With ‘Succession’, Matthew Macfadyen is some distance from ‘Satisfaction and Prejudice’ : NPR

Matthew Macfadyen says of his preliminary impact of Succession was once that it was once “beautifully acid and humorous and engaging.”

Graeme Hunter/ Sourdough Productions/HBO

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Graeme Hunter/ Sourdough Productions/HBO

Matthew Macfadyen says of his preliminary impact of Succession was once that it was once “beautifully acid and humorous and engaging.”

Graeme Hunter/ Sourdough Productions/HBO

Earlier than HBO’s Succession, actor Matthew Macfadyen was once almost certainly best-known to American audiences for his portrayal of the brooding Mr. Darcy within the 2005 movie adaptation of Pride & Prejudice.

“Tom Wambsgans is some distance from Mr. Darcy,” he says of his Succession persona.

Succession follows the company in-fighting inside of Waystar Royco, a family-run conglomerate and media empire. Tom is an interloper — from the Midwest and of modest approach — who marries into the Roy family members by means of the only daughter, Siobhan.

Because the 4 grownup siblings (together with Shiv) vie for energy and affect, Tom desires to be with reference to the motion. His courting with Shiv is a sophisticated one, predicated on love and what MacFayden calls the “mirrored glory and tool” of being a part of the rich family members.

“She’ll almost certainly have quite a lot of affairs and one-night stands, however he is by no means going to let her down,” Macfadyen says. “And he is glad to kind of suck that up and shimmy his method up the greasy pole in Waystar.”

Interview highlights

At the complaint that not one of the characters on Succession are likable

They are no longer particularly likable, however then I do not believe there may be any barrier to being concerned about them. I imply, they are no longer monsters, so there may be at all times some kind of sympathy there. And I feel they are people, and so there may be at all times a sliver of one thing. And I feel the attention-grabbing factor about all the ones characters — it is the ones perennial subject matters of energy and love and family members. It is a family members dynamic and it is this kind of absence of affection from the daddy determine, Logan Roy, who is this kind of heart of all of it, round whom everybody kind of orbits. I believe an excessive amount of sympathy for them in a ordinary method, as a result of regularly it kind of feels to me they do not have an terrible lot of self assurance as a result of they do not really feel extraordinarily liked by means of their father — or their mom.

On Tom’s courting with cousin Greg, performed by means of Nicholas Braun

It is surely a case of kicking the cat with outdated Gregory. However once more, there may be simply such a lot there that Nick and I’ve dropped at it. … There’s a circularity with the appearing and the writing and I feel that longform TV like that is superb in that, if it is running smartly, it turns into symbiotic with the actors and the writers as a result of … we’re going to do one thing which is given to us from this magic writing after which they are going to see one thing else after which it will feed again into the script and on it is going. … I feel Tom in reality likes Greg and in reality wishes him and he is somewhat open with him and somewhat truthful. It is attention-grabbing. …

The trouble isn’t breaking apart [laughing]! It is not a secret that [Nick and I] combat with corpsing, as we are saying in the United Kingdom, which is solely breaking apart irretrievably and everybody getting pissed off with us and them having to reset – however it is exhausting when the discussion is so humorous.

On capturing at over-the-top, opulent places for Succession

The unusual factor is how temporarily you get used to it. That is the in reality horrifying factor as a result of all of us were given in this yacht and our jaws had been swinging, however like anything else after an afternoon or two, it is completely standard. Like, yeah, I will paintings at the yacht, speedboat to the yacht. We do an afternoon’s paintings and return to the lodge and it turns into very [blasé]. That is the in reality alarming factor.

Matthew Macfadyen co-starred with Keira Knightley within the 2005 adaptation, Satisfaction & Prejudice.

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Matthew Macfadyen co-starred with Keira Knightley within the 2005 adaptation, Satisfaction & Prejudice.

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On taking part in Mr. Darcy in Satisfaction & Prejudice

I used to be somewhat [intimidated]. I feel inevitably you fear about getting it proper. I did not really feel I used to be dishy sufficient and kind of brooding sufficient. On your thoughts’s eye, as an actor, you at all times wish to be somewhat extra of this and somewhat extra that and my self assurance wasn’t nice. However once more, it was once an excellent adaptation. And Joe [Wright, the director] was once nice. Keira [Knightley, co-star] was once nice. It was once an attractive factor to be part of.

I kind of made up our minds that he was once like a tortured adolescent, Mr. Darcy, which, in some way, he was once. He is grieving his oldsters. He is inherited this huge property and accountability and he is all conflicted and torn up, and so I assumed, oh, that’ll be my method into him.

Lauren Krenzel and Thea Chaloner produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Natalie Escobar tailored it for the internet.