Gary Oldman reveals secrets of Jackson Lamb's farts — and his most iconic roles get Lamb-ified

Gary Oldman is one of the most respected and accomplished actors of his age, and he shared a secret to one of the defining aspects to his Emmy-nominated role as Jackson Lamb on Slow Horses — how he delivers those quintessential Jackson Lamb farts.

In a special interview with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that aired on March 13, the late night talk show host sat down with Oldman as fans await the return of Slow Horses season 5 on Apple TV Plus, where they covered what interested Oldman in doing a TV show, the process of getting ready to play Lamb, but perhaps most importantly, how he delivers those perfectly timed and legendary farts.

“Do you do your own stunts,” Colbert asked Oldman, referring to Lamb’s passing of gas, “Can you fart on command?” No, Oldman admits, those farts we hear from Lamb are not of his doing. “I cock a leg… I indicate,” Oldman explains, which allows for the sound effects team in post-production to work their magic.

With that being the case, Colbert had the fun idea of adding that Jackson Lamb trademark to some other iconic performances from Oldman. He showed Oldman a clip package where farts were added to his performances in movies like Dracula, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Air Force One and even his Oscar-winning role as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. It really tickled Oldman, who was brought to tears laughing.

Moving on from the farting, Oldman explained to Colbert how he came to star in Slow Horses. It turns out he was an admirer of the work that was being done in long-form TV. “I would look sometimes with envy and just admiration at these shows. Best directing, best cinematography, some of the best writing, certainly the best acting, far better than what we’re mostly seeing on the big screen.”

Oldman told his manager and producing partner how he longed for his own show to be part of what he (and others) called “this golden age of television.” But he did have some conditions: it would have to be “very well written,” he didn’t want to wear a wig or prosthetic makeup, he didn’t want elaborate costumes or to have to do an accent and he would love it to be in the spy world.

Sometime later, Oldman was on a plane and noticed that his producing partner was laughing as he read a script. He told Oldman, “I’m reading a character who is just about to become your best friend,” which of course would be Jackson Lamb. “It fell from the sky and ticked all the boxes,” Oldman said.

Some other highlights from Gary Oldman's The Late Show interview:

• He admits that sometimes he doesn’t need to go into the makeup chair to get read to play Jackson Lamb, he can just roll out of bed
• He wishes drama school would have prepared him for more practical challenges in acting, like how to eat a bacon roll without getting grease on your costume
• Some of his favorite movies include Being There, The Conversation (he raved about Gene Hackman’s performance), The Godfather Part 2 and Taxi Driver
• At the height of the pandemic, when among the only people staying at a hotel, he binged Below Deck and Married at First Sight
• Oldman’s iconic delivery of “Bring me everyone” from Leon: The Professional was meant to be an outtake where he wanted to try and make director Luc Besson laugh
• Also during filming The Professional, when shooting an explosion, a bank robbery was going on at the same time across the street
• Oldman says he charges more to play the villain
• He admits that he'll stop and watch JFK if he finds it on the TV
• Oldman's favorite on-screen death was in State of the Grace, saying he likes how he "folds, like a sort of doll."

Find all the clips of Oldman's interview on The Late Show on Paramount Plus or on YouTube.

At this time there is no release date for Slow Horses season 5, but it is expected to come out in 2025.