Christopher Chung in Slow Horses
Christopher Chung plays Roddy Ho, Slough House’s hacker and most persistent believer in his own importance. He appears across Series 1–6. Roddy’s technical work can rescue an operation, but his conversations regularly make the room wish someone else had the password. Chung builds the joke around the gap between that competence and Roddy’s spectacular inability to understand how other people see him.
The performance does not ask the audience to mistake arrogance for charm. Chung often keeps Roddy perfectly satisfied with a remark long after everyone else has rejected it. The refusal to register embarrassment is central to the comedy. His scenes beside Gary Oldman also depend on different speeds: Lamb can demolish Roddy’s self-image in a few words while Roddy continues to behave as though they have reached an agreement.
What he has said about Roddy
In TheWrap’s October 2025 interview, Chung explained that Mick Herron’s novels supply much of Roddy’s inner life through internal monologue. Reading that material gives him the character’s self-justifications even when the television scene cannot state them. His preparation therefore involves knowing the extravagant story Roddy tells himself, then allowing it to affect an apparently ordinary exchange.
Chung also described having anticipated London Rules because it gives Roddy a larger role. As the programme’s audience grew, excitement about that opportunity acquired the pressure of meeting viewers’ expectations. He praised the detailed design of Roddy’s flat as something an actor could immediately use. The personal space extends the character’s vanity beyond dialogue, surrounding him with the objects he thinks make him impressive.
Standout scenes – Series 3, 5 and 6 spoilers
Series 3, Episode 6 gives Roddy the spectacularly ill-judged bus intervention at the house where Lamb is operating. Chung makes the action feel consistent with the desk-bound character: the scale of the gesture exceeds his understanding of the problem. Roddy’s confidence remains recognisable even when he finally leaves the computer behind.
In Series 5, Episode 3, the holding-cell performance allows Roddy’s inflated internal narrative to become public. Taverner’s interrogation places Chung opposite Kristin Scott Thomas, whose controlled attention makes his attempts to impress her look still more absurd. The actor told TheWrap that this speech reflects the pompous commentary Roddy habitually carries in his head.
For Series 6, Chung told TheWrap that the consequences of being deceived had given Roddy a broader sense of real experience. That does not turn him into a different man overnight. His assignment looking after Reece in Episode 3 provides another comic pairing, asking a character who prizes intellectual superiority to negotiate someone who can answer him back.
Career highlights and recognition
Chung’s agency credits identify Archie Wong in Waterloo Road, Fred in Steve McQueen’s Blitz (2024), and Cassio Palin-Paleen in Doctor Who (2025). The official Doctor Who announcement introduced him as an Australian actor working across television, film and theatre. These productions put him in school drama, wartime cinema and science fiction, rather than restricting his work to Roddy’s particularly abrasive form of comedy.
His stage credits include Kurt Kelly in Heathers, including the Theatre Royal Haymarket production, and Paris, Prince Escalus and Abraham in Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe. Official London Theatre’s report on the 2019 WhatsOnStage Awards identifies Heathers as the previous year’s production. The musical role places him in a heightened world of status and performance; the Shakespeare roles require a different relationship with language and a live audience.
BAFTA nominated Chung for Supporting Actor for Slow Horses in 2025. The official category archive lists the nomination alongside Jonathan Pryce’s recognition for the same programme; Ariyon Bakare won for Mr Loverman. It is a nomination, not a win. Chung’s agency additionally records Harry Beecham in My Brilliant Career, but an agency credit alone does not establish a release date.
Where to watch next
Doctor Who’s The Well (2025) is a compact way to see Chung in a threatening science-fiction environment. His soldier Cassio is a different kind of professional from Roddy, working inside a dangerous expedition rather than commenting on events from an office. The episode places strong emphasis on the behaviour of a group under pressure.
Blitz (2024) supplies the film option through Fred in Steve McQueen’s wartime story. Waterloo Road offers Archie Wong and a contemporary television setting. For the musical side of his work, the original West End cast recording of Heathers preserves his Kurt Kelly; it is a listening recommendation rather than a claim that the original London performance is available as a filmed production.
Questions and answers
Who plays Roddy Ho in Slow Horses?
Christopher Chung portrays Roddy Ho, the technical specialist at Slough House. His character has been part of the television ensemble since its first series.
Was Christopher Chung nominated for a BAFTA?
Yes. BAFTA nominated him for Supporting Actor for Slow Horses in 2025. He did not win that category.
Who does Christopher Chung play in Doctor Who?
He plays Cassio Palin-Paleen in the 2025 Doctor Who episode The Well, directed by Peter Hoar.