The Gold: Scottish Kenny Noye star details 'working hard' to master cockney accent
Actor Jack Lowden's accent in the BBC crime drama The Gold is a world away from his real-life one.
The Gold: Half of the gold missing from Brink's-Mat robbery
The Gold follows the captivating true story about the Brink's-Mat robbery which gripped Britain in the 1980s. The heist, which was undertaken by six armed robbers, went down as one of the biggest in history after they inadvertently stole three tonnes of gold bullion. The crime of the century took place at the Heathrow International Trading Estate, in London, and Kenny Noye was at the heart of the crooks' money laundering scene in the wake of the robbery.
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The robbery happened on November 26, 1983, and the criminals involved made off with £26 million in solid gold, which is equivalent to £ 93.3 million today.
Jack's character Kenny was tasked with laundering the ginormous quantity of gold in an effort which tied blue and white-collar criminals together.
The crime led to a vast international money laundering operation and provided the dirty money which helped fuel the London Docklands property boom.
Kenny actor Jack opened up to Express.co.uk about immersing himself in the role for the six-part series which also stars Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville.
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Kenny was officially described as a builder, but viewers soon discovered he knew a thing or two about gold.
Jack may have been born in Chelmsford, Essex, but he grew up in the Scottish village of Oxton and speaks with a Scottish accent.
Discussing how he mastered a cockney accent, Jack said: "[Accents] are one of the great things about this country, it's great how accents rule this country and all of these islands.
"It rules our perception of things and we've not had many northern prime ministers, and I think it's incredible that we pay such homage to people who don't have an accent."
The actor was explaining how Dominic Cooper's character, Edwyn Cooper, comes across as more trusting than the robbers as he is well-spoken and works as a successful solicitor.
"I love the script for the point it makes of that," Jack added. "Yes it's about this very famous robbery which tends to be glamorised but it makes some very important social points."
"It will forever have a sexiness attached to it," the actor added.
Jack worked alongside a dialect coach and explained of her East London connections: "It's amazing the number of people that come from [London] who knew or know of a lot of the people that were involved in the [robbery] and it's such a small world.
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"This isn't my accent, I just worked very hard with her [the voice coach]."
"I was also born in Essex which is hard to tell," the actor quipped.
"I grew up watching Only Fools and Horses so basically I am trying to play a taller, floppier, blonder Del Boy."
His character Kenny was eventually found guilty of conspiracy to handle stolen goods in 1986.
He was sentenced to 14 years behind bars and fined £500,000, with an additional £200,000 to be paid in costs.
Following his conviction, he famously shouted at the jury: “I hope you all die of cancer."
Kenny was later given a life sentence after killing a man in a hit-and-run which sparked an international manhunt.
The Gold is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
