An Interview with Joanna Scanlan from ‘Slow Horses’

Joanna Scanlan in "Slow Horses," now streaming on Apple TV+.

Joanna Scanlan is a highly accomplished actor that has appeared on numerous shows and in numerous films. Currently she stars as Moira in season four of Slow Horses on Apple TV+, and we here at NTG had the honor of sitting down with Joanna to discuss her experiences on the show thus far.
 
John Betancourt: I'd love to start today by getting to know how you managed to come to the world of Slow Horses.
 
Joanna Scanlan: Well, um, I'm very lucky to have had a long relationship with Slow Horses in that when they originally started to develop the show, a very close friend of mine, Morwenna Banks, was in the original writers’ room, along with Will Smith, who I'd worked with on The Thick of It, the UK show. So, I knew they were developing it, and I heard lots about how that process was going, and I was always very excited about it. Seemed like a great idea, and I hadn't read any of the books, but it seemed very positive. And then when the night, the first night, when it dropped, my husband and I sat on our sofa, out of loyalty to our friends, to watch their show, and we were blown away. I mean, literally in that case, because it is a lot of explosions. But it was just… we just couldn't believe how utterly brilliant it was. So, we were early adopters, and then I loved it, for everything that it is, the extraordinary cocktail of thrills and comedic sense and the emotional heart of it as well, all of that coming together. We loved it. Loved it, loved it. Couldn't wait for the next series. Couldn't wait. And then I couldn't believe it when I was asked to join the team, and, you know, end up in Slough House myself that just felt like, “No, I'm a fan.” I was only hoping that it wouldn't spoil it for me, because it'd been such a pleasure to watch. I didn't want to kind of see behind the curtain.
 
John Betancourt: Speaking of that, that leads me right to my next question, what does it mean to you then, to join a show that you're a fan of, and that is also just an outright phenomenon?
 
Joanna Scanlan: Well, I think at the end of the day, the way I approach all my work, is that I don't really do it for what happens afterwards. I do it on to be there on that day, doing that thing with those people. And there can be no greater pleasure than being a part of Slow Horses for Apple TV Plus. I mean, seriously, it is the happiest, most enjoyable and most enriching job I have ever had. I absolutely loved it from dawn ‘till dusk.
 
John Betancourt: What was it about the job that you enjoyed so much?
 
Joanna Scanlan: I think it's just being surrounded by complete quality at every turn. You know, whether you know seriously, from the facilities guys, to Gary (Oldman) himself, you know, every single person is at the top of their game. They are all producing and delivering. There's nothing I could have brought, you know, I didn't have to think about anything other than just playing Moira. Because normally, in every job I go to, I'm a shocker for trying to do other people's jobs. Because I think, you know, you really should -- that prop isn't quite right, or that costume isn't quite right. I'm quite fussy, but my God, these guys are so ahead of the game that there's no way that anything I could bring would do anything other than diminish it. They are superb. Adam Randall, the director, every single bit of that show is thought through with such excellence. And not least the comedy, which is something that… you can't do that by hammering it on the head. You've got to let that live and breathe. And I think Will (Smith) has been the most amazing showrunner, because he lets the space and the air into the rehearsal time so that people are bringing their very, very best to the party, and not trying to kind of control it. No, you know, not trying to just, you can sit on Comedy too, too easily. Just, you know, sit, squash it. But he just allows that kind of energy and so it flies. Yeah, really good.
 
John Betancourt:  Something I also really enjoy is how realistic all the characters feel. Everybody seems like somebody you would know in life or have worked with in life. And I'm curious how you as an actor, added such depth and realism to Moira. Because there are folks that I’ve found in my travels that are like Moira.
 
Joanna Scanlan: Really. You recognize that type?
 
John Betancourt: Yeah, oh yeah. I’ve worked with a couple of people like her.
 
Joanna Scanlan: I think it relates back to The Thick of It again, because I think Will at some level, was remembering the character I played there, and I had based her -- so like this is iterations back on a real person that I worked with when I was young, and I worked at a big arts organization in London, and this person was exactly, you know, I'm channeling her really still through Moira, somebody who's sort of a little bit deluded into their to their value in the world, but at the same time, they are actually quite good at what they do. They just miss the bigger picture, miss the context of life, and focus too narrowly on their own self-importance in a way, and sense of indignation, should people not go along with their way of thinking. How shocked and surprised they are that nobody agrees with them, and that quality, I think you do meet in the workplace quite a lot, because they're just very, in a way, very narrow minded, but at the same time they've got something to offer. It's a real thing. It's not, it's not pointlessness, but it doesn't see other people's concerns. And I think, so I based, you know, originally, that one other character on, and this is a kind of revisioning, back to my experience as a young as a young administrator in in this arts organization. The other thing I think about people like that is they're not people, people, but they think they are.
 
John Betancourt: Oh, that sums it up perfectly. That’s Moira to a tee. Obviously, we’ve still got a few episodes left in the season, without any spoilers, what are you, kind of most excited for audiences to enjoy?
 
Joanna Scanlan: Well, it gets really, really complicated, not in a confusing way, in a very shocking way. Actually, there's very little I could say without giving too much away. But you might be, you know, when you've seen the French stuff from the first couple of episodes, you might be thinking, “What's that? What's that all that about?” And that really, really pays off. So, I think you're following River, going through a very, very important emotional journey. And it's, yeah, it's a… I wish I could tell you more about that. In terms of Moira’s story, that also gets interesting. And a couple of friends of mine have said to me, “Oh, I think you're the baddie. I think you’re; you know, I think you've been planted there,” or, you know, “You're definitely not what you seem.” So, and that's not exactly right, but there's a kind of way in which she definitely has a sting in her tail. More to her than you might imagine.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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