Matthew Macfadyen has been on a hot streak for years, but even the best careers have a pothole or two. Case in point: his trip through Alexandre Dumas country that swapped swashbuckling for skyships and faceplants. It happened, it paid off financially, and critics still grimaced.
When Athos met airships
Back in 2011, Macfadyen suited up as Athos in a glossy, gadget-happy take on The Three Musketeers. He teamed with Ray Stevenson as Porthos and Luke Evans as Aramis, while Logan Lerman charged in as an eager D'Artagnan. The plot tees up a fractured Musketeer squad reeling after Milady de Winter, played by Milla Jovovich, betrays them. Meanwhile, Mads Mikkelsen swings a mean blade as Captain Rochefort, Christoph Waltz schemes as Cardinal Richelieu, Juno Temple plays Anne of Austria, and Orlando Bloom flashes a wicked grin as the Duke of Buckingham. On paper, that lineup looks bulletproof. On screen, not so much.
- Release year: 2011, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
- Macfadyen: Athos; Ray Stevenson: Porthos; Luke Evans: Aramis; Logan Lerman: D'Artagnan
- Milla Jovovich: Milady de Winter; Mads Mikkelsen: Captain Rochefort
- Christoph Waltz: Cardinal Richelieu; Juno Temple: Anne of Austria; Orlando Bloom: Duke of Buckingham
- Budget: $75 million; worldwide gross: $132.3 million
- Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 27% as of Feb 8, 2026
The movie did claw past its budget at the box office, but reviews were rough. The tone and that steampunk spin did it no favors, even if Macfadyen mostly sidestepped the shrapnel. One line from the time captured it pretty cleanly:
"Only Matthew Macfadyen's Athos exhibits the semblance of a personality."
From misfire to masterclass
If you met Macfadyen via Mr. Darcy in the 2005 Pride & Prejudice, you already knew he could make reserve riveting. Then came the role that turned him into appointment viewing: Tom Wambsgans on Succession. Tom starts as the accommodating outsider engaged to Shiv Roy and climbs, stumbles, and claws his way through the Roy family machine until he is the one holding the keys to Waystar Royco by the end. It is a character arc built on humiliation, hunger, and a very dark sense of humor.
Two moments define the slide and the snap: Shiv proposing an open marriage on their wedding night, and Tom quietly deciding he is done being the doormat. The way he then offloads his own frustration onto Cousin Greg is both ugly and hilarious, which is pretty much Succession in a nutshell. By the finale, nobody laughs harder than Tom. Well, maybe not harder, but longer.
Hardware followed. For Tom, Macfadyen picked up two Emmys, a Golden Globe, and two BAFTA TV Awards before the series wrapped in early 2023. Not a bad rebound from dodging airships.
The post-Roy run
Freed up after Succession, Macfadyen turned heel as Mr. Paradox in 2024's box office bulldozer Deadpool & Wolverine, then toplined the 2025 thriller Holland opposite Nicole Kidman and Gael Garcia Bernal. On TV, his most recent swing is a four-episode limited series playing Charles J. Guiteau in Death by Lightning, where he ricochets between pathetic and terrifying as the assassin of President James A. Garfield (played by Michael Shannon). The supporting bench is deep too: Nick Offerman, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, Bradley Whitford.
If you are curious, The Three Musketeers is easy to find, but curiosity can be expensive. Succession and Death by Lightning, on the other hand, are sitting on HBO Max and Netflix, respectively, and that is time well spent.