Howards End: Matthew Macfadyen, star of Ripper Street, Pride And Prejudice and Spooks, on his new role as Henry Wilcox in BBC drama Howards End (Sunday Herald)

Matthew Macfadyen was interviewed by the Sunday Herald while filming in New York City for the upcoming HBO series "Succession".  He talked about his role in "Succession" and "Howards End" which begins airing tonight on BBC One.

About his character in "Succession"

“I’m playing a d***head.” He reconsiders this. “Maybe that’s unfair, but it’s American and it’s modern-day and it’s a million miles away …”

“He’s a bit of an … arse.”

About signing up for "Howards End"

“The script was such a beautiful thing to read. It was unsentimentally adapted if that makes sense. So it was a no-brainer.”

About home life with several children and a busy actress spouse:

“I walk around the house saying, ‘Toilet and teeth, toilet and teeth, guys.’ I stand there and think: ‘I used to be cool but now I’ve just turned into a weirdo walking around with a sock and a wipe in my hand.’

Be sure to read the full interview on the Sunday Herald

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Howards End: What's on TV interview

What's on Tv interviewed both Hayley Atwell and Matthew Macfadyen

Here are some of Matthew's questions and answers.

TV Times: How would you describe your characters?

Matthew Macfadyen: “Henry’s one of those manly men of that time who isn’t prone to bouts of introspection or navel-gazing or talking about feelings. He’s very confident and pig-headed.”

 

What’s their relationship like?

MM: “Henry doesn’t have the tools that Margaret has to deal with the complex situations that arise; he gets frightened. They’re probably not a natural match, but she’s attracted by his self-possession and it’s a slow burn.”

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Matthew Macfadyen talks about tougher times on TV for women

The Radio Times recently interviewed Matthew Macfadyen and the following was reported:

Matthew Macfadyen, who is starring in a new BBC dramatisation of EM Forster’s Howards End, and is married to fellow actor Keeley Hawes, says there are fewer roles for women (a trend Hawes has bucked) and rues the “wasteland” many encounter during their middle years.

“There are just fewer parts for women. And also there’s a weird thing with women where initially you’re the ingénue, and then there’s a wasteland, and then you’re Hedda Gabler. Guys don’t have that; they float through,” says Macfadyen, adding that the much discussed gender pay gap certainly extends to actors on TV.

 

“Men are by and large paid more than women. I know this from Keeley, that the sort of excuse they’ll use is, ‘Well, he’s done a few American things.’ And you think, well, no. It’s not to do with that. It’s cobblers.”

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Howards End: Some early reviews

The Evening Standard had this to say:

There’s something refreshing about watching a “sexed down” period piece, one that focuses on ideas. More subversively still, these ideas — about everything from ethical capitalism to gender equality — are often spoken by women. Lonergan and director Hettie Macdonald have, if anything, enhanced Forster’s memorable dialogue.

The Daily Mail has some new photos and Matthew Macfadyen states:

'This one is eternally relevant. The social mores might have changed, but people’s behaviour hasn’t. It has money and class, the battle of the sexes, society and sex and family. Human behaviour is the same whether you’re wearing a frock coat or a hoodie. These issues endure.’

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Howards End: Matthew Macfadyen interview: ‘I have a horror of playing the same part over and over again’ (Telegraph 4 November 2017)

Matthew Macfadyen has given an interview to the Telegraph mainly to discuss his upcoming role in Howards End, which is to begin on Sunday 12 November on BBC One.

Matthew discusses his take as Henry Wilcox and his fear of being typecast:

Wary of getting typecast, before Howards End came along he had issued a self-imposed ban on playing, in his words, “buttoned-up Englishmen slathered in tweed. That’s the horror, for me, getting stale, playing the same part over again.”

He also discusses his future/unreleased projects such as "The Current War" which was originally supposed to be released in the US around the Thanksgiving holidays, but has now been postponed due to the fallout from the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

“I met him [Weinstein] briefly on set a few times,” says Macfadyen. “Like so many actors I had heard stories about the kind of guy he was. But the sheer scale of it is horrifying.”

About the HBO production of Succession, which is currently filming in New York:

“I play a vaguely sweet American who’s also a bit of a dickhead. It’s a million miles away from Henry Wilcox. It’s a lovely tonic."

Be sure to read the full interview at the Telegraph

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