WITH SLOW HORSES DEEP INTO ITS FIFTH SEASON, CHRISTOPHER CHUNG’S HACKER CHARACTER, RODDY HO, HAS BECOME ONE OF THE SERIES’ UNEXPECTED EMOTIONAL ANCHORS—AND A FAN FAVOURITE— FOR HIS MANIC CHARM, QUESTIONABLE WARDROBE CHOICES, AND HEAPS OF ENERGY. AS THE APPLE TV+ HIT BARRELS TOWARD ITS LATEST FINALE, CHUNG TALKS TO BTB DIGITAL ABOUT MANAGING NERVES, FINDING THE RIGHT TONE, AND WHAT IT’S LIKE TO ACT ALONGSIDE LEGENDS LIKE GARY OLDMAN AND KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS. AWAY FROM THE SET, HE’S OPEN AND FUNNY, REFLECTING ON IDENTITY, REPRESENTATION, AND HOW FANS HAVE EMBRACED RODDY’S OFFBEAT CHARM.

Left Shirt, pants, shoes Marni, watch Omega
Right Full look **Dries Van Noten**

You mentioned in one of your previous interviews that taking on a more central role this season came with some level of anxiety. Now that the show’s nearly wrapped its run for the year, has that unease changed?

I think it settled quite quickly. The nerves mostly came from the fact that so much of season five revolved around Roddy. Before, he’d been part of the ensemble but always a bit on the periphery—someone who commented on the action rather than triggered it. This time, the plot really leans on him, and because the show’s been so consistently well-received, there’s that pressure not to be the weak link. But the response has been amazing. Reviews have been great, people have really connected to it, and it feels like I landed exactly what I set out to do with the season.

Left Full look **Dries Van Noten**
Right Full Look **Ralph Lauren Purple Label**, watch **Omega**

Which parts of Roddy felt most fulfilling for you to explore this time around?

Getting to show sides of him that hadn’t been visible before. You see more of his vulnerability and humanity, alongside that inflated ego of his. In Mick Herron’s books, Roddy’s head is full of internal monologue—wild, self-aggrandising, and strangely poetic—but on screen, it’s harder to express that. There’s a monologue in episode three, when he’s locked in a holding cell, spiralling while waiting for Taverner [played by Kristin Scott Thomas] to interrogate him. That’s the first time we really get inside his head. It’s deranged and funny and sad all at once, and it was such a joy to finally bring that to life.

Left Sweater, pants, coat, belt **Dries Van Noten**, shoes **Jimmy Choo**
Right Full look **Dries Van Noten**

That’s the scene where he’s pacing, muttering to himself, completely losing it?

Exactly. Before Kristin [Scott Thomas] comes into the cell, there’s this whole sequence where he’s talking to himself—calling himself Sir Isaac Newton, posturing for the invisible agents he’s sure are watching. It’s theatrical and physical, almost like performance art.

You’re very physical as an actor. Did you do that scene all by yourself?

I did, yeah. We worked with a choreographer, Johnny White, to shape the space—how I’d move, where I’d land—but it was all me physically. Boundaries are important because they help define your performance, but within that, I had a lot of freedom. With a character like Roddy, you’re constantly walking a fine line: too much and it tips into parody; too little and it doesn’t read. Our director, Saul Metzstein, really helped me calibrate that balance. But honestly, it was great to just let loose in a safe environment.

Top **Zadig & Voltaire**, jacket, pants **Giorgio Armani**

Roddy’s wardrobe is in a league of its own. Have you brought in any ideas about what he should
look like?

[Laughs] I’ve had so many people ask where to buy that tracksuit of his. The answer is—you can’t. It was custom-made. Our costume designer, Guy Speranza, and I went through a lot of prototypes. He ended up having the fabric printed and cut specifically for me, right down to the tiny dragon on the zipper. Everything about Roddy’s clothes is designed to be slightly off—almost cool, but just wrong enough.

Even the hair feels like part of that storytelling.

Definitely. At the start of each season, we talk about what his hair and clothes are saying together. They have to work in sync, but they can’t feel deliberate. If it’s too stylish, it doesn’t fit the character; too extreme, and it becomes a joke. For this season, Roddy actually has a girlfriend, so we thought: what’s the most peacocking thing he could do to show her off? Hence, the purple man-bun.

Shirt, tie, pants **Paul Smith**, shoes Giorgio Armani

The Slow Horses cast is stacked with industry heavyweights—Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas… Was that intimidating at first?

Completely. When you’re a younger actor working alongside people that decorated, you just want to meet them where they are. Over the seasons, we’ve built this brilliant rapport—Gary, Kristin, Saskia Reeves, everyone. The beauty of a long-running series is that it becomes a conversation. You learn by osmosis. You lift your game because you have to, and that pushes everyone forward. When I watched the early screeners for this season, I was messaging my castmates nonstop like, “You’re all incredible!” We rarely get to see each other’s work outside our shared scenes, so it’s a joy to realise how high everyone’s bar is.

How do you keep this role fresh after playing him for five seasons?

The writing does a lot of that work. Each season throws the characters into familiar yet completely new circumstances. I’ve done things as Roddy that I’d never have expected when we started. After four years, he’s so ingrained in me that I see the world through his lens sometimes—I’ll notice something ridiculous or clever and think, “That’s so Roddy.” We’re heading into production for season seven soon, and I’m already collecting little things from everyday life that might feed into him.

Can you share a recent “that’s so Roddy” moment?

I was at Comic-Con in New York recently. People often stereotype gamers or hackers as unfit or nerdy. But there were men there—cosplayers—with physiques far better than mine, dressed as superheroes, totally owning it. It reminded me why I wanted Roddy to break those clichés. He’s a gamer, but he’s athletic, confident, loud. So it was really nice to be able to represent that and know that it does translate in the real world.

Did you have a favourite costume from Comic-Con?

Two, actually. One guy had a working chainsaw on his head—it spun!—which was insane. And at our Slow Horses panel, someone came dressed as a penguin, referencing the penguins that got blown up. It was so random and brilliant.

Left Jacket, shirt, pants MM6 Maison Margiela, shoes **Jimmy Choo**
Right Full look **Marni**

Spy thrillers often rely on archetypes, but Slow Horses feels grounded and nuanced. What do you think the show gets right about that?

It’s the humanity. Every character is deeply flawed but fully realised. We don’t play them as tropes. Lamb has his Cold War ghosts, Catherine deals with addiction, Louisa still grieves for Min, Shirley’s processing Marcus’s death. They’re all living with trauma, and that depth pulls us away from stereotypes. The audience connects because they see real people under all the espionage.

Top **Zadig & Voltaire**, jacket, pants **Giorgio Armani**, shoes **Kenzo**

You’ve spoken before about the challenges of being an Asian actor and the limited roles that are still being offered. Flipping that—were there any characters growing up that made you feel seen or inspired you?

Honestly, not many. I can name loads of white actors whose careers I admired, but very few from my own background. As a kid, I’d watch The King and I or other musicals and feel a spark just seeing someone who looked like me up there. Not because I wanted that exact career, but because it made the dream tangible.

Now it’s humbling to realise I might be that person for someone else. My agent told me she’s had a wave of East Asian actors reaching out after seeing Slow Horses and how she’s guided my career. That means everything to me—that ripple effect of visibility.