At the 74th Emmy Awards, the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama award went toMatthew Macfadyenforhis performancein Season Three ofSuccession.Successionis a show that first aired in 2018 about the Roy family and their power struggle for the family business. Macfadyen plays the only daughter’s boyfriend, and then-husband, Tom Wambsgans. Tom is a sensitive, cringe-worthy pushover who runs his own department in the company. But despite Tom and the show writers' best efforts, Matthew Macfadyen has turned Tom into someone audiences love in spite of his worst moments. For three seasons he has worked hard to bring every aspect of his character’s complications to life. Up against cast members of his own show, this was his second Emmy nomination but hisfirst win.
Undoubtedly, this Emmy win has leveled Macfadyen up as an actor. His Emmy win, his now four-season stint on a television show, and his recent leading role in the filmOperation Mincemeat, all stemmed from his breakout role back in 2005 playing Mr. Darcy, the romantic lead in the filmPride and Prejudice.A Jane Austen adaptation about two people who hate each other so much that they fall in love, Macfadyen’s infamous"hand flex"and his declaration of love in thepouring rainmade him a fast favorite for actors who have portrayed Mr. Darcy.
A Romantic Tenderness and Subtlety
Matthew Macfadyen brings a tenderness and a deep romance to his performance as Mr. Darcy. The ways Macfadyen physically expresses his romantic feelings, through bated breath and longing stares, make him an iconic Mr. Darcy. His performance inPride and Prejudicehas allowed him to come into his own as a dramatic actor. It seems like Macfadyen is far from what brought him into the mainstream with his character inSuccession. Even Macfadyen toldNPR, “Tom Wambsgans is a long way from Mr. Darcy." But, this isn’t the case. Although Tom Wambsgans seems like a different brand of character from the Regency-era romantic heartthrob fromPride and Prejudice,Matthew Macfadyen has used what made him great as Mr. Darcy inPride and Prejudiceand built off of it to bring sweetness to an ultimately dark character.
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Perhaps the most obvious line that can be drawn between Matthew Macfadyen’s two characters is their desire and admiration for their romantic counterparts. Both Mr. Darcy and Tom Wambsgans have a complicated, push-and-pull, style of love with their partners. This is an affection that Matthew Macfadyen portrays with both subtlety and grandeur. Macfadyen approaches his romance in film with the subtlety of physicality but the grandeur of speech. Every scene fromPride and Prejudicethat is famous for Mr. Darcy romantic moment is because of his subtlety of body, like his hand flex, or his grandeur speech, like his declaration of love. Renitent of hisfinal declaration of affectioninPride and Prejudiceis Tom Wambsgans’s wedding speech inSuccession.The audience can see his quiet affection through his eyes and his short speech where he gets choked up, but hear in his language his meaningful and intense passion for his new wife.
A Quiet, Simmering Anger
Matthew Macfadyen has also mastered the subtlety of controlled anger. InPride and Prejudice,Mr. Darcy has both pride and prejudice. He’s a stuck-up, rich guy who has a hard time opening himself up to the possibility of someone below his class being smart enough or chic enough for him to waste his time on. In his role as Mr. Darcy, Macfadyen’s controlled anger is expressed through his distaste for certain social situations or rejection. He never explodes or throws a tantrum when he doesn’t get his way, as his snootiness might suggest. Macfadyen brings quiet anger to the character which can be seen in his facial expressions and his body language. In the famous scene where he confesses his love, he is rejected with rage and hateful comments. Instead of fighting back he simply says, “Forgive me, madam, for taking up so much of your time.” Matthew Macfadyen knows how to intertwine dejection and anger in a way that is translated solely through his eyes.
Macfadyen is the master of subtle rage, and this is something he has absolutely carried with him to his role onSuccession.On his wedding night, Tom’s wife tells him she wants an open relationship. The whole thing happens so quickly that they never really have a conversation about it until afew episodes laterwhen the audience can tell that the hurt of her words has been brewing in his mind the whole time. He again combines his dejection and anger into his eyes and his body language to give audiences a performance that breaks hearts. More eloquent inSuccessionthan inPride and Prejudice,Macfadyen delivers a pained performance of rage through the way he scrunched his eyebrows and shakes his head at his wife while he’s talking to her.
Tom has become a character known for his awareness and cringe-worthy behavior. Even from the first episode, Tom is making the audience feel bad for him in a way that makes them uncomfortable. Matthew Macfadyen’s ability to thrive in the awkwardness of a scene is not dissimilar to his awkward discomfort inPride and Prejudice.In a particularly uncomfortable scene, Mr. Darcy bursts into the room, says it’s a lovely day, and then basically says, “Ok. Peace!” and leaves quickly out the door. It’s a scene that makes viewers cringe a little from the awkwardness of the moment. Succeeding at that scene, and others like it, Macfadyen has kicked up the heat and become even more comfortable in the uncomfortable. Whereas Mr. Darcy would have just left a situation, Tom Wambsgans is causing the discomfort that others want to leave. Matthew Macfadyen has built upon his shy awkwardness to create a loud vexation through Tom. Whether Tom is vying for Mr. Roy’s attention or messing with Cousin Greg, he has the innate ability to cause discomfort in a strong way.
If one thing is clear, it’s that Matthew Macfadyen is best when he is softening a hard character. He was able to launch his career by taking someone with pride and prejudice and making them a heartthrob for a new generation ofPride and Prejudicefans. That same ability has also now won him an Emmy. Matthew Macfadyen is a talented actor who has used the art of subtlety to his advantage, always giving audiences more than the script. Through his slightest eye movements or the opening of his mouth, Matthew Macfadyen tells audiences more than he ever could with words. He elevates his every scene inSuccession,proving his range and zeal as an actor. The techniques that earned him prestige and fame inPride and Prejudicegot him to a place where he could build on thePride and Prejudicefoundation and make an even more deeply complicated and developed character.
