Matthew Needham

Matthew Needham
Born (1984-04-13) 13 April 1984 (age 40)
Kingston upon Thames, England
EducationLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (BA)
OccupationActor
Years active2007–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.[3]

Needham has performed on stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company,[4] 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.[5]

In 2015, Needham starred in the short film Stutterer, written and directed by Benjamin Cleary and produced by Serena Armitage and Shan Christopher Ogilvie.[6][7][8] 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. [9] He won Best Actor/Performance at the 2021 Wild Indie Sci Fi & Fantasy Film Festival for his portrayal.[10]

As of 2022, he plays Larys Strong on the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon.[11] In 2023, he appeared as Lucien Bonaparte alongside Joaquin Phoenix in the film Napoleon.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Shakespeare's Globe: Titus Andronicus Saturninus Filmed version of the stage show at The Globe
2015 Shakespeare's Globe: The Comedy of Errors Antipholus of Ephesus Filmed version of the stage show at The Globe
2015 Stutterer Greenwood Carsen Won Best Live Action Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards
2017 The Ritual Junkie
2017 From A Strange Land Jonas Short
2023 Napoleon Lucien Bonaparte
2024 The Generators Oscar

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2007–2009 Casualty Toby De Silva Main Role, 61 Episodes
2010 Sherlock Bezza 1 Episode
2011 Monroe David Foster 1 Episode
2016 The Hollow Crown Basset 2 Episodes
2017 Endeavour Dudley Jessop 1 Episode
2018 Doctors Kieran Barnes 1 Episode
2019 Chernobyl Dmitri 1 Episode
2019 Sanditon Mr Crowe 7 Episodes
2021 Doctor Who Old Swarm 2 Episodes
2022–present House of the Dragon Larys Strong Main role, 13 episodes
2023 Great Expectations Mr Drummle TV Mini Series, 4 Episodes
TBA Blade Runner 2099 TBA Filming

Stage[3]

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Shades Mark Royal Court Theatre
2009 The Grapes of Wrath Noah Chichester Festival Theatre
2011 Britannicus Nero Natural Perspective Theatre Company
2013 Titus Andronicus Lucius Royal Shakespeare Company
2013 Candide Candide Royal Shakespeare Company
2015 Titus Andronicus Saturninus The Globe
2015 The Jew of Malta Pilia Borza Royal Shakespeare Company
2017 The Twilight Zone Perry/Stockton/Harrington Almeida Theatre
2018 Summer and Smoke John Buchannan Almeida Theatre
2019 Fairview Jimbo Young Vic Theatre

References

  1. ^ "Casualty blast show 'too graphic'". 17 December 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  2. ^ "BBC One - Casualty - Toby De Silva". BBC. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  4. ^ "LOVE'S SACRIFICE on". Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Ian Charleson Awards 2011". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Having a stammer is an everyday demon". 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Smashing misconceptions about living with a stammer". 9 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Variety Film Review". 26 February 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  9. ^ Knightman (S) (2020). Retrieved 16 October 2024 – via www.filmaffinity.com.
  10. ^ "Matthew Needham | Actor". IMDb. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  11. ^ Knight, Lewis (19 September 2022). "Who is Larys Strong in House of the Dragon? Meet actor Matthew Needham". Radio Times.