Matthew Macfadyen opens up about playing Mr Darcy in ‘Pride and Prejudice’

Los Angeles: Matthew Macfadyen didn’t enjoy playing Mr Darcy in Joe Wright’s 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ as he was worried that he wasn’t ‘dishy enough’ to play one of literature’s favourite romantic heroes. Looking back, the actor wished he had enjoyed it more.

“I didn’t really enjoy it. I feel bad saying that. There were moments when I had a good time, but I wish I enjoyed it more. I wish I was less worried about it. I felt a bit miscast, like, ‘I’m not dishy enough’. But it worked out,” the actor said on ‘CBS Mornings’.

Macfadyen, who played the popular character of Tom Wambsgans on ‘Succession’ and stars in ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’, is, however, happy with the way things turned out finally.

“The most flattering thing that happens to me now is people say, ‘Were you Mr Darcy?’ It’s a good 20 years later. So, I think, ‘I can’t be aging that badly’,” the actor said about the movie.

Macfadyen’s portrayal of Mr Darcy opposite Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Bennet in the movie has many admirers with a special internet segment devoted to the scene where Mr Darcy flexes his hands just after he has helped Elizabeth Bennett’s character into a carriage.

But Colin Firth’s take on the character in the 1995 series remains a favourite on the screen with his wet shirt scene often being recreated and referenced by filmmakers.

It was most recently done in ‘Bridgerton’ season 2 when Jonathan Bailey’s Anthony Bridgerton emerges from a lake after accidentally falling into it in an obvious hat tip to Firth’s portrayal of Mr Darcy.