Succession's Matthew Macfadyen on playing the disgraced British MP who faked his own death
The actor has made a name for himself playing the opportunistic Tom Wambsgans on the hit show Succession
Deception and deceit are themes Matthew Macfadyen knows well, judging by the characters he plays on TV.
The Emmy-winning actor is perhaps best known for the wheeling and dealing Tom Wambsgans on the hit HBO series Succession, which follows the obscenely wealthy and deeply dysfunctional Roy family. But the deception continues in Macfadyen's latest role on the BritBox miniseries Stonehouse, in which he plays the real-life British Labour MP John Stonehouse, who faked his own death in the 1970s.
"He was a pretty promising MP. He was quite a charismatic guy and was doing quite well, and had been tipped to the top of the party by the then prime minister Harold Wilson," the actor said in an interview on Q with Tom Power.
"He, for various reasons — complicated love life, financial trouble, and he quite liked the trappings of power and position — got into terrible financial difficulty. And also he was allegedly moonlighting for the Czech secret service — not very well, but probably quite enthusiastically.... He just got in over his head, and he thought the only way out was just [to] fake his own death."
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The parallel between his characters on Succession and Stonehouse is not something that's lost on Macfadyen.
"There are certainly similarities and parallels, even though Wambsgans and Stonehouse are very, very different," he said. "It's the vanity that I'm interested in because [Wambsgans and Stonehouse are] really interested in power and ambition, and being close to the seat of power."
While his characters can be unlikeable and, at times, downright despicable, Macfadyen still has empathy for them. He said if the writing is good enough, the character's flaws can feel relatable.
"You just understand them and people are human," he said. "Succession is a good example because everyone, you know, on the surface, on paper, you think they're all so revolting. They're so venal, and just shallow and awful. But of course, then no one is."
Even for himself as an actor on Succession, Macfadyen said it's easy to see how the ultra-wealthy can become inured to a luxury lifestyle. "We've filmed in a lot of extraordinary places, and amazing apartments and houses and yachts and what have you," he told Power. "And it was amazing for the first few days and then you just get used to it."
The full interview with Matthew Macfadyen is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview produced by Ben Edwards.