| Matthew Macfadyen | |
|---|---|
 Macfadyen in London, 2007 |
|
| Born | David Matthew Macfadyen 17 October 1974 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England |
| Spouse(s) | Keeley Hawes (since 2004) |
Matthew Macfadyen (born 17 October 1974) is an English actor, known for his role as MI5 intelligence officer Tom Quinn in the BBC television drama series Spooks (also known as MI-5) and for starring as Fitzwilliam Darcy in the 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice.
Contents |
Biography
Early life
Matthew Macfadyen was born in Norfolk and attended schools in England (including in Louth, Lincolnshire), Scotland, and Indonesia. He went to Oakham School in Rutland before being accepted to the renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at age 17.
Career
After having studied at the RADA from 1992 to 1995, Macfadyen quickly became a well-known actor in British theatre due primarily to his work with the stage company Cheek by Jowl, for whom 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 particularly memorable, played as an officer-class buffoon with a moustache and a braying laugh. In 2005, he played to further great acclaim the part of Prince Hal in Henry IV, Parts One and Two at the Royal National Theatre, with Michael Gambon in the lead. 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.
Macfadyen's major TV breakthrough came when he appeared as Hareton Earnshaw in a television adaptation of the Emily Brontë novel 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 much critical 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, and he took his highest-profile role to date, when he was picked to star in Spooks, which went on to become a huge popular and critical success when screened on BBC One. A longer second season was screened in 2003, and a third season was broadcast in the autumn of 2004, with him leaving the series in the second episode. The series also found a following on cable television in the United States, where it 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 the controversial subject of paedophilia.[1] Matthew was nominated and subsequently won the 'Best Actor' award at the Royal Television Society 2007 Awards for this part, and has been nominated for a BAFTA. He also appeared in a short sketch for Comic Relief as the groom in Mr Bean's Wedding, alongside Rowan Atkinson and Michelle Ryan.
Macfadyen has appeared in several films including Enigma (released in 2001), in which he was cast as a battle-scarred submarine commander, and In My Father's Den, for which he received the New Zealand Screen Award for Best Actor. Most notably, he stars as the romantic lead Fitzwilliam Darcy in a highly acclaimed adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, released in the UK in September 2005. He stars in Frank Oz's Death at a Funeral with Rupert Graves, Alan Tudyk, Daisy Donovan and Keeley Hawes. Matthew also stars in Incendiary, which is based on Chris Cleave's novel about a woman whose life is torn apart when her husband and infant son are killed in a suicide bombing at a football match whilst she was committing adultery. He plays a senior anti-terrorist police officer alongside Michelle Williams and Ewan McGregor. He has also filmed Ron Howard's film Frost/Nixon, in which he plays John Birt.
In 2008 he appeared as the male lead Arthur Clennam in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit. Macfadyen will appear alongside Academy Award nominated actress Helena Bonham Carter in upcoming BBC Four movie, Enid Blyton (working title), based on the life of Enid Blyton. Macfadyen will be playing Hugh Pollock, Blyton's publisher and first husband.
Personal life
In 2002, he began a relationship with his Spooks co-star Keeley Hawes. They were subsequently married on 8 October 2004. Their first child, daughter Maggie, was born in December 2004. The couple announced the birth of a baby boy, Ralph, in September 2006. Matthew Macfadyen is stepfather to Keeley Hawes' son, Myles.
Theatre
- 1994 : The Crimson Island, by Mikhail Bulgakov [ R.A.D.A. ] (Dymogatsky) [2]
- 1994 : Lorca's Death, by Ben Benison [ R.A.D.A. ] (Rafael/Intellect) [3]
- 1994 : The Feigned Inconstancy, by Marivaux [ R.A.D.A. ] (Chevalier) [4]
- 1994 : The Beggar's Opera, by John Gay [ R.A.D.A. ] (Macheath) [5]
- 1995 : One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Dale Wasserman [ R.A.D.A. ] (Chief Bromden) [6]
- 1995 : The Libertine, by Stephen Jeffreys [ R.A.D.A. ] (John Wilmot), with My Funny Valentine
- 1995 : The Duchess of Malfi, by John Webster [ Cheek by Jowl ] (Antonio Bologna) [7]
- 1996 : A Midsummer Night's Dream, by Shakespeare [ Royal Shakespeare Company ] (Demetrius) [8]
- 1998 : Much Ado About Nothing, by Shakespeare [ Cheek by Jowl ] (Benedick) [9]
- 1998 : The School for Scandal, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan [ Royal Shakespeare Company ] (Charles Surface) [10]
- 1999 : Battle Royal, by Nick Stafford [ Royal National Theatre ] (Mr. Brougham) [11]
- 2005 : Henry IV, by Shakespeare [ Royal National Theatre ] (Prince Hal) [12]
- 2006 : Total Eclipse, by Christopher Hampton [ rehearsed reading at the Royal Court Theatre ] (Paul Verlaine) [13]
- 2007 : The Pain and the Itch, by Bruce Norris [ Royal Court Theatre ] (Clay) [14]
Filmography
Television
- 1997 : Holding the Baby, by Paul Jackson (Marcus) [ TV series on ITV ] [15]
- 1998 : Wuthering Heights, by David Skynner (Hareton Earnshaw) [ ITV ] - based on the novel by Emily Brontë [16]
- 1999 : Warriors, by Peter Kosminsky (Alan James) [ BBC ] [17]
- 2000 : Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes, by Paul Seed (Brian Waller) [ BBC ] [18]
- 2001 : Perfect Strangers, by Stephen Poliakoff (Daniel Symon) [ BBC Two ] [19]
- 2001 : The Way We Live Now, by David Yates (Sir Felix Carbury) [ BBC ] - based on the novel by Anthony Trollope [20]
- 2002 : The Project, by Peter Kosminsky (Paul Tibbenham) [ BBC ] [21] [22]
- 2002-2004 : Spooks (Tom Quinn) [ BBC ] [23]
- 2007 : Mr Bean's Wedding (the groom) [ sketch for the show The Big One for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day on 16 March 2007, BBC One ] [24]
- 2007 : Secret Life, by Rowan Joffe (Charlie Webb) [ Channel 4 ] [25]
- 2008 : Ashes to Ashes, by Bille Eltringham (Gil Hollis) [ BBC One ] [26]
- 2008 : Little Dorrit, by Adam Smith & Dearbhla Walsh (Arthur Clennam) [ BBC One ] [27]
- 2008 : A Pocket Full of Rye, by Charles Palmer (Inspector Neele) [ ITV ] [28]
- 2009 : Enid Blyton, by James Hawes (Hugh Pollock) [ BBC Four ] [29]
- 2009 : Criminal Justice II, by Yann Demange (Joe Miller) [ BBC One ] [30]
- 2010 : The Pillars of the Earth, by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Prior Philip) [ CBC ] [31]
Cinema
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Maybe Baby | Nigel | |
| 2001 | Enigma | Lt. Cave | |
| 2003 | The Reckoning | King's Justice | |
| 2004 | In My Father's Den | Paul Prior | |
| 2005 | Pride & Prejudice | Mr. Darcy | |
| 2006 | Middletown | Gabriel Hunter | |
| 2007 | Don't | Eye Gouging Victim | fake trailer in Grindhouse (film) |
| Death at a Funeral | Daniel Howells | ||
| 2008 | Incendiary | Terence Butcher | 24 October 2008 (UK) |
| Frost/Nixon | John Birt | 5 December 2008 (USA) | |
| 2010 | Robin Hood | Sheriff of Nottingham | 14 May 2010 (USA) |
Voice-over
- 2000 : The Voyage of the Beagle, by Charles Darwin [ Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4 ] (reader) [32]
- 2001 : Trampoline, by Meredith Oakes [ Afternoon Play on BBC Radio 4 ] (Skeggs) [33]
- 2003 : Essential Poems (To Fall In Love With) [ TV programme on BBC Two ] (actor/reader) [34]
- 2004 : The Coma, by Alex Garland [ audio book ] (reader) [35]
- 2004 : Getting Away From It: The Island, by Tim Pears [ Afternoon Reading on BBC Radio 4 ] (reader) [36]
- 2004 : The Hungerford Massacre [ TV documentary on BBC One ] (narrator) [37]
- 2005 : Stories We Could Tell, by Tony Parsons [ audio book ] (reader) [38]
- 2006 : The 9/11 Liars [ TV documentary on Channel 4 ] (narrator) [39]
- 2006 : Nuremberg: Nazis On Trial [ 3-part TV documentary on BBC Two ] (narrator) [40]
- 2007 : Robin Hood's Quest & The Quest for Aladdin's Treasure [ video games by Oxygen Games ] (narrator) [41]
- 2007 : The Making of Music [ BBC Radio 4 ] (reader) [42]
- 2007 : The Blair Years [ 3-part TV documentary on BBC One ] (narrator) [43]
- 2007 : Last Party at the Palace [ TV documentary on Channel 4 ] (narrator) [44]
- 2008 : Dangerous Jobs for Girls [ 4-part TV documentary on Channel 4 ] (narrator) [45]
- 2008 : Words of War [ TV documentary on ITV 1 ] (narrator) [46]
- 2009 : Wine [ 3-part TV documentary on BBC Four ] (narrator) [47]
References
- ^ Evening Times: News
- ^ Playbill
- ^ Playbill
- ^ Playbill
- ^ Playbill
- ^ Playbill
- ^ Cheek by Jowl
- ^ RSC’s official archives
- ^ Cheek by Jowl
- ^ RSC’s official archives
- ^ National Theatre
- ^ National Theatre
- ^ What's on Stage Gossip
- ^ Royal Court Theatre
- ^ TV.com
- ^ PBS Masterpiece
- ^ Warriors, l'impossible mission sur Arte
- ^ PBS Mystery
- ^ Fan site
- ^ PBS Masterpiece
- ^ The Project on the BBC
- ^ A collection of article/review excerpts
- ^ Spooks on the BBC
- ^ Official video
- ^ Secret Life on Channel 4
- ^ BBC Press Office
- ^ BBC Press Office
- ^ Miss Marple on ITV
- ^ Telegraph
- ^ BBC Press Office
- ^ Tandem Communications Press release
- ^ RadioListings Database
- ^ RadioListings Database
- ^ BBC Press Office
- ^ Review on Times online
- ^ RadioListings Database
- ^ BBC News
- ^ Excerpt on audible.com
- ^ 9/11 The Five Year Anniversary on Channel 4
- ^ BBC History
- ^ High Score Productions
- ^ The Making of Music on BBC Radio 4
- ^ BBC Press Office
- ^ Last Party at the Palace on Channel 4
- ^ Dangerous Jobs for Girls on Channel 4
- ^ The Words of War on ITV
- ^ Decanter Magazine
External links
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