Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | November 2, 2026
Jack Lowden is our new Mr. Darcy. Finally, a hot Scottish ginger Darcy. Jane Austen would be proud. The newest adaptation of Pride & Prejudice stars Lowden and Emma Corrin as Darcy and Lizzie, and to promote it, he is telling all in the latest edition of GQ. There's a lot to talk about, after all. Lowden's a multi-award-winning actor who's made films with the likes of Terrence Davies and Christopher Nolan, and is married to Saoirse Ronan, with whom he has a kid and regularly collaborates on projects. His rise has been a proper slow-burn one, from theatre to bit-parts on film and TV to leading man status. As River Cartwright on Slow Horses, he's spent six seasons stealing the show from Gary Oldman.
The GQ piece is very good. He's warm and funny, opens up about new fatherhood, and admits that his dream role is to play football manager Alex Ferguson (he's a massive football geek and admits he "lost myself" when Scotland qualified for the World Cup. You and me both, pal!) But, of course, you know he also had to confront the rumoured shaken martini in the room.
Lowden is reportedly one of three or four men who is in the final running to be the next James Bond. Lowden is rumored to be one of the final contenders for the part, alongside Callum Turner. A week before this GQ interview took place, Lowden's co-star Gary Oldman "told a press junket two things: first, that he'd heard the new 007 had been cast; second, that he was hoping it'd be Lowden. Through a sinister confluence of news headlines, content aggregation and WhatsApp groups, this soon morphed into thousands of thumbs-upped texts between fathers and sons: Jack Lowden as Bond?"
Here's how he was asked about it:
Well, I've gotta ask -"Oh, Christ..." Lowden's previously animated face settles into a frozen, half-agape smile of practised unreadability.
What was it like, when Oldman's comments came out?
A suck of the teeth precedes the official statement. "On this... It's all very flattering. It's nice to be mentioned - for any role - and I'm just not really going to add to the noise," he says. It isn't a denial; it's a bucket of cold water, poured with care. "It's very nice, and Gary's a sweetheart - it's particularly lovely, coming from someone like him. But I don't really listen to it." It comes, Lowden reckons, with the outfit: "As a young male actor, generally, the minute you're not playing a zany artist type, the minute you're in a suit, people fling it at you." We move on to the show that has put him in the conversation.
A good strong non-answer. Well played.
In fairness, what else could he say? Every answer he gives would generate headlines right now. He can't admit if he's auditioned or not because I imagine Amazon-MMGM made him sign an NDA as long as his bed. Saying he'd like to play Bond would read as implicit confirmation. Saying "no" would also be seen as him deflecting the question. But also "I don't listen to the noise" responses are total BS, right? We know you're listening, Jack. And we don't blame you! Which hot dude in the acting world wouldn't want to have that role? Just smile and move onto the next question.
He's stuck between a rock and a hard place right now, more visible in his career than ever and in aa weird liminal spot of whispers and speculation over something that will make him even more famous. Well, him or Mr. Dua Lipa. If it helps ease the pain for him, he is a very popular choice for Bond. But who would you rather have: Bond or more River Cartwright?
