Matthew is 40 and still FINE!
David Matthew Macfadyen was born on October 17, 1974 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, the son of Meinir, a drama teacher and former actress, and Martin Macfadyen, an oil executive. His paternal grandparents were Scottish and his maternal grandparents were Welsh. Macfadyen was brought up in a number of places, including Jakarta, Indonesia, as a result of his father’s profession. He attended schools in England, Scotland, and Indonesia, and went to Oakham School in Rutland, before being accepted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at 17 where he studied from 1992 to 1995.
He won critical acclaim in the UK with his work with the stage company Cheek By Jowl in the 1990s and was well established as a stage actor when he made his first TV appearance in Wuthering Heights in 1998. A couple more TV roles followed but it was his role as Tom Quinn, head of Section D, in the 2002 hit BBC series Spooks (MI-5 in the US) that made his name in England. Additionally, he met his wife, Keeley Hawes, while working on the show. They married in 2004 and have two children.
In 2005, as we all know, Matthew starred as Mr. Darcy in the Joe Wright movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. This role brought him international acclaim, as well as spawning a whole new generation of rabid lovers of Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy!
I find Darcy very sympathetic, I find it heartbreaking that he’s seen as very haughty and proud – and he is those things – but he’s a young man who is still grieving for his parents. He’s from an ancient family and has this huge responsibility, but it seemed to me that he’s still trying to work out who he is and how to be in the world. I found that very interesting, and I found him very sympathetic. ~Matthew Macfadyen
~ Partial Filmography ~
The Enfield Haunting as Guy Lyon Playfair (TV Mini-Series currently filming)
Ripper Street as Detective Inspector Edmund Reid (TV series 2012-2013)
Ambassadors as POD (TV mini-series 2013)
Anna Karenina as Oblonsky
The Three Musketeers as Athos
Any Human Heart as Logan Mountstuart (TV mini-series 2010)
The Pillars of the Earth as Prior Phillip (TV mini-series 2010)
Robin Hood as the Sheriff of Nottingham
Little Dorrit as Arthur Clennam (TV mini-series 2008)
Frost/Nixon as John Birt
Secret Life as Charlie (TV movie 2007)
Death at a Funeral as Daniel
Pride and Prejudice as Mr. Darcy
In My Father’s Den as Paul Prior (2004)
MI-5/Spooks as Tom Quinn (TV series 2002-2004)
The Way We Live Now as Sir Felix Carbury (TV mini-series 2001)
Perfect Strangers as Daniel (TV series 2001)
~ Theatre credits include ~
Henry, Prince of Wales in Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2” (July 2005), and Mr Brougham in “Battle Royal”, a new play by Nick Stafford (1999) at the National Theatre. Clay in the 2007 UK premiere of “The Pain and the Itch” at the Royal Court Theatre. For the Royal Shakespeare Company he played Charles Surface in Sheriden’s “The School For Scandal” (1998), and Demetrius in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1996). With the theatre company Cheek By Jowl his credits include Antonio in Webster’s “The Duchess of Malfi” (1995) and Benedick in “Much Ado About Nothing” (1998) both on international tour. In February 2010 he acted alongside Kim Catrall as Elyot in Noel Coward’s “Private Lives” at the Theatre Royal, Bath.
I could say so much more about the fabulous Matthew Macfadyen. His velvety, resonant voice … crystalline blue eyes … award-winning achievements as an actor … charitable activities … comedic timing … stunning good looks … manly 6’3″ physique … and the list goes on and on. Instead I will simply wish him a very happy birthday, wherever he is, and open the floor to all of you for gushing and birthday wishes. Oh, and if anyone desires more Matthew eye-candy, check out my Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/sharonlathan62/matthew-macfadyen/
I absolutely adore him as Prior Philip. His Welsh accent is adorable! 😀
Great article, Sharon x
Matthew will always be my Mr. Darcy though I watched both the 1995 version and the 2005 movie. That is because I see him as Darcy as MM portrayed him, not so much arrogant, as socially inept. While I like Colin Firth and think him very handsome, he was so arrogant playing Darcy that I never warmed to him. Oh well, to each his own. Thank you for sharing this article!
Sharon, Matthew was great in P & P, but have you seen the 6 BBC episodes of P & P from 1995 with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy? I’ve seen every P & P film, including the one with Sir Lawrence Olivier, and I think Colin Firth gives the best performance–most closely aligned to Austen’s depiction of Mr. Darcy. Firth was only 34 at the time and “eye candy” for me. After seeing that, I checked out everything else he was in! I think the Darcy role lifted him to international star status.