Roddy Ho To Romantic Hero: C&TH Meets Christopher Chung

My Brilliant Career arrives on Netflix today in full – a sweeping Australian period drama based on Miles Franklin’s iconic 1900s novel. The six-part series tells the story of spirited heroine Sybylla Melvin (Philippa Northeast) who fights against societal norms to pursue her own hopes and dreams, set against the vast outback landscape. It’s Australia’s answer to Pride and Prejudice, with Christopher Chung stepping into the role of dashing landowner Harry – a character famously played by Sam Neill in the original 1970s film.

The British actor has become a household name playing arrogant tech whizz Roddy Ho in Apple TV’s Emmy-winning spy thriller Slow Horses. But before he steps into a larger role there in September, he’s showing audiences another side of himself in My Brilliant Career. Ahead of the series, C&TH sat down with Christopher to talk about making the leap to romantic lead, the intense horse training that prepared him for the outback, and why love versus honour is the question that haunts Harry throughout the series.

Q&A: Christopher Chung On My Brilliant Career

‘My Brilliant Career is a really big departure for me from doing Slow Horses.’ (Pip Bourdillon)

How’s life going at the moment?

Life is going very hot at the moment, which is a nice contrast because when I was doing My Brilliant Career out in Australia, I had just had winter in the UK and then went to winter in Australia, and then came back to winter in the UK. So this is the first summer I’ve had in almost two years. I’m enjoying it, but I’m about to go back to Australia for winter again…

Can you give me an elevator pitch for My Brilliant Career?

It’s based on the novel written by Miles Franklin from the 1900s. It’s an iconic piece of Australian literature, and it tells the story of Sybylla Melvin, who is trying to go against the societal norms of that time period to pursue her own hopes and dreams.

You play Harry. How would you describe him?

Harry is Sybylla’s romantic love interest throughout the series. He’s someone that has a lot of integrity and status within society, but is also seeing a lot of himself mirrored within Sybylla. They’re both having to navigate what society expects them to be, but wanting to be somewhere else. He’s very much a practical and hands-on kind of person, so you see him a lot through the Australian landscape doing all kinds of farm work, and that’s where he feels most comfortable. But he also has to navigate real societal pressures of being an upstanding citizen and continuing on his family lineage, which I think is why he probably admires a lot of Sybylla’s gumption – because she just goes against all of that.

‘I learned how to ride a horse, and got to work with Australia’s leading horsemaster, Graham Ware.’ (Netflix)

How did it feel to bag that role as a romantic lead?

Anxiety inducing, for sure. It’s a really big departure for me to go from doing Slow Horses, where I play Roddy Ho, who is really socially inept and a bit of an obnoxious prick, to being someone that is supposed to be so loved and likeable. It’s a really interesting dynamic shift in my career, so I was quite excited to be able to show audiences another string to my bow.

Did you do anything special to prepare before you arrived on set?

Because the role required him to be a man of the land, I did a lot of physical work around things that emulated farm work. I learned how to ride a horse – I did a riding lesson here in the UK before I flew out to Australia to start preparation, and then I did quite intense horse training when I was out in Australia before I started the shoot, and then during as well. That was probably one of the best things I got out of the job. I got to work with Australia’s leading horsemaster, Graham Ware, who absolutely put me at ease because I hadn’t even been on one of those childhood pony rides before I started this.

The other really cool thing I got to learn how to do was crack a whip. That was really satisfying because when you get that right – the snap in the air – you know you’ve done it just right.

What were the costumes like and the filming locations?

I was so excited to get into the costumes. I’m always excited when I get to try on a character’s costume for the first time, and Mariette, our costume designer, did such an incredible job with all of them. Sybylla’s costumes are phenomenal – she had so many changes throughout the series, and I myself have never had so many costume fittings for a project before. All the suits for Harry were bespoke tailor-made, and there were a few pieces that were vintage. Going into Mariette’s workroom and seeing the amount of inventory she had from the period was like stepping into a time capsule. Everything was so historically relevant and delicate – some things could only be put on at the last minute because they might just disintegrate.

The manor houses we managed to film in for Caddya and Five Bob are so ostentatious and over the top. In the middle of this Australian landscape, you would never expect these period buildings to be in such incredible condition. As an actor, when you’re stepping into those worlds, it does so much of the work for you. It lifts your lived experience.

Getting to go home and film in Australia, on country, was quite a profound experience for me because I’ve never really had that connection to the land before. It really gave me a deep appreciation and understanding of why the First Nations had such a deep spiritual connection with the land, which was one of the most beautiful things that came out of that job for me.

‘I’m always excited when I get to try on a character’s costume for the first time.’ (Netflix)

How long were you out there shooting for, and did you have any favourite days or highlights?

I think I was out there for about four and a half months in total. I went out to do prep – to start horse riding and working with Alyssa, our director – about two weeks before we started shooting. But I actually had to come back to the UK for a weekend for the BAFTAs because I was nominated, so I came back to London for three days, which was wild. To come, settle, then come back and then go back was one of the most surreal experiences. I felt like I was living in the twilight zone.

One of the days that really stands out for me is when we did the water work in the Murray River. I go in to try and save Sybylla because I think she’s drowning in the pond, and I can’t find her. The water temperature was freezing – everyone that was filming was in a full wetsuit and proper protective gear, and I’m there in my period costume, which were not made for those kinds of freezing water temperature conditions. We actually had to cut that day short and come back to it further down the shoot schedule because I was borderline hyperthermic. So hopefully, when you see it, you can tell me whether or not it looks like I’m freezing, because I don’t think it does. That would be a real good testament to my acting.

Do you have a favourite line that you say in the show?

There’s a really profound line which is something that Harry is always grappling with throughout the show: ‘What is more important, love or honour?’ It’s the thing he’s always trying to navigate – by doing the right thing, but also trying to follow his heart and his instinct. He’s confronted by his aunty about his obligation to this other woman that he’s engaged to, but he’s also conflicted because he wants to follow his heart and be with Sybylla. So he’s always navigating that question throughout the series.

‘It still feels like a surprise when people say they love Slow Horses.’ (Chris Chung as Roddy Ho in Slow Horses; Apple TV)

Slow Horses is coming back soon. Is there anything you can tease about series 6?

I’m in it. I don’t die. It’s a great continuation from where we left it off in series 5. In series 5, I had a much more front-footed part in the plot and the inciting incident that sets the dominoes off for that season, so that was obviously very gratifying to play. This season, we’ve got our season 4 director back – Adam Randall, who won the Emmy for his season at the helm. Adam has a really great, dark tone and a real knack for action. So it’s very action-packed, and it is shot stunningly well – like, it is so cinematic in its presentation. I think the audiences will be really excited to see what amounts to a six-hour-long film.

Slow Horses has snowballed in terms of popularity. What’s it been like to be a part of?

From the inside for me personally, it feels like it’s been quite a slow burn up until about series 3 and 4, which is when it really started to gain a huge audience and following. I don’t know why, but maybe because in the initial series – series 1 and 2 – it didn’t really hit in the way that Succession or Game of Thrones did. But now its presence in popular culture is just kind of there – it’s a thing that’s going on. To feel it growing into a bigger and bigger thing each time… To me it still kind of feels like a surprise when people say, ‘Oh my god, I love your show!’ and I’m like, ‘Oh shit, you watch Slow Horses?’ But apparently a lot of people do, which is really nice.

Do people come up to you recognising you as Roddy?

All the time. The other morning, I was having a coffee on the high street, and it was early in the morning, so there was no one really around. But the bin men were collecting the bins in their truck, and there’s a pedestrian crossing near the cafe where I was sat, and the bin man stopped the truck, got out in his high fluorescent orange high-vis, and was like, ‘Mate, can I get a photo with you?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, OK.’ But then the traffic behind him – the early morning traffic – was starting to build up behind him. So I thought, that is wild. When people drive past you and start beeping their horns at you, it’s quite an experience. I also think that walking around, this is probably my own ignorance, but I don’t feel like I carry myself like Roddy does. So I guess when people recognise me, I’m slightly offended – like, that’s not actually me.

‘When people recognise me as Roddy Ho, I’m slightly offended.’ (First look at Slow Horses season 6; Apple TV)

Do you have anything else coming up that you’re allowed to talk about?

I have an Audible series coming up pretty soon. I can’t announce what it is, but it is going to be very, very fun for people to listen to. If you like to listen to audio dramas on Audible, I think you’ll really enjoy it.

Anything else fun in the pipeline?

Do you know what I don’t have in the pipeline that I need to get in the pipeline is a holiday. That is a must. If I could get on a holiday with my wife to go to a beach somewhere, that would make my year. Preferably in Asia, because I could really do with some good food.

Christopher Chung stars as Harry in My Brilliant Career, with all episodes streaming now on Netflix.