# Matthew Goode

Matthew William Goode (born 3 April 1978) is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with ABC's television film Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.
His breakthrough role was in the romantic comedy Chasing Liberty (2004), for which he received a nomination at the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Breakout Movie Star – Male. He then appeared in a string of supporting roles in films, such as Woody Allen's Match Point (2005), the romantic comedy Imagine Me and You (2006), and the period drama Copying Beethoven (2006). He earned praise for his performances as Charles Ryder in the 2008 film adaptation of the novel Brideshead Revisited and as Ozymandias in the superhero film Watchmen (2009). He then starred in the romantic comedy Leap Year (2010) and Australian drama Burning Man (2011), the latter earning him a nomination for Best Actor at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards.
His other film roles include The Lookout (2007), A Single Man (2009), Cemetery Junction (2010), Stoker (2013), Belle (2013), The Imitation Game (2014) and Self/less (2015). Goode has also appeared in television series, including as Henry Talbot in the historical drama Downton Abbey, Finley "Finn" Polmar in the legal drama The Good Wife and a music journalist in the drama Dancing on the Edge. In 2017, Goode portrayed Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon in the second season of the biographical drama series The Crown, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. From 2018–2022, Goode starred in the fantasy romance series, A Discovery of Witches. In 2022, he starred as famed Paramount studio head Robert Evans in The Offer, a miniseries about the making of the classic 1972 gangster film The Godfather.

## Early life

Goode was born on 3 April 1978 in Exeter, Devon. His father, Anthony, was a geologist and his mother, Jennifer, is a nurse and amateur theatre director. Goode is the youngest of five children with a brother, two half-brothers, and a half-sister, television presenter Sally Meen, from his mother's previous marriage. He grew up in the village of Clyst St. Mary, near Exeter. Goode was educated at Exeter School, an independent school in Exeter, Devon, followed by the University of Birmingham and London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

## Career

Goode played Peter Lynley, the brother of Inspector Lynley in the BBC production Inspector Lynley Mysteries: A Suitable Vengeance and co-starred in the TV film Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, based on the Gregory Maguire novel of the same name and William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. In 2004, Goode made his American film debut opposite Mandy Moore in the romantic comedy Chasing Liberty.
Goode co-starred in Woody Allen's thriller Match Point, opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson, Ol Parker's romantic comedy Imagine Me & You, opposite Piper Perabo and Lena Headey, the TV film My Family and Other Animals, opposite Imelda Staunton, the biographical-musical drama Copying Beethoven, opposite Ed Harris and Diane Kruger and Scott Frank's crime drama The Lookout opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He had a whimsical take on Brooke Burgess in the BBC miniseries He Knew He Was Right based upon Anthony Trollope's novel of the same name.
In 2008, Goode starred as Charles Ryder in the drama film Brideshead Revisited, based on Evelyn Waugh's novel of the same name. In 2009, Goode co-starred in Zack Snyder's superhero film Watchmen as Ozymandias/Adrian Veidt, and co-starred opposite Colin Firth in the drama film A Single Man, based on Christopher Isherwood's novel of the same name. In 2010, he co-starred opposite Amy Adams in the romantic comedy Leap Year.
In 2013, Goode played the lead in the BBC Two drama Dancing on the Edge, as magazine columnist Stanley Mitchell. That same year, he co-starred opposite Mia Wasikowska and Nicole Kidman in the psychological thriller film Stoker.
Also in 2013, Goode co-starred as George Wickham opposite Matthew Rhys in the three-part BBC murder mystery miniseries Death Comes to Pemberley, based on P. D. James' novel of the same name, a sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. In 2014, he appeared in the historical thriller The Imitation Game as Hugh Alexander, a British Second World War cryptanalyst and chess champion.
In March 2014, Goode joined the cast of the CBS legal drama The Good Wife as Finley "Finn" Polmar, a state prosecutor. Replacing Will Gardner during the fifth season, he made his debut in the 15th episode, "Dramatics, Your Honor", in which Josh Charles's character was killed off. In May 2015, Goode left The Good Wife after the sixth season's finale.
In 2014, Goode co-starred in the ITV drama Downton Abbey during the Season 5 Christmas special "A Moorland Holiday" as Henry Talbot. He returned to Downton Abbey in October 2015 beginning in the fourth episode of the sixth season. Goode also made a brief appearance in the Downton Abbey film which was released in 2019.
After appearing in multiple films in the mid-2010s, he appeared in 2016's Allied. He began working on WGN's production of Roadside Picnic series based on the Strugatsky novel in autumn 2016, but the pilot was cancelled. That year, he presented ITV's The Wine Show with Joe Fattorini and Matthew Rhys.
In 2017, Goode began production on a television adaptation of Deborah Harkness's bestselling All Souls trilogy for Sky One in the United Kingdom. The show, titled A Discovery of Witches, takes its title from the series' first book. He plays the lead role of Professor Matthew Clairmont, an Oxford molecular biologist and vampire. The show was first broadcast in the UK on 14 September 2018, and has been renewed for two more series based on the strength of its first airing in the United Kingdom where it was consistently the network's most-watched show each week for its 8-episode run. Goode starred in the prequel to Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman series, entitled The King's Man, portraying Captain Morton / The Shepherd. Set in the 20th century, prefacing World War I, the film was released in December 2021.

## Personal life

Goode is married to Sophie Dymoke. They have three children: two daughters and a son. The family live in Surrey, England.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | Al sur de Granada (South of Granada) | Gerald Brenan | |
| 2004 | Chasing Liberty | Ben Calder | |
| 2005 | Match Point | Tom Hewett | |
| 2006 | Imagine Me & You | Hector | |
| 2006 | Copying Beethoven | Martin Bauer | |
| 2007 | The Lookout | Gary Spargo | |
| 2008 | Brideshead Revisited | Charles Ryder | |
| 2009 | Watchmen | Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias | |
| 2009 | A Single Man | Jim | |
| 2010 | Leap Year | Declan O'Callaghan | |
| 2010 | Cemetery Junction | Mike Ramsay | |
| 2011 | Burning Man | Tom | |
| 2013 | Stoker | Charlie Stoker | |
| 2013 | Belle | Captain Sir John Lindsay | |
| 2014 | The Imitation Game | Hugh Alexander | |
| 2015 | Pressure | Mitchell | |
| 2015 | Self/less | Dr. Jensen/Albright | |
| 2016 | Allied | Guy Sangster | |
| 2017 | The Sense of an Ending | Joe Hunt | |
| 2017 | The Hatton Garden Job | XXX | |
| 2017 | The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales... | Wolf (voice) | English dub |
| 2018 | Birthmarked | Ben Morin | |
| 2018 | The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society | Sidney Stark | |
| 2019 | Official Secrets | Peter Beaumont | |
| 2019 | Downton Abbey | Henry Talbot | |
| 2020 | Four Kids and It | David Hartlepool | |
| 2020 | The Duke | Jeremy Hutchinson | |
| 2021 | Silent Night | Simon | |
| 2021 | The Colour Room | Colley Shorter | Released as a Sky Original film |
| 2021 | The King's Man | Captain Morton / The Shepherd | |
| 2022 | The House | Raymond (voice) | |
| 2022 | Medieval | King Sigismund | |
| 2023 | Freud's Last Session | C. S. Lewis | |
| 2024 | Abigail | Father/Kristof Lazaar | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister | Caspar | Television film |
| 2003 | Bounty Hamster | Various | |
| 2003 | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Peter Lynley | Episode: "A Suitable Vengeance" |
| 2004 | He Knew He Was Right | Brooke Burgess | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Patrick Simmons | Episode: "A Murder Is Announced" |
| 2005 | My Family and Other Animals | Larry Durrell | Television film |
| 2012 | Birdsong | Captain Gray | Lead role, 2 episodes |
| 2012 | The Poison Tree | Rex Clarke | Lead role, 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Dancing on the Edge | Stanley Mitchell | Lead role, 6 episodes |
| 2013 | Death Comes to Pemberley | George Wickham | Lead role, 3 episodes |
| 2013 | The Vatican | Bernd Koch | Television film |
| 2014–2015 | The Good Wife | Finley "Finn" Polmar | Main role (Seasons 5–6), 28 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Downton Abbey | Henry Talbot | Guest role (Season 5), Main role (Season 6), 7 episodes |
| 2016 | The Wine Show | Himself | Co-host with Matthew Rhys |
| 2016 | Roots | Dr. William Waller | Lead role, 2 episodes |
| 2017 | The Crown | Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon | Main role (Season 2) 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Ordeal by Innocence | Philip Durrant | Lead role, 3 episodes |
| 2018–2022 | A Discovery of Witches | Matthew de Clairmont | Lead role, 25 episodes |
| 2022 | The Offer | Robert Evans | Miniseries |
| 2025 | Department Q | Carl Morck | Filming |

## Awards

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2004 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie: Male Breakout Star | Chasing Liberty | Nominated |
| 2004 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Liar | Chasing Liberty | Nominated |
| 2012 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Actor | Burning Man | Nominated |
| 2013 | Australian Film Critics Association | Best Actor | Burning Man | Nominated |
| 2013 | Australian Film Institute | Best Actor | Burning Man | Nominated |
| 2014 | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Stoker | Won |
| 2014 | Satellite Awards | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Dancing on the Edge | Nominated |
| 2014 | San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Performance by an Ensemble | The Imitation Game | Nominated |
| 2015 | Palm Springs International Film Festival | Ensemble Cast Award | The Imitation Game | Won |
| 2015 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | The Imitation Game | Nominated |
| 2017 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Nominated |
| 2018 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | The Crown | Nominated |
| 2023 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries | The Offer | Nominated |