Matthew Macfadyen Has the Most Mr. Darcy Response to His ‘Pride and Prejudice’
When it comes to Mr. Darcy, millennial women (or just women in general) have a lot of opinions on the matter. But one of the things we all agree on is that the 2005 movie Pride & Prejudice is a beauty to behold and we love her no matter what.
Actor Matthew Macfadyen’s opinion on his casting as Mr. Darcy is a bit different, though. During an interview with CBS Mornings during the press tour for Deadpool & Wolverine, Macfadyen was asked about his role in Pride & Prejudice. Since then, he’s gone on to find fame for his work as Tom Wambsgans in Succession, but many of us still love to yell out about our Mr. Darcy!
When asked about his experience on Pride & Prejudice, Macfadyen had a very “Mr. Darcy” answer. “I didn’t really [enjoy it].” He went on to clarify that he didn’t mind filming the movie but that his worry that he wasn’t good enough stopped him from enjoying the whole process. “I feel bad saying that. There were moments I had a good time, but I wish I enjoyed it more. I wish I was less worried about it.”
Macfadyen said he didn’t feel like he was right for the part. “I felt a bit miscast, like, ‘I’m not dishy enough,’” he said. “Probably 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.’”
While Macfadyen channeled Mr. Darcy’s feelings of not being good enough (very on-brand for the character), fans could not disagree more with him. We haven’t stopped talking about his take on the character because he “bewitched” us, body and soul!
Sir, we’ll never forget the hand flex
One thing about this version of Jane Austen’s masterpiece is that it changed fans for the better. Especially when we’re talking about Darcy’s hand flex. After helping Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) into a carriage, he walks away and flexes the hand that helped her up. It is a moment that shows his weakness for Lizzie. He loves her despite every bone in his body telling him not to, and that flex showed us as the audience that it was out of his control.
It is so romantic (in a movie where he literally tells a woman she’s taken over his life and thoughts) and something that wasn’t even in the script. In a previous interview with NPR, Macfadyen said he just did it naturally and director Joe Wright saw. “It’s a credit to Joe, because he doesn’t miss a trick, and he’s so alive to things, and he saw me do it in a rehearsal take, and I remember him just going, ‘Get that!’ So they just did an extra shot on the hand,” he said at the time.
His reaction to playing Darcy very much aligns with who the character is. I would know, I have a stuffed bear named Fitzwilliam. I love my Darcy dearly.
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