The mysterious man known only as Downey is more than just a suspicious watcher in Apple TV’s new thriller. From his silent stalking in the suburbs of Oxford to the shocking secret that connects him to a missing girl, his character pulls the strings of a dark conspiracy. In Down Cemetery Road, actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett brings a quiet and dangerous intensity to a role that slowly reveals itself to be the emotional core of the story.
The series, which began streaming on October 29, 2025, follows an ordinary neighborhood shattered by a house explosion and the disappearance of a child. As art conservator Sarah Trafford, played by Ruth Wilson, searches for answers, her path violently collides with the enigmatic Downey. What begins as a tense mystery evolves into a story about survival, hidden identities, and a government cover-up that reaches the highest levels of power.
Who Is The Man Named Downey?
When audiences first meet Downey, he is a ghost. He is the man silently watching from the shadows as a little girl, Dinah Singleton, is taken from the scene of a catastrophic explosion. To Sarah Trafford and the authorities, he is a potential criminal, a suspect in a terrifying night of violence. For the first two episodes, the character says almost nothing, a deliberate choice that actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett found both challenging and exciting.
“In the first block of episodes, basically, I don’t say anything,” Stewart-Jarrett explained. “So, I was like, ‘This is really, really hard. It’s a lot going on underneath.’”
This initial silence is a form of survival. Downey exists on the periphery, hiding in plain sight because his life depends on it. The truth is that Downey, whose full name is Michael Downey in the original novel, is a former soldier. He and another soldier named Tommy were part of a covert military unit in Afghanistan that was exposed to a mysterious chemical weapon. They were then used as unwitting test subjects for an experimental antidote, a regimen of pills that Downey must still take to manage a resulting neurological condition. The British government, through a shadowy Ministry of Defence operation led by officials known as ‘C’ and Hamza, believed these men were dead. The house explosion was not an accident; it was a botched attempt to kill Tommy and finally erase all traces of the failed experiment.
Downey’s Pivotal Connection To The Missing Girl
Downey’s mission is not random. His sudden, violent emergence into Sarah’s life at the end of the second episode—where he kills the operative attacking her—is driven by a deeply personal stake. The little girl who disappeared, Dinah, is the daughter of his neighbor, Maddie Singleton. Downey reveals to Sarah that he was in love with Maddie, and he believes Dinah may be his own daughter.
This belief transforms him from a fugitive into a protector. His entire drive shifts toward finding Dinah and keeping her safe from the same government forces that are hunting him. This connection adds a profound layer of tragedy and motivation to his actions, moving him beyond a simple man-on-the-run archetype.
“I think I’m probably always drawn to characters with these secrets – I’m always hiding something,” Stewart-Jarrett said about the role. “There was something about that complexity and the huge depth of character, but with a real tragedy in the background, which as an actor you kind of relish carrying.”
His relationship with Sarah evolves from one of mutual distrust into a strained alliance. They are two very different people bound by the same dangerous secret. Stewart-Jarrett describes their dynamic as sibling-like, a “love-hate thing” built on a shared, protective goal.
From Silent Watcher To Man Of Action
A significant part of Downey’s character is his capability for action. As the series progresses and his backstory is revealed, the quiet observer becomes a competent and desperate operative. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, who has recently starred in other action-heavy series like Culprits and Black Doves, was drawn to this physical side of the role.
“I’ve become a bit of an action nut in the last few years, so I got to run around, do stunts, and basically play. I was totally up for that,” the actor shared.
One of his favorite sequences to film was an action scene shot over the Christmas period, which involved knocking out security guards while the festive song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” played in his head. This blend of dark humor and high stakes is a signature of the series, which comes from the mind of Mick Herron, the author behind Slow Horses. The show balances tense, emotional moments with a very British, understated wit, a tone Stewart-Jarrett enjoyed navigating with co-star Ruth Wilson.
The Actor Behind The Mystery: Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
Bringing such a layered and initially subdued character to life required a specific skill set. British actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, known for roles in Misfits, Utopia, and the 2021 film Candyman, was cast as Downey. He joined a powerhouse lineup that includes Emma Thompson as private investigator Zoë Boehm and Ruth Wilson as Sarah.
Interestingly, Stewart-Jarrett was offered the part before he had read the source material. He decided to read Mick Herron’s original 2003 novel to understand the full scope of his character’s journey, especially since the early episodes of the script gave away very little.
“Sometimes you want to be a naughty actor and just read the script, but I was like, ‘No, I have to read the book,’” he recalled. “It was actually lovely – a kind of soft landing. I had a couple of months of discovery of this person without anyone putting a microscope on it.”
This preparation was crucial for scenes that required deep emotional resonance. Stewart-Jarrett noted that for emotional moments, he prepares slowly over weeks so he doesn’t “peak too early,” but sometimes the smallest trigger on the day—a sigh or a look from another actor—creates the genuine reaction needed.
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How Downey Fits Into The Larger Conspiracy
The conspiracy Sarah and Zoë uncover is vast, implicating the British military and intelligence services. Downey is not just a victim of it; he is a living piece of evidence. The experimental pills he takes are the tangible proof of a horrific program where soldiers were used as test subjects and then discarded.
Other key players in this cover-up include:
- ‘C’ (Darren Boyd): The intimidating head of the Ministry of Defence operation, who is furious the explosion has drawn attention.
- Hamza Malik (Adeel Akhtar): The intelligence fixer tasked by C to clean up the mess, who sometimes struggles to follow his boss’s ruthless orders.
- Amos Crane (Fehinti Balogun): A dangerous operative working for Hamza, who is directly holding Dinah and becomes obsessed with hunting Downey.
Downey’s fight is against this entire machinery. His goal is to expose the truth, save Dinah, and perhaps find some form of redemption for himself and the memory of his fallen comrades. The series follows his and Sarah’s desperate journey to a secure facility in Scotland where Dinah is being held and where the dark experiments began.
New episodes of the eight-part series are released weekly on Apple TV, building toward the finale on December 10, 2025. As the story races to its conclusion, the full truth about Downey’s past and the future he fights for will come into focus.
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