Matthew Macfayden: From Mr. Darcy to Tom Wambsgans - The Journey and Legacy

2024-01-16 05:19:00

Matthew MacFayden closed his time on ‘Succession’ by winning the second Emmy of his career and for the same character. (Photo by Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Matthew Macfayden He already has another prize to decorate his house. Because after winning the Golden Globe, BAFTA y SAGamong other awards in recent years, now he adds his second Emmy for his work in Succession. An award that closes the symbolic circle of his time in the successful series, serving as definitive recognition of a magnificent performance that we will never forget.

However, this award hides a greater meaning. Because it not only puts the final cherry on top of his time on the HBO series, but also reflects the twists and turns that life takes after having been an actor who came to fear being typecast because of his only cinematic success.

And 18 years ago this British actor could not even imagine that he would leave his mark forever in television history as one of the fundamental pillars in one of the best series in history. We will now forever recognize him as Tom Wambsgans, Shiv’s (Sarah Snook) husband who elevated Succession with one of the most emblematic outcomes on television.

Matthew Macdayden stood out in each season of this series. For being a comedian, a buffoon, and, finally, with a narrative arc bathed in vulnerability and drama that elevated his talent to a higher level, starring in scenes with Sarah Snook that were so emotionally charged that they resonated deeply with fans. What happened to this actor in the fourth season was a master class in character construction.

Thus, on the night of the 75th Television Academy Awards ceremony, Matthew Macdayden He thanked his colleagues, from “his screen wife,” Sarah Snook, to his “other wife,” Nicholas Braun, making a joking reference to the bromance that they shared in history. “Thank you to my real wife, Keeley, my love and my best friend for being here,” she said of the actress and star of the hit Netflix, Bodyguard.

However, everything was very different in 2005. He was 31 years old and was the romantic lead of Pride and prejudice, the adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel where he played the leading man par excellence of period stories, Mr. Darcy. That demanding, vulnerable but introverted bachelor who created an unbreakable bond with Elizabeth Bennet of Keira Knightley. An actress who, at that time, was 11 years younger.

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The biggest problem he faced Matthew Macdayden They were the comparisons. After all, lovers of the genre had the image of Mr. Darcy engraved in the figure of Colin Firth after playing the legendary knight in the 1995 miniseries. But this Briton was lucky because director Joe Wright created his own version of the story, elevating intimacy as a weapon of narrative seduction, forming the bond between the characters through gestures, looks and sharp dialogues that established the film as one of the best adaptations of Jane Austen’s works.

Personally I prefer it over the miniseries. What’s more, many of us remain convinced that the sequence of touching hands between Elizabeth and Darcy is one of the most electrifying romantic moments in cinema. A moment charged with romantic electricity that does not need physical exaggeration to provoke a whirlwind of internal emotions.

But Matthew Macdayden I didn’t see it the same way. In other words, she was panicking. He came from the theater, television series and secondary characters in movies when he agreed to become one of the most emblematic romantic heroes of culture.

“I felt pressure. Maybe it was self-imposed, believing ‘it’s a big movie, so make no mistake,’” she told Vanity Fair in 2022. The film was a box office success with a global gross of $121 million when it had only cost $28 million, while critics ended up receiving it with open arms (although there was some rejection at first by some specialists as a result of the comparisons with the series that held a special place in memory for being a faithful and effective adaptation). However, to Matthew Macdayden It was difficult for him to see the positive side.

“I didn’t feel very Mr. Darcy,” he said. “I felt a little like a middle-aged father.” And so, despite the success of the film and the recognition it was opening to the industry, He decided to distance himself from any job offer that could pigeonhole him as a romantic hero.. It was his peak moment at the time, but she decided to turn her back on him.

“I ended up receiving a lot of things that were similar to Pride and Prejudice,” he revealed about the offers that the industry sent him after the success of the film, living a common business tactic when it comes to squeezing the occasional success of an actor or actress in a particular genre if it manages to resonate deeply with the public. “And I thought, ‘I shouldn’t do that. I should try and do something different.’”

Keira Knightley, director Joe Wright and Matthew Macfayden promoting ‘Pride and Prejudice’. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage)

And that he did. She moved away from period films and romantic stories completely, opting for independent dramas, supporting roles and even uncredited roles as was the case in Grindhouse in 2007. It went through blockbusters but always in the shadow of the protagonists, as was the case of Robin Hood with Russell Crowe where he played the Sheriff of Nottingham. I just returned to period cinema in Anna Karenina (2012) that reunited him with Joe Wright and Keira Knightley, but always away from romantic roles.

He did everything but none of his work between 2005 and 2018 could surpass the memory of his Mr. Darcy. until it arrived Succession. That is to say, he spent more than a decade fleeing from characters that could have kept him on a certain popular pedestal, away from period cinema and romantic heroes, squeezing his talent from opposite productions even if that meant doing so from a secondary role. And then Jesse Armstrong served him a round character on a platter. That Tom Wambsgans who ended up leaving the entire world speechless and with whom he won two Emmy awards.

Saying no and rejecting offers in Hollywood is a risk. Actors never know how or when the next project will arrive, but Matthew Macdayden He bet on his personal desires when it came to expanding his career and ended up winning big.

This article was written exclusively for Yahoo en Español by Cine54.