Born:
October 17, 1974
in
Great Yarmouth
Best Known For:
Spooks, Pride and Prejudice and Ripper Street.
Early-life:
David Matthew Macfadyen was born in Great Yarmouth on October 17, 1974. His mother was an actress and drama teacher, and his father worked in the oil industry. He has a younger brother named Jamie. His dad's job meant the family moved around a lot when he was growing up, and he attended schools in Lincolnshire, Scotland and Indonesia, before studying drama at a boarding school in Rutland. He went on to win a place at Rada, and appeared on stage with the Cheek by Jowl theatre company while still studying.
Career:
Following his graduation in 1995, Macfadyen continued to act on stage. His TV breakthrough came three years later when he played Hareton Earnshaw in an adaptation of Wuthering Heights. He went on to appear in the TV drama Warriors and the movies Maybe Baby and Enigma, but really made his name when he took the lead role in spy drama Spooks in 2002. Three years later, he proved he was romantic leading man material when he was cast as Mr Darcy in the movie version of Pride and Prejudice. In 2007, he won plaudits for playing a paeodophile in Secret Life. Other TV work includes Little Dorrit, Enid Blyton, Criminal Justice, The Pillars of the Earth, Any Human Heart, Criminal Justice, Ripper Street and The Enfield Haunting. Other big screen projects include Death at a Funeral, Frost/Nixon, Robin Hood and Anna Karenina.
Quote:
"I think it's important not to know too much about actors. Because when you see them in the magazines every day, you don't want to go to see them act."
Trivia:
Married his former Spooks co-star Keeley Hawes in 2004. They have two children, and he is stepfather to her son from a previous relationship.