Matthew Needham Explained

Birth Date:13 April 1984
Birth Place:Kingston upon Thames, England
Education:London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (BA)
Occupation:Actor
Years Active:2007–present

Matthew Needham (born 13 April 1984) is a British actor. He has worked on stage and screen, appearing in television series such as Casualty, Endeavour, and Sanditon. As of 2022, Needham portrays Larys Strong on the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon, his performance in the series has received critical acclaim.

Early life

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2007.

Career

Needham made his professional debut in BBC medical drama Casualty, as Junior doctor Toby De Silva making his first appearance in September 2007.[1] He left the role in January 2009 and made a guest appearance in September of that year.[2] In 2010, he appeared as Bezza in the BBC series Sherlock. In 2011, he appeared in the ITV medical drama, Monroe as David Foster, a patient with a blood clot.

Needham has performed on stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company,[3] Royal Court Theatre, Royal National Theatre, Almeida Theatre, and Shakespeare's Globe. In his performance for the play Britannicus, he was nominated for the 2011 Ian Charleson Award.[4]

In 2015, Needham starred in the short film Stutterer, written and directed by Benjamin Cleary and produced by Serena Armitage and Shan Christopher Ogilvie.[5] [6] [7] The film won Best Live Action Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

In January 2017, he appeared in episode 2 of series 4 of the ITV drama series Endeavour, "Canticle", in the role of Dudley Cavan. In March 2017, he played Stanley Kowalski in the BBC Radio 3 production of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.

In 2019, Needham played Mr. Crowe in the first series of the ITV period drama Sanditon.

In 2021, he starred as the lead in the Independent film, Knightman, written and directed by Jun Sekiya. [8] He won Best Actor/Performance at the 2021 Wild Indie Sci Fi & Fantasy Film Festival for his portrayal.[9]

As of 2022, he plays Larys Strong on the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon.[10] In 2023, he appeared as Lucien Bonaparte alongside Joaquin Phoenix in the film Napoleon.

Filmography

Film

!Year!Title!Role!Notes
2015Shakespeare's Globe: Titus AndronicusSaturninusFilmed version of the stage show at The Globe
2015Shakespeare's Globe: The Comedy of ErrorsAntipholus of EphesusFilmed version of the stage show at The Globe
2015StuttererGreenwood CarsenWon Best Live Action Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards
2017The RitualJunkie
2017From A Strange LandJonasShort
2023NapoleonLucien Bonaparte
2024The GeneratorsOscar

Television

!Year!Title!Role!Notes
2007–2009CasualtyToby De SilvaMain Role, 61 Episodes
2010SherlockBezza 1 Episode
2011David Foster1 Episode
2016The Hollow CrownBasset2 Episodes
2017EndeavourDudley Jessop1 Episode
2018DoctorsKieran Barnes1 Episode
2019ChernobylDmitri1 Episode
2019SanditonMr Crowe7 Episodes
2021Doctor WhoOld Swarm 2 Episodes
2022–presentHouse of the DragonLarys StrongMain role, 13 episodes
2023Great ExpectationsMr Drummle TV Mini Series, 4 Episodes
TBABlade Runner 2099Filming

Stage[11]

!Year!Title!Role!Notes
2009ShadesMarkRoyal Court Theatre
2009NoahChichester Festival Theatre
2011BritannicusNeroNatural Perspective Theatre Company
2013Titus AndronicusLuciusRoyal Shakespeare Company
2013CandideCandideRoyal Shakespeare Company
2015Titus AndronicusSaturninus
2015The Jew of MaltaPilia BorzaRoyal Shakespeare Company
2017The Twilight ZonePerry/Stockton/HarringtonAlmeida Theatre
2018Summer and SmokeJohn Buchannan Almeida Theatre
2019FairviewJimboYoung Vic Theatre

Notes and References

  1. News: 2007-12-17 . Casualty blast show 'too graphic' . 2024-05-01 . en-GB.
  2. Web site: BBC One - Casualty - Toby De Silva . 2024-05-01 . BBC . en-GB.
  3. Web site: LOVE'S SACRIFICE on . 12 March 2016.
  4. Web site: Ian Charleson Awards 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195953/http://www.iancharlesonawards.co.uk/72/awards/ian-charleson-awards-2011 . 3 March 2016 . 12 March 2016.
  5. Web site: 3 March 2016 . Having a stammer is an everyday demon . 12 March 2016.
  6. Web site: 9 March 2016 . Smashing misconceptions about living with a stammer . 12 March 2016.
  7. Web site: 26 February 2016 . Variety Film Review . 12 March 2016.
  8. Knightman (S) (2020) . en . 2024-10-16 . www.filmaffinity.com.
  9. Web site: Matthew Needham Actor . 2024-10-16 . IMDb . en-US.
  10. News: Knight . Lewis . 19 September 2022 . Who is Larys Strong in House of the Dragon? Meet actor Matthew Needham . Radio Times.
  11. Web site: Curtis Brown . 2023-12-02 . www.curtisbrown.co.uk.