Matthew Macfadyen

David Matthew Macfadyen (Template:IPAc-en; born 17 October 1974) is an English actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained prominence for his role as Mr. Darcy in Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice (2005). He gained wider recognition for playing Tom Wambsgans in the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards, two BAFTA TV Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.

Macfadyen made his television debut in 1998 as Hareton Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights. He portrayed Tom Quinn in the BBC One spy series Spooks (2002–2004, 2011), and Inspector Edmund Reid in the BBC mystery series Ripper Street (2012–2016). For his role in Criminal Justice (2009), he received the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred in various miniseries playing roles such as Henry Wilcox in Howards End (2017), Charles Ingram in Quiz (2020), and John Stonehouse in Stonehouse (2023).

In film, Macfadyen is known for his roles in Death at a Funeral (2007), Frost/Nixon (2008), Anna Karenina (2012), The Assistant (2019), and Operation Mincemeat (2021). In 2024, he played Mr. Paradox in the superhero film Deadpool & Wolverine.

Early life and education

Macfadyen was born on 17 October 1974<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite Instagram</ref> in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, the son of Meinir (née Owen), a drama teacher and former actress, and Martin Macfadyen, an oil engineer.<ref name=telegraph1/><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His paternal grandparents were Scottish and his maternal grandparents were Welsh.<ref name=telegraph1>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dl</ref> Macfadyen was brought up in a number of places, including Jakarta, Indonesia, as a result of his father's occupation.<ref name=telegraph1/>

He attended schools in England, including in Louth, Lincolnshire, as well as in Scotland and Indonesia. He went to Oakham School in Rutland before being accepted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) at 17. As a student, he was inspired by Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander, which he thought was "[a]n example to follow – an example of people acting with each other...", and "[f]eatured just the most extraordinary acting I'd ever seen".<ref name="Macfadyen">Template:Cite news</ref> He studied at RADA from 1992 to 1995.Template:Cn

Career

File:Bust of Matthew Macfadyen as Fitzwilliam Darcy.jpg

A bust from the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice of Matthew Macfadyen's Mr. Darcy.

After leaving RADA, Macfadyen became known in British theatre primarily for his work with the stage company Cheek by Jowl, for which he played Antonio in The Duchess of Malfi, Charles Surface in The School for Scandal, and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. His Benedick was played as an officer-class buffoon with a moustache and a braying laugh. In 2005, he played Prince Hal in Henry IV, Parts One and Two at the Royal National Theatre, with Michael Gambon in the role of Falstaff. In 2007, he returned to the stage, portraying an American, Clay, a stay-at-home father with a liberal attitude in the play The Pain and the Itch.Template:Cn A TV breakthrough came when he appeared as Hareton Earnshaw in an adaptation of Wuthering Heights, screened on the ITV network in 1998. Further television drama work followed, including starring roles in the dramas Warriors (1999) and The Way We Live Now (2001), both for the BBC. Also in 2001, he earned acclaim for his starring role in the BBC Two drama serial Perfect Strangers, which was written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff. In 2002, he starred in The Project, a BBC drama charting New Labour's rise to power.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He starred in Spooks, which became a success when screened on BBC One. A longer second season was screened in 2003, and a third season was broadcast in autumn 2004, with him leaving the series in the second episode. The series was aired as MI-5 on the A&E Network. In 2007 he appeared in the one-off Channel 4 drama Secret Life, which dealt with paedophilia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Macfadyen won the Best Actor award at the Royal Television Society 2007 Awards for this part, and was nominated for a BAFTA. He also appeared in a short sketch for Comic Relief as the bridegroom in Mr. Bean's Wedding, alongside Rowan Atkinson and Michelle Ryan.Template:Cn Macfadyen appeared in films including Enigma (released in 2001), and In My Father's Den, for which he received the New Zealand Screen Award for Best Actor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He starred as the romantic lead Fitzwilliam Darcy in an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, released in the UK in September 2005.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Nicholas Braun and Matthew Macfadyen 2024 Emmys 01.png

Nicholas Braun and Macfayden at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2024

Macfadyen starred in Frank Oz's Death at a Funeral and the film Incendiary, based on Chris Cleave's novel alongside Michelle Williams and Ewan McGregor. He also appeared in Ron Howard's film Frost/Nixon, in which he played John Birt. In 2008, he played the male lead Arthur Clennam in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit. In 2009 Macfadyen appeared alongside Academy Award-nominated actress Helena Bonham Carter in the BBC Four movie Enid, based on the life of Enid Blyton, as Hugh Pollock, Blyton's publisher and first husband.Template:Cn In 2010, he played the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood. He starred as Prior Philip in the TV serial The Pillars of the Earth, and was the middle-aged Logan Mountstuart in Any Human Heart. In June 2010, Macfadyen won a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Criminal Justice.Template:Cn In 2011, Macfadyen made a final cameo in Spooks, and in 2012, he played Oblonsky in Joe Wright's film Anna Karenina. In December 2012 he began portraying Detective Inspector Edmund Reid in BBC One's Ripper Street.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2013–14, he played Jeeves in the production of Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense at the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End of London. The play won the 2014 Olivier award for Best New Comedy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>2014 Laurence Olivier Awards</ref> In 2015, Amazon Prime picked up Ripper Street and, after good reviews, it was recommissioned for fourth and fifth seasons. Macfadyen said he was "delighted to be embarking on another dose of Ripper StreetTemplate:Spndblood and guts, pocket watches and Victorian headgear, wonderfully dark, moving and mysterious story lines from Mr Richard Wardlow".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The series also aired in the U.S. on BBC America. Also in 2015, he guest starred in the pilot episode of The Last Kingdom.Template:Cn

From 2018 to 2023, he starred as Tom Wambsgans in the HBO series Succession, for which he received Primetime Emmy Awards in 2022 and 2023 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2020,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television in 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2020, he appeared in the role of Major Charles Ingram in a three-part ITV drama, Quiz, based on the controversial coughing cheat scandal on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2001.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2024, Macfadyen played Mr. Paradox in the superhero film Deadpool & Wolverine.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

In 2002, Macfadyen began a relationship with his Spooks co-star Keeley Hawes. They were married in November 2004.<ref name="showbiz">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The couple have two children.<ref name="showbiz" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Macfadyen is stepfather to Hawes's son from her previous marriage.Template:CN In March 2024, it was reported that Macfadyen is a member of the Garrick Club.<ref name="The guardian Garrick">Template:Cite news</ref>

Acting credits

Film

Template:Screen reader-only

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Maybe Baby	Nigel
2001	Enigma	Lt. Cave
2002	The Project	Paul Tibbenham
2004	The Reckoning	King's Justice
	In My Father's Den	Paul Prior
2005	Pride & Prejudice	Fitzwilliam Darcy
2007	Grindhouse	Eye Gouging Victim	Segment: Don't
	Death at a Funeral	Daniel Howells
2008	Incendiary	Terence Butcher
	Frost/Nixon	John Birt
2010	Robin Hood	Sheriff of Nottingham
2011	The Three Musketeers	Athos
2012	Anna Karenina	Oblonsky
2014	Lost in Karastan	Emil Forester
2015	The von Trapp Family: A Life of Music	Georg von Trapp
2016	Revolution: New Art for a New World	Vladimir Lenin (voice)	Documentary
2017	The Current War	J. P. Morgan
2018	The Nutcracker and the Four Realms	Benjamin Stahlbaum
2019	The Assistant	Wilcock
2021	Operation Mincemeat	Charles Cholmondeley
2024	Deadpool & Wolverine	Mr. Paradox
2025	Holland	Fred Vandergroot

Television

Template:Screen reader-only

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Wuthering Heights	Hareton Earnshaw	Television film
1999	Warriors	Alan James
2000	Murder Rooms	Brian Waller	Episode: "The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes: Part 1"
2001	Perfect Strangers	Daniel Symon	3 episodes
	The Way We Live Now	Sir Felix Carbury	4 episodes
2002–2004, 2011	Spooks	Tom Quinn	19 episodes
2007	Mr. Bean's Wedding	The Groom	Short video
	Secret Life	Charlie	Television film
2008	Ashes to Ashes	Gil Hollis	Episode #1.7
	Little Dorrit	Arthur Clennam	8 episodes
	Agatha Christie's Marple	Inspector Neele	Episode: "A Pocket Full of Rye"
2009	Enid	Hugh Pollock	Television film
	Criminal Justice	Joe Miller	3 episodes
2010	The Pillars of the Earth	Prior Philip	8 episodes
	Any Human Heart	Logan Mountstuart	4 episodes
2012–2016	Ripper Street	Det. Insp. Edmund Reid	36 episodes
2013	Ambassadors	Prince of Darkness	3 episodes
2015	The Enfield Haunting	Guy Playfair	3 episodes
	The Last Kingdom	Lord Uhtred	Episode #1.1
2016	Churchill's Secret	Randolph Churchill	Television film
2017	Howards End	Henry Wilcox	4 episodes
2018–2023	Succession	Tom Wambsgans	Main role; 39 episodes
2020	Quiz	Maj. Charles Ingram	3 episodes
2023	Stonehouse	John Stonehouse	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> also executive producer
Template:TBA	Death by Lightning	Charles J. Guiteau	Upcoming miniseries
Template:TBA	A Legacy of Spies	George Smiley	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:TBA	The Miniature Wife	Les	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Playwright	Venue	Ref.
1994	The Crimson Island	Dymogatsky	Mikhail Bulgakov	Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Lorca's Death	Rafael/Intellect	Ben Benison		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	The Feigned Inconstancy	Chevalier	Marivaux		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	The Beggar's Opera	Macheath	John Gay		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1995	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	Chief Bromden	Dale Wasserman		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	The Libertine	John Wilmot	Stephen Jeffreys		<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	My Funny Valentine	Solo Performer	Template:N/a
	The Duchess of Malfi	Antonio Bologna	John Webster	Cheek by Jowl	<ref>Cheek by JowlTemplate:Webarchive</ref>
1996	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Demetrius	William Shakespeare	Royal Shakespeare Company	<ref>RSC’s official archives Template:Webarchive</ref>
1998	Much Ado About Nothing	Benedick		Cheek by Jowl	<ref>Cheek by Jowl Template:Webarchive</ref>
	The School for Scandal	Charles Surface	Richard Brinsley Sheridan	Royal Shakespeare Company	<ref>RSC’s official archivesTemplate:Dead link</ref>
1999	Battle Royal	Mr. Brougham	Nick Stafford	Royal National Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2005	Henry IV	Prince Hal	William Shakespeare		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2006	Total Eclipse	Paul Verlaine	Christopher Hampton	reading at Royal Court Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2007	The Pain and the Itch	Clay	Bruce Norris	Royal Court Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2010	Private Lives	Elyot Chase	Noël Coward	Vaudeville Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2013	Perfect Nonsense	Jeeves	David and Robert Goodale	Duke of York's Theatre	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Radio

Year	Title	Author	Notes	Ref.
2000	The Voyage of the Beagle	Charles Darwin	BBC Radio 4	<ref>RadioListings Database Template:Webarchive</ref>
2001	Trampoline	Meredith Oakes	BBC Radio 4	<ref>RadioListings Database Template:Webarchive</ref>
2004	The Coma	Alex Garland	audio book	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Getting Away From It: The Island	Tim Pears	BBC Radio 4	<ref>RadioListings Database Template:Webarchive</ref>
2005	Stories We Could Tell	Tony Parsons	audio book	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
2007	The Making of Music	Template:N/a	BBC Radio 4	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Documentary

Year	Title	Notes	Ref.
2003	Essential Poems (To Fall in Love With)	BBC Two	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2004	The Hungerford Massacre	BBC One	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2006	The 9/11 Liars	Channel 4	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial	BBC Two	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2007	The Blair Years	BBC One	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Last Party at the Palace	Channel 4	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2008	Dangerous Jobs for Girls	Channel 4	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Words of War	ITV1	<ref>The Words of War on ITV Template:Webarchive</ref>
2009	Wine	BBC Four	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Inside MI5	ITV1
2014	Horse Power	Sky Atlantic

Awards and nominations

Template:Screen reader-only

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result	Template:Refh
2008	British Academy Television Awards	Best Actor	Secret Life	Template:Nom
2010		Best Supporting Actor	Criminal Justice	Template:Won
2022		Best Supporting Actor	Succession	Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2024		Best Supporting Actor		Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2005	British Independent Film Awards	Best Actor	In My Father's Den	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2018	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Succession (season one)	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2021		Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Succession (season three)	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2023		Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Succession (season four)	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
2024	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Succession	Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2006	London Critics Circle Film Awards	Best Newcomer	Pride & Prejudice	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2020	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Succession (episode: "This Is Not for Tears")	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2022		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Succession (episode: "All the Bells Say")	Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2023		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Succession (episode: "Tailgate Party")	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2008	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture	Frost/Nixon	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2021		Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series	Succession (season three)	Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2023		Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Succession (season four)	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
		Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series		Template:Won

See also

• List of British actors
• List of Primetime Emmy Award winners
• List of Golden Globe winners

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if:

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• BBC Drama Faces: Matthew Macfadyen