21 October 2010.Being Victor – Web episode 10 (TV episode 3). True Tube. 2010.
In 2010–11 Lowden was the lead character, Cammy, in the National Theatre of Scotland's revival production of the Olivier Award-winning play Black Watch. The play is an incisive and topical look at the harsh reality of war, and depicts soldiers of the legendary historic Scottish Black Watch regiment serving in Iraq. He and the rest of the cast underwent gruelling physical training during the rehearsals period to get into military shape.
The Black Watch production toured to London (Barbican), Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Belfast, and in the U.S. to New York City, Washington, Chicago, Austin, and Chapel Hill.Piepenburg, Erik. "Sons of Scotland: A Closer Look at Black Watch" (video). New York Times. 21 April 2011."All New Cast for Black Watch set to tour UK, U.S.". National Theatre of Scotland. 7 September 2010. UK reviewers deemed Lowden "a clearly hugely promising young actor"Scott, Robert Dawson. "Black Watch Returns with New National Theatre of Scotland Cast". STV. 20 September 2010. "who carries off this amazing start to his career with assurance and maturity".Anderson, Alison. "Review of Black Watch by National Theatre of Scotland". Perthshire Advertiser. 24 September 2010. In the U.S., The Washington Post described him as "quietly charismatic" and a "stand-out";Marks, Peter. "Black Watch Review: Scottish Battalion's Iraq Story Is Authentic, Astonishing". Washington Post. 30 January 2011. this was echoed by the Chicago Sun-Times, which called him "easily charismatic";Weiss, Heidi. "Superb Black Watch Is Riveting 'Theater of War'". Chicago Sun-Times. 31 March 2011. and the Chicago Tribune noted his "rich and finely detailed work".Jones, Chris. "Battles Blaze at Armory: National Theatre of Scotland Tells the Story of the Black Watch". Chicago Tribune. 31 March 2011.
Increased recognition on stage (2012–2015)
From 9 May 2012 to 5 January 2013 Lowden starred as Scottish runner and missionary Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire, the stage adaptation of the film of the same name."Jack Fired Up as he Follows in Flying Footsteps of Olympics Legend Liddell". The Southern Reporter. 21 May 2012. The Olympic-themed play, created and produced specifically in honour of the 2012 London Summer Olympics, opened at London's Hampstead Theatre and transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in the West End in June 2012.Girvan, Andrew. "Black Watch's Lowden plays Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire". What's On Stage. 9 March 2012."Chariots of Fire to Transfer to West End from June – Starring Jack Lowden as Eric Liddell". BroadwayWorld.com. 18 April 2012. Lowden's performance was widely praised, including by Libby Purves in The Times.Purves, Libby. "Chariots of Fire at the Hampstead Theatre, NW3". The Times. 24 May 2012."4 Stars from The Times for Chariots of Fire". HampsteadTheatre.com. 24 May 2012. (Excerpt of The Times review by Libby Purves, 24 May 2012)
Onscreen, in 2012 he appeared in the ITV drama Mrs Biggs as Alan Wright, who has an affair with Charmian Biggs and gets her pregnant. In 2013, he played the pivotal role of the lead character's son, Adam, in the television series The Tunnel. The series is a British/French crime-drama co-production, and aired in the UK and in France; in the summer of 2016 it aired on PBS in the U.S. He also had a sizable role as a young British soldier in the 2014 film '71, which takes place in Belfast in 1971 during the Northern Ireland conflict."Jack O'Connell, Jack Lowden and Yann Demange on 71". BFI. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
In 2014, Lowden received both the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and also the Ian Charleson Award, for his role as Oswald in Richard Eyre's adaptation of Ibsen's Ghosts."Oxton actor says Olivier Award win is ‘surreal’" . The Southern Reporter. 17 April 2014.Wise, Louis. "Haunting brilliance". Sunday Times. 4 May 2014."Jack Lowden Wins Ian Charleson Award". WestEndTheatre.com. 27 April 2014. The production ran from September 2013 to March 2014, opening at the Almeida Theatre and then transferring in December to the West End at Trafalgar Studios. A filmed February 2014 performance of the production screened in more than 275 UK and Irish cinemas on 26 June 2014.West End Theatre Series – Ghosts. CinemaLive.com. Retrieved 18 May 2016.Billington, Michael. "Let's stop pretending that theatre can't be captured on screen". The Guardian. 18 June 2014. The entire filmed performance is viewable online."Richard Eyre's GHOSTS, Starring Lesley Manville and Jack Lowden, Out Online Sept 18". Broadway World. 19 August 2014."Ghosts, by Henrik Ibsen, adapted and directed by Richard Eyre" . DigitalTheatre.com. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
In June 2014 Screen Daily named Lowden one of the UK Stars of Tomorrow.Halligan, Fionnuala. "Jack Lowden, UK Stars of Tomorrow 2014". Screen Daily. 5 June 2014."Screen unveils 2014 UK Stars of Tomorrow". Screen Daily. 5 June 2014.
He performed Orestes in Electra at the Old Vic in the autumn of 2014. The production starred Kristin Scott Thomas as his sister Electra, and Diana Quick played their mother Clytemnestra. Previews began 22 September, the official opening was 1 October, and the run continued in a limited engagement through to 20 December 2014.Millward, Tom. "The Old Vic announces further casting for Electra". London Theatre Guide. 24 June 2014.Stanbury, Kate. "Jack Lowden Joins Old Vic's Electra". Official London Theatre. 24 June 2014.
On television he starred as one of the two leads in the 2014 World War I BBC drama series The Passing Bells. It is the story of two youths, one from Germany and one from the UK, who enlist as soldiers at the beginning of the war.Crisp, Lyndall. "Grand Designs showcases unusual homes in rural Australia: Pay-TV Quick Bites". The Australian. 30 May 2015.
Breakthrough (2016–2019) Lowden portrayed Nikolai Rostov, one of the main characters, in the 2016 BBC miniseries War & Peace.Swerling, Gabriella. "Borders brothers on stage and screen tell of inspirations". The Times. 22 January 2016."The new generation of War & Peace: Stellar cast revives Tolstoy's masterpiece". 5050 London. 3 January 2016. The 6-part miniseries, which was broadcast around the world and positively reviewed,Middleton, Richard. "Russia takes BBCWW's War and Peace". C21 Media. 8 February 2016.War & Peace on Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 21 February 2016. garnered Lowden the most exposure he had had thus far in his career.*. InStyle UK. 7 March 2016. "War and Peace is a new high for Jack". The Southern Reporter. 11 February 2016. "Jack Lowden: War and Peace is lots of boys chasing girls chasing boys chasing girls'!". What's on TV. 12 January 2016. "What are Young Stars of War and Peace Epic Series Doing Next? James Norton, Jack Lowden, Jessie Buckley, Paul Dano, Callum Turner!" Hollywood Spy. 14 February 2016. Radish, Christina. "Lily James Talks War and Peace, Edgar Wright's Baby Driver and More". Collider. 18 January 2016. Wood, Gareth. Review: War and Peace: S1 Ep2 – "Austerlitz" 12 January 2016. S1 Ep3 – "Renewal". 19 January 2016. The Metropolist. Retrieved 21 February 2016.