Scottish actor Jack Lowden pressed to cast Mr Darcy with Scottish accent in Netflix Pride and Prejudice

In Netflix’s new Pride and Prejudice adaptation, Jack Lowden revealed that he pushed to play Mr Darcy with a Scottish accent. The Borders-born actor, known for Slow Horses, noted that Jane Austen’s novel does not specify the character’s voice or appearance, and he had hoped the casting could embrace a Scottish inflection. The project is a six-part series currently in production, with Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet. Lowden, who has been seen on set amid other projects, is also a new father and has recently produced The Outrun, a drama set in Orkney that starred his wife Saoirse Ronan.

In an interview with Hunger magazine, Lowden said his first question for any role is whether he can play the character in a Scottish accent. He recounted asking the production team about it, but they declined, explaining that Austen’s original text is deliberately ambiguous and does not fix the accent. He added that there are days when his own Scottish inflection can slip through, suggesting the accent might not be entirely controllable on set.

Lowden studied acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and acknowledged the enduring influence of Colin Firth’s Darcy from the 1995 adaptation. He emphasized that while the new series will honor that legacy, it will also navigate Austen’s flexible portrayal of Darcy as presented in the source material.

Beyond acting, Lowden has expressed a clear interest in moving behind the camera as a director and producer. He produced The Outrun last year, a drama set in Orkney that featured his wife Saoirse Ronan, and said the experience was a powerful reminder of how alive he feels when shaping a project from the director’s chair. He described directing as his main ambition for the future, signaling a shift toward broader creative control in his career.

As the Pride and Prejudice production progresses, audiences will watch how this new interpretation handles one of literature’s best-known romances. Lowden’s personal life—his new child and marriage to Ronan—continues to inform his creative decisions and the kinds of projects he pursues as he balances on-set work with ambitions to direct and produce more in the coming years.