Before he was Tom Wambsgans, Succession alum Matthew Macfadyen was Mr. Darcy. However, getting cast as the iconic Pride & Prejudice character was a bit of a shock for the English star.
“I felt a bit miscast, like, I’m not dishy enough,” Macfadyen, 49, shared during a CBS Mornings interview, released on Tuesday, July 23. “But it worked out.”
Macfadyen played Fitzwilliam Darcy alongside Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet in the 2005 movie adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, directed by Joe Wright.
“I didn’t really [enjoy it],” Macfadyen said of his experience on the film’s set. “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.”
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Even though it’s been nearly two decades since his Pride & Prejudice role, Macfadyen still gets recognized for the part.
“The most flattering thing that happens to me now is people say, ‘Were you Mr. Darcy?’ It’s a good 20 years later,” he quipped. “So I think, ‘I can’t be aging that badly.’”
Before Macfadyen came along, Colin Firth was famously Mr. Darcy in the 1995 Pride & Prejudice miniseries. However, the Succession alum’s take on the literary character has been widely recognized as an overall better version of the love interest.
Macfadyen has previously shared his feelings about bringing the fictional character to life in past interviews.
“I wish I had enjoyed it more,” the actor admitted to Vanity Fair in May 2022, echoing his more recent comments. “But I did feel pressure — maybe it was a self-imposed pressure of, you know: This is a big film, don’t get it wrong.”
At the time, Macfadyen said he “didn’t feel very Mr. Darcy–ish.” Instead, he “felt like a bit of a middle-aged dad” in the role. One person, however, who praised Macfadyen’s performance was Firth.
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“I finally understood the character!” Firth gushed to Vanity Fair in the same interview of his successor. “I had to write a fan letter. Definitely my favorite Darcy.”
Macfadyen told the magazine that he was offered roles “that [were] similar to Pride & Prejudice” after playing Mr. Darcy. However, he didn’t take them.
“I thought: I mustn’t do that, I should try and do something different,” the actor recalled. “Maybe I should have done it?”
Eventually, Succession came along and Macfadyen received two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his role as the ultimate (spoiler alert!) successor, Tom.
“It was such a brilliant bit of writing,” Macfadyen told CBS Mornings of his HBO character. “I found it very liberating playing Tom … and great therapy as well.”
