Reflecting back on his career, Matthew Macfadyen regrets that he did not have a better time while filming Pride and Prejudice in 2005. In Joe Wright’s rendition of the beloved Jane Austen novel, he portrayed Mr. Darcy, alongside Kiera Knightley.
Regarding his filming experience, Macfadyen admitted on CBS Mornings that “I didn’t really [enjoy it].” “I feel bad saying that. There were moments I had a good time, but I wish I enjoyed it more. I wish I was less worried about it.”
“I felt a bit miscast, like, ‘I’m not dishy enough,” he continued. “But it worked out.”
The Wolverine actor says, “The most flattering thing that happens to me now is people say, ‘Were you Mr. Darcy?’” even though he didn’t think he was a good fit for the part. ” It’s a good 20 years later. So I think, ‘I can’t be ageing that badly.’”
Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Tom Hollander, Penelope Wilton, Judi Dench, Simon Woods, Carey Mulligan, Talulah Riley, Rupert Friend, and numerous others were also featured in Pride & Prejudice. According to the director, Macfadyen’s casting as Mr. Darcy was made possible by Knightley’s choice to play Elizabeth Bennet.
In a conversation with MovieFreak, Wright stated, “I think Matthew is obviously less of a star than Keira, and so if she hadn’t been playing Elizabeth, I’m not sure I’d been allowed to cast Matthew [as Darcy]. So, it kind of worked like that. You try to balance it out as much as you.”
Aside from being “one of the best actors of his generation in England,” Wright said in the identical interview that Macfadyen “would approach the role like any good actor should, and that’s from the point-of-view of trying to understand the character.”
“He’s the least vain actor you’ve ever met in your life and he wasn’t coming onto this trying to portray an icon, he was coming on to play a character in the same way he would, had he been approaching Hamlet or any other great role,” Wright remarked.