Scottish actor Jack Lowden, 34, has spoken about his upcoming role in David Ireland’s new play The Fifth Step at the National Theatre of Scotland, as well as his recent marriage to Saoirse Ronan and becoming a father. Lowden, who met Ronan on the set of Mary Queen of Scots in 2018, married the four-time Oscar-nominated Irish actor in Edinburgh last month.
The couple have also collaborated as producers on the film adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s sobriety memoir The Outrun, starring Ronan, which is generating early Oscar buzz. Lowden, meanwhile, is nominated for an Emmy for his role as MI5 agent River Cartwright in Apple TV’s Slow Horses, and will appear in James L Brooks’ upcoming film Ella McCay.
Lowden returns to the National Theatre of Scotland later this month in The Fifth Step, co-starring Sean Gilder. The play, by David Ireland, follows a fledgling Alcoholics Anonymous member and his older sponsor. Lowden said the play is about shame rather than alcohol itself: “It’s all to do with shame, and for me that’s what the play – forget alcohol – is about: the idea of shame and how we deal with it.”
The actor, who grew up in the Scottish Borders, credited his early experiences in amateur dramatics with giving him confidence. “If I didn’t do it with those guys, I probably would have been too scared,” he said. Lowden also revealed his admiration for Frank Sinatra, citing the singer’s rhythmic ability as something he loves about acting: “If the rhythm is enjoyable, if it feels like music, that’s what really excites me.”
