Ten Questions with Christopher Chung
The break-out star of Slow Horses almost gave up acting. Now he has a guest spot on Doctor Who — but is he a man who can keep a secret?
- Huw Fullerton
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Australian actor Christopher Chung, 36, had only a handful of screen roles to his name when he landed the part of the swaggering, socially awkward tech expert Roddy Ho in Slow Horses, Apple TV+’s hit spy series starring Gary Oldman. Four series later he’s the toast of the industry with a surprise Bafta nomination, a central role in the next series and more parts pouring in — including a guest spot in a brand-new episode of Doctor Who. Though apparently, it’s more top-secret than anything in the files at Slough House…
Hi Chris. First of all, congratulations on your Bafta best supporting actor nomination. Was it a surprise?
Thank you! It was completely unexpected. It’s funny because I was having a drink with someone the night before, and I was saying I thought Slow Horses had a really good chance of getting [nominated], and then maybe next year, because season five is a little bit more based around my character, I might get a look in. So it blindsided me.
As you say, there’s more Slow Horses coming later this year — what can we expect?
There’s a really central focus on Roddy, where he does something to set off the chain of events that occur. Season five is based on Mick Herron’s book London Rules. But there’s a lot of deviation away from the books now – we’ve just kind of enhanced that world a little bit more and given it more colour and depth.
As Roddy Ho with Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses. Apple TV+
It’s a massive hit — partially because, unusually in these days of streaming, you actually make a series every year. What’s the secret?
Don’t sleep! No, we actors swan in and out, but the production team really are there 24/7, working on the last or the next series. We’ve been doing it since 2020, and it’s a finely oiled machine. Crew tend to stay on the show, so there’s a shorthand, which makes things easier. For my part, as long as I’m allowed to keep playing Roddy, I’ll keep being the obnoxious p***k that he is!
Seriously, Slow Horses has opened up all these doors for me. Before I got it I was thinking, “I don’t know if this career is going to go the way I want it to.”
You’d been in the UK eight years at that point — had you considered giving up acting?
Well, I did a lot of theatre, and I was in Waterloo Road, and learnt a lot there. And I did video game voiceovers and things. But yeah, my faith kind of wavered at points in time. But then I met my wife [actor Frances Mayli McCann] on a job at the National Theatre. If it weren’t for her, I would have definitely moved back to Australia. She has always lifted me up when I’ve been in those moments where I don’t think I can do it any more. She always screams when I get a job, which is lovely. She screamed when I got Doctor Who! She knew how much I wanted to be a part of it.
So you were a fan? Did you watch Doctor Who growing up in Australia?
When I was younger, I tried to watch it, but I was just too scared! I couldn’t watch anything that was even a little spooky. Even the intro music creeped me out a bit. But when I moved here, and saw what a cultural phenomenon it is, I started watching it – and started auditioning!
Slow Horses has opened up all these doors for me
Christopher Chung
You’ve tried to be on before?
I’ve been auditioning for Doctor Who since I moved to the UK 13 years ago! I think this is my third try. I can’t remember all the parts, but I definitely auditioned for a role in an episode called Knock Knock [in 2017]… and I actually auditioned for another part this series. I probably would have been a supporting artist in it just to get on set!
Who did you finally end up playing? And what’s the story?
I can’t tell you a lot… but I play a space trooper called Cassio. The Doctor [Ncuti Gatwa] arrives on our spaceship as we’re about to land on a planet to do a mission, because a colony has stopped communicating with us. And then a lot of mayhem ensues. I’ve been told that it’s the most secretive episode of the season…
Was it strange to flit between a world of lasers and spaceships and the grimy environs of the Slow Horses’ Slough House HQ?
Oh yeah. We were actually filming them at the same time. There was one shoot in particular where I had to leave Cardiff and go back to Slow Horses to film a scene with Jonathan Pryce. We were hiding from an assassin in this tiny cubicle with a really dirty toilet. And then I went back to a spaceship. It was kind of mind-boggling. “Where were you yesterday?” “Spent the day in the toilet with Jonathan Pryce.”
As trooper Cassio Palin-Paleen in this week’s Doctor Who. BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf/James Pardon
You must get stopped by a lot of Slow Horses fans — are you prepared for that to switch to obsessed Whovians?
I don’t know. I was already invited to do a sci-fi convention, and the episode isn’t out yet! I’m always looking at demographics of people who come up to me. With Slow Horses it’s anybody and everybody. I guess maybe it’s the same with Whovians? Maybe I’m just expecting people to come up to me dressed as a Dalek or a Weeping Angel.
Well, perhaps you didn’t notice how many Slow Horses fans were dressed like Jackson Lamb…
You know what… that’s true! That’s so true.
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Doctor Who, Sat 8am iPlayer, 7.20pm BBC1. Slow Horses is on Apple TV+
Authors
Huw FullertonCommissioning editor
Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.
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