Gary Oldman revealed he ate 17 bowls of noodles in a single day while shooting one scene of the spy thriller Slow Horses. The actor said the downside of his character Jackson Lamb being a lover of junk food was the vast amount he had to wolf down during filming.
His nightmare came when he had to polish off non-stop noodles in a Chinese restaurant for a scene with co-star Jack Lowden, who is hotly tipped as a new James Bond favourite. As cameras filmed long shots and close-ups, Oldman had to repeatedly eat bowl after bowl to avoid continuity issues.
Locked into the action
The Oscar winner said: "There is nothing worse than doing something and you're in a medium or a wide shot and you've worked a piece of action - whether it's a cigarette or a coffee, a drink or something - and then when they come in to shoot tighter you're locked into it."
He added: "Initially in the rehearsal you're finding where you can chew and speak and eat. Because Lamb is an eater of junk food - he's not a gourmet by any stretch of the imagination - but he's an eater so you eat. But you do have to work out eventually when and how you're shoving it in."
17 bowls in one day
Oldman, 68, who won a best actor gong for his portrayal of Sir Winston Churchill in 2017 historical drama Darkest Hour, said: "I had a whole scene in season two with the noodles with Jack Lowden in that restaurant. That was the same working out when you eat. I ate 17 bowls of noodles that day."
He told movie buff Thomas Duke's Stepping Through Film podcast that his pet peeve was when actors sat down to eat or drink in movies but never actually took a bite to dodge re-shoots. He said: "I hate it when you watch a movie and people are moving their food around their plate. They're at a dinner scene and no-one's eating, no-one's drinking. If people pour tea or coffee, take the time it takes to fill up the cup. Be bold, be brave enough to take the time to actually rest and pour the coffee or eat."
More series on the way
Slow Horses, which charts the adventures of spy rejects consigned to MI5's no-hopers' home Slough House, is currently in its sixth series on Apple TV+ with a seventh and eighth already commissioned.
