Matthew Macfadyen has been on our screens for over two decades. His acting experience and on-screen charisma help him transform into characters from all walks of life; though he is generally likable and has a universal appeal, he easily steps into villainous and morally ambiguous roles, proving that his talent is diverse and great acting skills are a part of his DNA.
Though most viewers are familiar with Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy from the acclaimed period drama Pride & Prejudice, Macfadyen’s been on our TVs just as much. With 18 series and 19 feature films so far, plus a lot of theater work, Macfadyen has been one of the busiest actors since the year 2000. His diverse portfolio consists of wildly different characters, from a modern spy and a 19th-century detective to a ruthless corporate employee and Great Britain’s most bizarre politician. Here are the best Matthew Macfadyen TV shows.
10
‘Stonehouse’ (2023)
Stonehouse dramatizes the bizarre real-life scandal of British MP John Stonehouse, who attempted to fake his own death while desperately trying to escape political and financial ruin. This is one of the most recent instances where Macfadyen stars alongside his real-life partner, Keeley Hawes, who portrays Stonehouse’s wife. Macfadyen’s performance is top-notch as he embodies a delusional and hilariously inept politician, so convinced of his own importance that he fails at disappearing.
Stonehouse is set in 1974, and depicts the time when MP John Stonehouse went to Miami and walked into the sea, attempting to fake his own death to avoid controversy. After participating in several illegal activities, Stonehouse wanted to literally wash them away but instead got thrown into more trouble. Macfadyen’s brilliant performance is uplifted by his skill in delivering tragic, comical characters; he’s funny and embraces the absurdity of Stonehouse’s idea effortlessly but still delivers the humanity underneath it all. His performance shows he excels in portraying characters getting crushed by their own expectations.
9
‘Any Human Heart’ (2010)
Any Human Heart is a miniseries adaptation of the William Boyd novel of the same name. It’s a story that follows a single character’s life over the years, showing his navigation of the world of art, love, failure, and ambition. Macfadyen portrays writer Logan Mountstuart, and Jim Broadbent stars as his older version, while Sam Claflin portrays the younger version. The show gained widespread critical and audience acclaim, with most praise going to the writing and the performances of the three leads.
Any Human Heart starts in the 1920s in Paris, following writer Logan Mountstuart from his early moments of understanding art, falling in love, and navigating life. It then goes to the 1950s in New York, and Macfadyen plays that version of Mountstuart. His approach makes the character sometimes confident and at other times, deeply uncertain; wrestling with the consequences of his choices, Logan becomes a melancholic character. Finally, the story moves to 1980s London. In four episodes alone, Any Human Heart tells the story of an imperfect man doing imperfect things in an attempt to feel and be more human, happier, and better.
8
‘Howards End’ (2017)
Fans of Pride and Prejudice can rejoice in watching Macfadyen step into a period drama once again, this time, Howards End. Though he looks significantly different from the Mr. Darcy era—mainly because of his short hair and rich beard—he’s just as dreamy of a period character with enough redeemable qualities. Howards End is an adaptation of E. M. Forster‘s novel of the same name; in 1992, Anthony Hopkins stepped into the role of Henry Wilcox in the same-name film that was nominated for nine Oscars.
Howards End follows three families at the beginning of the 20th century in England: the wealthy Wilcoxes, the idealistic Schlegels, and the working-class members of the Bast family. Macfadyen plays the patriarch of the Wilcox family, Henry, a wealthy man embodying the contradictions of the Edwardian upper class; he’s morally rigid and unaware of how much he’s privileged. Macfadyen delivers a magnetic performance, making Henry charming until he’s not and authoritative until you see the cracks in his worldview. As Henry, Macfadyen comes close to villainy but rather depicts a figure representative of the era’s emotional repression.
7
‘Ripper Street’ (2012–2016)
Ripper Street is one of the best crime shows of the 2010s and is based on the crimes of England’s most notorious killer to this day, Jack the Ripper. Since his identity has never been uncovered, and there’s only speculation, stories revolving around his gruesome acts are woven through different lenses and perspectives. One of them is Ripper Street, following detectives trying to restore order in a brutal and scarred area of London called Whitechapel, which was Jack the Ripper’s “hunting ground.” Macfadyen’s Inspector Edmund Reid is the show’s moral compass, driven by justice but haunted by a past tragedy.
Ripper Street sees Macfadyen in the lead as Inspector Reid, but he’s joined by Jerome Flynn as Sergeant Bennet Drake and Adam Rothenberg as the American Captain, Homer Jackson. They work on tracking down Jack the Ripper, who seemingly returns to kill some five months after his last murder. Reid is a compassionate character but also intense and responsible; he’s motivated by a personal tragedy and grief, but Macfadyen never lets him fall into the “tortured detective” mold. Brilliant, gruesome, and superbly acted, Ripper Street is a masterclass among original crime series.
6
‘The Pillars of the Earth’ (2010)
The Pillars of the Earth is another highly acclaimed British series and an unraveling medieval epic. The story dissects power struggles, war, and the almost improbable building of a cathedral. Macfadyen portrays Prior Philip, a character who embodies conviction and principle while the world around him gets shaped by violence. The rest of the cast is pretty stellar, too—Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, and Hayley Atwell are just some of the performers. It’s Macfadyen and Atwell’s third collab, though technically the first, timeline-wise.
The Pillars of the Earth is an adaptation of Ken Follett‘s novel of the same name and revolves around the construction of a cathedral in a lawless country. The story is set during the 12th century period in England nicknamed The Anarchy; this was a time when people stopped following laws and rules, engaging in violent and scheming behavior throughout the country. The show emphasizes individuals who, amid lawless chaos, decide to remain principled and virtuous, one of whom is Prior Philip. Macfadyen avoids turning Philip into a caricature of virtue but rather gives him some complex humanity and strategic brilliance. In many ways, he becomes the soul of the show.
5
‘The Enfield Haunting’ (2015)
The Enfield Haunting is a true period drama and a dramatized take on the Enfield Poltergeist case. This case swept the media and the public during the 1970s, and the show was based on Guy Lyon Playfair‘s book, This House Is Haunted. Macfadyen portrays Playfair, and in a brilliant twist of events, he’s more unchained in this series than in many others. Instead of period-piece restraint in emotion and physicality, his portrayal of Playfair gives him freedom to be unrestrained and frantic and to give the role passion and true transformation.
The Enfield Haunting follows Playfair, a professional paranormal investigator but a skeptic, and Maurice Grosse (Timothy Spall), an amateur investigator, who join forces to uncover the mystery known as the Enfield Poltergeist, a case of mysterious occurrences that took place in a London council house between 1977 and 1979. Playfair goes from a non-believer to a man desperate to make sense of the haunting, trying to save the poor family affected by the poltergeist with every possible resource. It may not be the content you’re used to from Macfadyen, but it’s one of his best and most memorable roles.
4
‘Death by Lightning’ (2025)
Death by Lightning is the most recent series starring Macfadyen, and it flew under the radar—but here’s hoping it’ll gain more traction over time. This Netflix miniseries revolves around the 20th U.S. President, James A. Garfield (Michael Shannon), including his infamous assassination. The show dramatizes Garfield’s rise and, subsequently, political fanaticism. Death by Lightning has beautiful and stylized cinematography, while the performances of both Michael Shannon and Macfadyen are exceptional. In particular, Macfadyen was praised for his portrayal of Charles J. Guiteau, Garfield’s assassin and obsessed fan.
Death by Lightning shows Garfield’s dedication to anti-corruption and pro-civil rights causes and how Guiteau became a fan who believed he was crucial in getting Garfield elected for President. This is one more series on the period drama roster for Macfadyen, though this time, he plays an American character. Rotten Tomatoes’ critics have said his portrayal of Guiteau is a “masterclass of slimy desperation,” which fuels the show and propels it forward quite often. An underrated political thriller, Death by Lightning boasts sympathetic figures; interestingly, even the assassin gains some empathy, and that’s more than likely thanks to Macfadyen’s brilliant, theatrical range.
3
‘Quiz’ (2020)
Quiz is another interesting and modern story based on true events on Macfadyen’s list of great shows. This outlandish series shows how Charles Ingram became the only winner of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the UK, and how he was discovered to have actually cheated. Macfadyen is awkwardly charismatic as Ingram, who is an eccentric and oddly likable man; his biggest downfall came when he trusted his wife and brother-in-law, quiz-obsessed people, to cheat when his time in the Hot Seat came along.
Quiz shows Ingram becoming the third contestant in his family, after his wife and brother-in-law, to participate in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? After poor performances from them, Ingram, who generally displays terrible general knowledge in conversation with the host Chris Tarrant (Michael Sheen), wins the quiz and a million pounds. The producers notice odd things during his participation and take note of every sound and cough in the background. Besides the real-life retelling, Quiz depicts how small things spiral out of control and how quickly scandals ruin people’s lives. The assumptions of the public further destroy Ingram’s reputation, and Macfadyen sort of makes him a sympathetic character.
2
‘MI-5’ (2002–2011)
MI-5 is one of the best and coolest spy shows of all time and is known as a staple of British crime television. The spiritual predecessor of the likes of Line of Duty, Unforgotten, and Slow Horses, MI-5 boasts a stellar cast who became famous because of this show and introduces a story that could have gone on, well, forever. Macfadyen starred in the show from 2002 to 2004, and it’s where he and Hawes met; they’re joined by David Oyelowo and Peter Firth in this sharp, visually stunning, and quintessentially 2000s espionage story.
MI-5 follows the agents of MI5, aka the Security Service, their cases, and the hardships they endure by those who wish to harm them, the agency, or the country. The show takes a serialized format, following specific plots throughout seasons; Macfadyen stars as Tom Quinn, the cool-headed MI5 officer, quietly intense, competent, and often conflicted. His earliest actions caused controversy among viewers—the second episode of the series caused a widespread wave of complaints; yet, Macfadyen is the central figure of early MI-5, gracefully handing the reins to Firth after Season 3. It’s Macfadyen at his coolest, sharpest, best.
1
‘Succession’ (2018–2023)
The role that brought Macfadyen critical and audience acclaim, as well as several awards, is Tom Wambsgans in Succession. Succession itself is a critically acclaimed series and a display of numerous powerhouse performances. But, as much as the rest of the ensemble manages to get attention and stand out, Macfadyen is the final piece of the puzzle and becomes crucial for the whole picture in the end. The evolution of Tom could only be portrayed by someone who’s always known how to inject nuance and layered emotions into characters—yes, Matthew Macfadyen.
Succession follows Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and his four (adult) children, who try to maintain good relationships with him and become the next heirs of the Roy media empire. Siobhan (Sarah Snook) is Logan’s only daughter, and Tom Wambsgans is her husband, a character who turns from an eager corporate puppy to one of the family’s most cunning operators. Macfadyen has the skill to make us feel opposing emotions at the same time: contempt and compassion, anger and delight; within the same breath, Tom is pathetic, calculating, lonely, tender, and hilarious. He perfectly embodies the decay that happens when you’re too close to power and the corrosive effects of desperately wanting to belong to a world that keeps humiliating you. Tom shows us that Macfadyen is one of the greatest character actors of our time.
