Matthew MacFadyen

Born: 1974
Where: Great Yarmouth, England, UK

The actor first attracted attention from British viewers for the hard-hitting Balkans war drama Warriors.

He has since made the move to the big screen with appearances in Enigma, The Reckoning and In My Father's Den.

The son of a drama teacher, he attended schools in England, Scotland, Indonesia before going to Oakham School in Rutland, Leicestershire.

After enrolling at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he joined the theatre company Cheek By Jowl, touring New York, Bogota and Moscow.

He made his TV debut in an adaptation of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights in 1998 and then played a British peacekeeping soldier in Warriors the following year.

In 2000, he made his big screen debut in the Ben Elton comedy Maybe Baby with Hugh Laurie and went on to appear in Michael Apted's war drama Enigma.

TV work has included the political drama The Project and the hit BBC thriller Spooks.

(On-set he fell for co-star Keeley Hawes who had only been married for five months when their affair began).

In 2003, he starred in the medieval murder mystery The Reckoning and played a journalist in the thriller In My Father's Den.

Upcoming work includes the role of Darcy opposite Keira Knightley in the big screen version of Pride & Prejudice.