Slow Horses star Gary Oldman had to eat '12 ice creams' for a scene: 'I don't know where he puts it'

Slow Horses showrunner Will Smith has opened up about working with Oscar-winner Gary Oldman on the Apple TV+ spy thriller, which is now streaming its third season.

In recent conversation with NME, Smith highlighted Oldman's willingness to jump headfirst into his character Jackson Lamb's sloppy idiosyncrasies.

"Gary will go for it because he's got no vanity about it. He just loves inhabiting that character and being that guy," he said.

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"I'm waiting for the moment he tells me you can't give me any more food to eat, because he really commits to the eating."

Apparently, the Oppenheimer star consumed 12 ice creams during multiple takes for a scene - "I don't know where he puts it".

Smith, who was also on the writing team for cult political satire The Thick of It, acknowledged the similarities between Lamb and Peter Capaldi's alter-ego Malcolm Tucker.

"There's probably a similarity in the sort of swearing and the kind of floridity of insults. You also get to know how the actors deliver things, what they like, what they want more of. You start to write to their rhythms.

"I know Gary wanted the scene in the show where he's washing in the sink, squirting Fairy Liquid in his armpits," he added.

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By the sound of things, Oldman is nothing short of a dream to work with.

"He's hugely collaborative," revealed Smith. "He's probably absurdly deferential towards me in terms of his input. We get together and we talk and it's small things like 'I could say that quicker, change that word.'

"A lot of his notes will be like 'oh I can do that with a look.' Hopefully he feels that we have a great creative relationship in that regard."

Slow Horses seasons 1-3 are streaming on Apple TV+, with a fourth commissioned.

Watch: Slow Horses season 3 trailer Apple TV+