Spooks

Background:

After acquiring reputation with performances in such plays as “The Duchess of Malfi” (1995), “The School for Scandal” and “Much Ado About Nothing” (both 1998), British actor of stage, television and film Matthew Macfadyen broke into the small screen with the popular role of Hareton Earnshaw in the TV version of “Wuthering Heights” (1998). He went on to give solid portrayals in the dramas “Warriors” (1999, netted a British Royal Television Society nomination) and “Perfect Strangers” (2001) before enjoying huge breakthrough by playing MI5 agent Tom Quinn in the BBC hit series “Spooks” (2002-2004). On the popularity of the series, he stated, “The scripts are really good and they're exciting and they crack along quickly. It's glamorised and everyone likes spies, and it's three young people saving the world every week. It's topical with what's going on, I guess that's what really drew people in. And there's nothing been on like it before, it's not a cop show, there hasn't' been this kind of show on before I don't think.”

On the big screen, MacFadyen is perhaps best recognized as Mr. Darcy on “Pride and Prejudice” (2005), from which he won a Camie Award and a London Critics Circle Film nomination. “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,” MacFadyen said on approaching his character for the film. He has also nabbed a New Zealand Screen Award and a British Independent Film nomination for his starring role in “In My Father's Den” (2004). MacFadyen's more recent and upcoming projects include Frank Oz's “Death at a Funeral” (2007), Sharon Maguire's “Incendiary” (2008) and Ron Howard's “Frost/Nixon” (2008).

A recipient of a Royal Television Society Award and a BAFTA nomination for his starring role in Channel 4's drama “Secret Life” (2007), thirty-something MacFadyen is set to play Inspector Neele on the made-for-TV film “Marple: A Pocketful of Rye” (2008).

MacFadyen has been married to actress Keeley Hawes since 2002. They have two young kids, Maggie and Ralph. MacFadyen also has a stepson named Myles, from wife Hawes' former relationship.

RADA Alum

Childhood and Family:

Born on October 17, 1974, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, David Matthew Macfadyen is the son of Martin MacFadyen and Menir MacFadyen. His father was an oil company employee and his mother, a former actress, taught history and drama. Matthew has a younger brother, James.

Due to his father's job, Matthew was educated in such countries as Scotland and Indonesia, in addition to England. From 1990 to 1992, he studied drama at a boarding school in Rutland, Leicestershire called Oakham School. He was then accepted to the reputable Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), graduating in 1995.

Met in the television series “Spooks,” Matthew started dating London-born costar Keeley Hawes (born on February 10, 1976) in 2002. They married two years later, on October 8, 2004. Their first child, daughter Maggie MacFadyen, was born in December 2004. The couple welcomed their next child, son Ralph MacFadyen, in September 2006. Matthew is the stepfather of 8-year-old Myles, Hawes' son from a previous marriage.

Pride and Prejudice

Career:

“I just loved the whole idea of being an actor. We were waiting by the coach to go back to school where I was, and I'd look at the stage door and think, these creatures - where do they live? Where are they going now? To the pub! Wow! What's exciting is there's a curtain that divides the audience from this other world. You want to see behind.” Matthew Macfadyen

The son of a former actress, Matthew MacFadyen got his early stage experience while attending RADA. He performed in various plays like Mikhail Bulgakov's “The Crimson Island” (1994), William Wycherley's “The Country Wife” (1994), Dale Wasserman's “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” (1995, played Chief Bromden) and Stephen Jeffreys's “The Libertine” (1995, as John Wilmot). MacFadyen's stage career gained significant boost after he joined the well-known theater company Cheek by Jowl, for whom he portrayed Antonio Bologna in “The Duchess of Malfi” (1995) and Benedick in “Much Ado About Nothing” (1998), and touring with Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in productions “A Midsummer Night's Dream” (1996, as Demetrius) and “The School for Scandal” (1998, as Charles Surface).

Already popular as a stage actor, the Norfolk native made a much-detected switch to the screen in 1998 when he was cast in the role of Hareton Earnshaw in the television movie adaptation of the Emily Brontë novel “Wuthering Heights.” He followed it up with a leading role as Pte. Alan James in the acclaimed BBC war/drama “Warriors” (1999), about about soldiers in Bosnia, and was nominated for a British Royal Television Society award in the category of Best Actor for his performance. Also in 1999, Macfadyen was spotted on the stage playing Mr. Brougham for the Royal National Theatre production of “Battle Royal.”

Entering the new millennium, Macfadyen joined director Paul Seed and writer David Pirie for the two-part crime/thriller “Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes” (2000) and costarred with Joely Richardson in the comedy/romance film “Maybe Baby” (2000, released in the Unites States in 2001), based on the Ben Elton novel “Inconceivable.” After having supporting Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet and Saffron Burrows in the based-on-novel “Enigma” (2001), where he was cast as a submarine commander named Cave, the trained actor returned to the small screen playing Daniel on the BBC Two drama serial “Perfect Strangers” (2001), opposite Michael Gambon. Under the direction of Stephen Poliakoff, he enjoyed much critical acclaim for his performance. Still in that same year, he starred as Sir Felix Carbury in the miniseries “The Way We Live Now” (BBC), directed by David Yates.

The next year saw Macfadyen star as Paul Tibbenham in “The Project,” a BBC drama which explores New Labour's rise to power, but the gifted performer did not hit the big time until he landed the starring role of government agent Tom Quinn on the spy series “Spooks,” which also starred former wife Keely Hawes as Zoe Reynolds. Debuted at BBC One on May 13, 2002, the show went on to become a massive hit with critics and audiences and later also collected a following on cable television in the United States, in which it was broadcast as “MI-5” on the A&E Network. Macfadyen was in the series until its third season in 2004.

While working on “Spooks,” MacFadyen resumed his big screen career by having a small part in “The Reckoning” (2003), a drama starring Paul Bettany, and a starring role in the mystery/thriller “In My Father's Den” (2004). Playing Paul Prior, a prize-winning war journalist, he took home a 2005 New Zealand Screen for Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and was nominated for a British Independent Film for Best Actor for his work in the latter. After leaving the series, MacFadyen made a successful return to film with his role as Mr. Darcy on a highly applauded adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” (2005), opposite Keira Knightley. For his fine effort, he was handed a 2006 Camie Award and a nomination for British Newcomer of the Year at the London Critics Circle Film (ALFS). Also in 2005, he earned additional recognition on the stage thanks to his role as Prince Hal on “Henry IV, Parts One and Two” at the Royal National Theatre.

In 2007, MacFadyen starred as Charley in the Channel 4 pedophilia-based drama “Secret Life,” helmed by Rowan Joffe. The role won MacFadyen a Best Actor Award at the 2007 Royal Television Society Awards and a BAFTA nomination in the same category. The same year, he also participated in a short sketch comedy for Comic Relief, “The Big One,” in which he appeared as the groom in Mr Bean's Wedding, costarred with his wife in the Frank Oz comedy “Death at a Funeral” and appeared in Robert Rodriguez's “Grindhouse.” On the stage, he made his return in “The Pain and the Itch,” where he was cast as a stay-at-home dad with a liberal orientation, Clay. He said, “I would hate not to do a play every couple of years. I think it's not me. I did four or five years in telly, and by the end of it was drained. I was a bit sick of myself. I didn't feel like an actor anymore. That sounds silly, but when you're doing a play you're using different muscles, and it blew all the cobwebs away.” Matthew Macfadyen

Recently, MacFadyen joined Michelle Williams and Ewan McGregor to star in “Incendiary” (2008), a drama/romance directed and scripted by Sharon Maguire, and starred as Arthur Clennam in the BBC 15-part series “Little Dorrit” (2008), opposite Andy Serkis, Mackenzie Crook and Eddie Marsan, among others. He has completed filming “Frost/Nixon,” helmed by Ron Howard and scripted by Peter Morgan from his play. The drama, in which he plays John Burt, will be shown at the London Film Festival on October 15, 2008. Among his costars in the film are Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon, Frank Langella, Rebecca Hall and Michael Sheen.

MacFadyen will soon star as Inspector Neele on the TV movie “Marple: A Pocketful of Rye” (2008), based on Agatha Christie's story. The project also stars Rupert Graves, Hattie Morahan, Kenneth Cranham, Wendy Richard, Prunella Scales and Julia McKenzie.

Awards:

• Royal Television Society (RTS): Best Actor – Male, “Secret Life,” 2008

• Character and Morality in Entertainment: Camie, “Pride & Prejudice,” 2006

• New Zealand Screen: Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, “In My Father's Den,” 2005