Gary Oldman has been spotted in the heart of London as he shoots for the new instalment of the hit spy series Slow Horses. The esteemed British actor was captured alongside fellow star Saskia Reeves over the weekend as they filmed a variety of scenes around the Barbican area of the capital. Oldman, 66, was spotted strolling down Aldersgate Street while engrossed in a phone call and was also seen exiting the local Italian eatery Vecchio Parioli.
He was later filmed inside the restaurant engaging in a brief exchange with a blonde actress. Meanwhile, Reeves, aged 63, was caught on film dashing across Aldersgate Street into what is believed to be the spy headquarters for the characters in the acclaimed Apple TV show. Local Emily, who witnessed the filming unfold, shared that the production led to road closures from 9am to 5pm as the crew introduced their own vehicles and buses, not to mention a rain machine. She remarked: "It was fun to see the magic that makes television happen as they closed the whole road down and brought in their own stuff.
"All the traffic was fake - it was cars and buses they had brought in. And they even brought in a fake bus stop. It was also clearly meant to be a rainy day in the script as, while it was sunny in London on Sunday, they had a rain machine and had all the extras holding umbrellas.". Emily recalled previous sightings of the Slow Horses cast filming locally, including during a sweltering summer day when everyone "had to wear overcoats". She recounted: "I remember because an extra fainted. On another occasion, I saw them filming - and they put up a fake bus stop which someone mistook for a real one.".
Emily expressed her delight at the on-location shoots near her residence. She enthused: "It's fun watching the actors and seeing how it all unfolds. And it's entertaining to see how the area is transformed. The Slow Horses crew have also always been really good at keeping residents informed about disruption - so there are no issues there.". Slow Horses, starring Gary Oldman as the head of a group of MI5 misfits, Jackson Lamb, follows their efforts to protect England from dark threats. The fourth season streamed on Apple TV between September and October 2024, with fans eagerly anticipating the release of the fifth season this summer.
The series is based on the award-winning novels by British author Mick Herron, with the new season adapted from the fourth in the book series, Spook Street. Its fifth season will be adapted from Herron’s fifth novel, London Rules. Also returning for the new season are Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Kadiff Kirwan and Jonathan Pryce.
The latest series debuted with a 100 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics hailing it as ‘outstanding’. It earned its perfect rating after 25 reviews ahead of its premiere. Season four saw a raft of new faces join the cast, including The Matrix star Hugo Weaving as villain Frank Harkness, alongside The Thick of It’s Joanna Scanlan, Ted Lasso’s Ruth Bradley, Preacher’s Tom Brooke and Battlestar Galactica’s James Callis.
