Jack Lowden on 'The Gold', the Future of James Bond and Being Inspired by Del Boy

It's hard to resist a heart-racing heist movie or TV show, even more so when it's based on a getaway that actually, somehow, happened. So it's no surprise that the story of the Brink’s-Mat robbery of 1983, one of the largest criminal hauls in British history, has been plundered by different screenwriters and documentary makers for over three decades.

For those who weren't around for the tabloid frenzy at the time, the heist involved six men who aimed to steal the equivalent of £3.2 million in foreign currency from a warehouse near Heathrow, but actually ended up with three tonnes of gold bullion worth £26 million. They had wildly lucked out, but how on earth were they going to surreptitiously turn these shiny bricks into useable cash? New BBC drama The Gold, written by Guilt’s Neil Forsyth, will follow the gang's attempts to make a clean break.

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The Gold's cast includes Hugh Bonneville, Dominic Cooper and Charlotte Spencer, as well as Slow Horses star Jack Lowden. The 32-year-old Scottish actor will be playing the notorious criminal Kenneth Noye, an upwardly-mobile wheeler-dealer who’s drafted in by the beleaguered burglars looking to shift their gold bricks. Noye, who was later imprisoned for life after murdering a motorist in a road rage incident, is still alive today. Speaking with Esquire a few weeks before the first episode airs, we asked Lowden what he thinks Noye will make of his performance? “God knows!” he says. “If I worried about how people thought I’d portrayed them… I can’t ever get caught up in that, to be honest. I just hope that it provokes people and we’ve done it in a way that is sensitive.”

What was your research like to play Noye, and were you ever tempted to try and meet up with him?

With this, everything was down to the script. It’s not a documentary, it’s inspired by real events. It was heavily, heavily researched by Neil and his team. It’s so far-reaching and they had to whittle it down, so there’ll inevitably be things that have been left out and Neil has also got to make it entertaining. We were careful because we followed both sides, the police as well, and what’s fascinating as well is how the police went about trying to catch them. But I’m just the actor, hired to play the character off the page, so I very purposely didn’t do much digging on him and had no desire to meet up with him. I’ve played a lot of real people before, some dead and some who are still around, but part of me doesn’t want to [meet him]. My job as an actor is to perform the part that’s there.

A lot of the series focuses on the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’, and the inequality between different classes. Did you find that prescient now, as the wealth and poverty gap grows even wider?

It’s a thing to remind us that the inequality that’s around now isn’t new, very little has changed. I think it’s been like that since time immemorial. I think it’s quite a good platform to look at it, what happened in the ‘80s and how the markets opened up and everything was deregulated. It was the era of indulgence, this case in particular, as it was the biggest robbery in world history in monetary value and it started with just six blokes in a van. I think it was a fascinating look at what inequality can drive people to but, at the same time, they are just criminals, and the ethics of that; whether you think it’s good or not.

The word ‘villain’ is bandied about in the show. There’s a great monologue from Kenneth at the end of episode one where he makes a power grab, saying: “I can be a king!” Do you think Kenneth saw himself as a villain, or a working class hero?

I’ll never know what drove the real guy to do this, but in the script, a lot of it is played with that in mind and that’s why I think it’s quite clever and why it’s a story worth telling. In a period like that, there was so much money kicking around and being made, but still a lot of it was just for people of a certain background or education, who spoke with a certain accent, which has not changed. It does make you think that what the character does, is it justified? But his character’s motivation – according to Neil – was that he does feel there’s something to prove, that he’s justified in what he’s doing and I think that’s where it's more interesting to take this story. Neil does very evenly give them all reasons as to why they do it. Kenny, the character, is definitely motivated by: “somebody else has got it, why can’t I?”.

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You’ve got a proper South London accent for this role. Is your first time doing it, and did you get any help?

I’ve never done it before, and it’s one I’ve always wanted to do. I grew up watching Only Fools and Horses, I was obsessed with that kind of South London accent. I had brilliant help on the show, and also I find Cockney a lot easier to do than RP, which as an actor you’re constantly asked to do.

What is it about heist stories that you think are perennially appealing?

I think this one is a bit different because the heist is really dealt with in the opening, and it’s more about the effect of who stole that amount and how it all rippled out. It looks at the aftermath more than the heist, whereas the likes of Ocean 11, it’s all about the build up and the pay off. [In The Gold] this happens very quickly, as it’s not the bit that Neil wanted you to think about. They’re all out of their depth, these six guys who don't know what to do with the gold. The guys who smelt it down don’t know how to wash the proceeds of that, so then we get white collar people who’ve never dealt with criminals. Ultimately, people love these stories because they don’t know what’s going to happen, and the element of ‘will they, won’t they’ get away with it.

You appeared in Small Axe, which was one of the most memorable series on TV during lockdown. What was it like working with Steve McQueen?

Steve is one of my favourite directors and the opportunity to work with him, I couldn’t quite believe it. It’s the first time I’ve really thought that on the job. Half of me was there to do the job and the other half was just to watch that man work. He’s incredible. He’s incredibly trusting and protective of actors, so I’m biased, but I think that’s wonderful. There’s [normally] such a weird atmosphere [on set] when you suddenly go, “Right, be something and emote”. It’s not a place that’s built for it, strangely, a film set, and he knows that and takes a lot of care to protect that and that’s why he gets such great performances. He’s very good with actors, the best I’ve worked with. I’d love to work with him again, everything that man does is wonderful.

When can we expect more Slow Horses?

We’ve finished season three and we’re about to start season four. It’s quite moving, the next series, there’s a storyline that’s been bubbling away that comes to a head. It gets quite moving for a piece that trades on its cynicism, and I think it’s strangely twice as moving because of that.

You’ve set up a production company, Arcade Pictures, with your girlfriend, the actor Saoirse Ronan, and you’re currently working as producers on your first film together, an adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir, The Outrun, in which Saoirse also plays Amy. What’s it like working so closely with your partner?

We finished shooting in October last year, but it was a great adventure. Saoirse is first and foremost one of the best actors in the world, so to work with her in that way and help in any way I could was great. It’s hopefully the first of many, it was wonderful.

What would you like to work on next, any particular genres you’d like to explore?

We’re not in a hurry at all, because it’s a big effort. I’ve made two films now, the first was called Kindred, but it’s a miracle that independent films get money and they’re very difficult things to get made. We want to only do stuff we believe in, so we’ve not set any specific parameters around that. But Saoirse and I both have a fascination with the countries we’re from, so we’re always going to have an eye on Irish and Scottish stuff because we’re both so obsessed with it.

Do you feel you’re creatively a good match?

I’ve always wanted to do this. With the first film I produced, and with Saoirse it’s great to work with my best friend and one of my favourite actors. I get her perspective on things, she’s a brilliant creative mind, we have similar tastes and then different tastes, which is great.

Finally, I have to ask as your name has been bandied around, but what about Bond? Have you ever been asked to audition for it?

No, I've never auditioned. Like everyone else, I’m still trying to get over the fact that Daniel Craig’s not doing it anymore. I think he should still be doing it, to be honest, and he was my Bond. It’s very flattering to be asked about it, but I’m very much all about River Cartwright at the moment.

The Gold starts on BBC One on Sunday 12 February, at 9pm.