Intro | English actor |
A.K.A. | Daniel Jonathan Stevens, Daniel Jonathan “Dan” Stevens |
Is | Actor |
From | United Kingdom |
Type | Film, TV, Stage & Radio |
Gender | male |
Birth | 10 October 1982, Croydon |
Age: | 37 years |
Star sign | Libra |
Daniel Jonathan “Dan” Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV period drama series Downton Abbey. He is also known for his roles in films such as The Guest and A Walk Among the Tombstones, and will star in the live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast as the Beast, scheduled for release in 2017.
Early life
Stevens was born in Croydon, London. He was adopted at birth, by parents who were both teachers, and grew up in Wales and southeast England. He has a younger brother who was also adopted. After a rebellious youth, Stevens boarded on a scholarship at Tonbridge School, an independent school in Kent. There he became interested in drama after auditioning for the title role in Macbeth with his teacher, novelist Jonathan Smith. From the age of 15, he spent his summers training and performing with the National Youth Theatre in London.
Stevens studied English Literature at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, he was a member of the Footlights with Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key and Mark Watson, and was also active in the Marlowe Society. He was first spotted by director Peter Hall at a Marlowe Society production of Macbeth, in which he played the title character alongside Hall’s daughter.
Career
In 2004, Stevens began his professional acting career when Peter Hall cast him as Orlando in his touring production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. The tour took the production to the Rose Theatre in Kingston upon Thames, the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, and the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. His debut performance earned him glowing reviews from prominent critics in Britain and the United States, as well as a commendation at the 2004 Ian Charleson Awards.
In 2006, Stevens starred as Nick Guest in the BBC adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s Booker Prize-winning novel The Line of Beauty. Later that year he played Simon Bliss in Hay Fever by Noël Coward at London’s Haymarket Theatre, alongside Peter Bowles and Dame Judi Dench; the director was Peter Hall. He also performed as Lord Holmwood in an adaptation of Dracula for the BBC, and as Basil Brookes in the BBC Emmy-award-winning film, Maxwell. That same year, he was named one of Screen International’s 2006 Stars Of Tomorrow.
In 2008, Stevens appeared in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, Sense & Sensibility, playing Edward Ferrars, and the West End revival of Noël Coward’s The Vortex. In January 2009 he appeared on New Year’s Day in Agatha Christie’s Marple: Nemesis on ITV1 in Britain. In June 2009 he returned to the West End, playing Septimus Hodge in an acclaimed revival of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
In 2010, Stevens got his biggest break when he was cast as Matthew Crawley in the ITV series Downton Abbey, created and written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes. The series went on to be a global sensation, and has been nominated for several Emmy, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards since its debut. The central love story of Matthew Crawley and his distant cousin, Lady Mary Crawley, played by Michelle Dockery, was enormously popular. Stevens left the series after finishing the third season and the Christmas Special in 2012. His exit caused a huge uproar with fans, who notably took to Twitter and other social media sites to express their anger at the character’s death.
In November 2011, Stevens guest-hosted an episode of Have I Got News for You. In March 2012 he completed shooting Vamps, the latest film from Amy Heckerling, and Summer in February, an Edwardian romance film set in an artist colony.
In 2012, Stevens moved with his family to New York City. He made his Broadway debut that year opposite Jessica Chastain and David Strathairn in The Heiress.
In 2014, Stevens starred in the independent film The Guest, winning critical acclaim for his portrayal of a recently discharged army veteran who goes on a killing spree to protect his true identity. He earned a Saturn Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance. Also in 2014, he appeared in the magic realism comedy-drama film The Cobbler, and in the dark action film A Walk Among the Tombstones. He played a simulacrum of Sir Lancelot in the 2014 comedy film Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.
On 4 March 2015 it was announced that Stevens will play the Beast, opposite Emma Watson as Belle, in Disney’s live-action remake adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.
Other work
Stevens has narrated over 30 audiobooks, including Casino Royale, Wolf Hall and War Horse. In 2014, he was nominated for two Audie Awards, in the Classic category and Solo Narration (Male) category for Frankenstein.
Outside acting, Stevens maintains an interest in writing and literature and is editor-at-large for The Junket, an online quarterly which he co-founded in 2011 with some friends. He was a member of the judging panel for the 2012 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and was a regular columnist for the Sunday Telegraph.
A cricket enthusiast, he made his “debut” for the Authors XI team in 2012 and also contributed to the book The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon, which was shortlisted for the 2014 Cricket Society and M.C.C. Book of the Year Award.
Personal life
In 2009, Stevens married South African jazz singer and singing teacher Susie Hariet. They met in 2006, when appearing at different theatres in Sheffield. They have a daughter named Willow (born 2009) and a son named Aubrey (born 2012). Actress Rebecca Hall is godmother to his daughter Willow.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Hilde | David Cameron | |
2011 | North London Book of the Dead, TheThe North London Book of the Dead | Speaker | Short film |
2011 | Babysitting | Spencer | Short film |
2012 | Vamps | Joey | |
2012 | Shallow | Richard Dove | Short film |
2013 | Summer in February | Gilbert Evans | Also an executive producer |
2013 | Fifth Estate, TheThe Fifth Estate | Ian Katz | |
2014 | Guest, TheThe Guest | David Collins | Nominee – Saturn Award for Best Actor |
2014 | Walk Among the Tombstones, AA Walk Among the Tombstones | Kenny Kristo | |
2014 | Cobbler, TheThe Cobbler | Emiliano | |
2014 | Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb | Sir Lancelot | |
2015 | Criminal Activities | Noah | |
2016 | The Ticket | James | |
2016 | Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer | ||
2016 | Colossal | ||
2017 | Beauty and the Beast | The Beast | In post-production |
2017 | Permission | Will | In post-production |
2017 | Marshall | Filming | |
TBA | The Man Who Invented Christmas | Charles Dickens | Filming |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Frankenstein | Henry Clerval | Miniseries |
2006 | Line of Beauty, TheThe Line of Beauty | Nick Guest | Miniseries; 3 episodes |
2006 | Dracula | Lord Arthur Holmwood | Television film |
2007 | Maxwell | Basil Brookes | Television film |
2007 | Agatha Christie’s Marple | Michael Faber | Episode: “Nemesis” |
2008 | Sense and Sensibility | Edward Ferrars | Miniseries; 3 episodes |
2009 | Turn of the Screw, TheThe Turn of the Screw | Dr. Fisher | Television film |
2010–12 | Downton Abbey | Matthew Crawley | Main cast (series 1–3); 25 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
2013 | Tomorrow People, TheThe Tomorrow People | TIM (voice) | Uncredited; 3 episodes |
2014 | Once Upon a Time: Wicked Is Coming | Narrator | TV special |
2014, 16 | High Maintenance | Colin | 2 episodes |
2015 | SuperMansion | Bunsen (voice) | 1 episode |
2017 | Legion | David Charles Haller / Legion | Main cast |
Other works
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | As You Like It | Orlando | Rose Theatre, Kingston Nominated – Ian Charleson Award |
2005 | You Never Can Tell | Theatre Royal, Bath | |
2005 | Waiting for Godot | Theatre Royal, Bath | |
2005 | Private Lives | Theatre Royal, Bath | |
2005 | Much Ado About Nothing | Claudio | Theatre Royal, Bath |
2006 | Romans in Britain, TheThe Romans in Britain | Marban / Maitland | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
2006 | Hay Fever | Simon Bliss | Theatre Royal, Haymarket |
2008 | Vortex, TheThe Vortex | Nicky Lancaster | Apollo Theatre, London |
2009 | Every Good Boy Deserves Favour | The Doctor | National Theatre, London |
2009 | Arcadia | Septimus Hodge | Duke of York’s Theatre, London |
2010 | Late at Night | David | The Old Vic, London |
2012 | Heiress, TheThe Heiress | Morris Townsend | Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway |
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2007 | Dragon’s Eye, TheThe Dragon’s Eye | |
2007 | Die with Me | |
2007 | Strike Back | |
2008 | Day | |
2008 | Outcast, TheThe Outcast | |
2009 | Dragon Diary: Dragonology Chronicles, Vol. 2, TheThe Dragon Diary: Dragonology Chronicles, Vol. 2 | |
2009 | Angel’s Game, TheThe Angel’s Game | |
2009 | Week in December, AA Week in December | |
2009 | Wolf Hall | |
2010 | War Horse | |
2010 | Blueeyedboy | |
2010 | Prince of Mist, TheThe Prince of Mist | |
2010 | Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud | |
2010 | Fall of Giants | |
2010 | Young Sherlock Holmes: Red Leech | |
2011 | My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You | |
2011 | Midnight Palace, TheThe Midnight Palace | |
2011 | History of a Pleasure Seeker, TheThe History of a Pleasure Seeker | |
2011 | Invisible Ones, TheThe Invisible Ones | |
2012 | Time Keeper, TheThe Time Keeper | |
2013 | Letters from Everest: A First-Hand Account of the Epic First Ascent | |
2013 | Going Solo | |
2013 | Boy | |
2013 | Frankenstein | Nominated for two 2014 Audie Awards, Classic & Solo Narration – Male |
2014 | Letters to a Young Poet | |
2014 | Murder on the Orient Express | |
2014 | And Then There Were None | |
2014 | Heroes’ Welcome, TheThe Heroes’ Welcome | |
2014 | Scorpia Rising | |
2014 | Snakehead | |
2014 | Crocodile Tears | |
2014 | Casino Royale | |
2014 | The Iliad | |
2014 | The Odyssey | Nominated for a 2015 Audie Award, Classic |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Question of Attribution, AA Question of Attribution | Phillips | BBC Radio 4 |
2008 | Tennis Court, TheThe Tennis Court | Sam Greenwood | BBC Radio 4 |
2008 | Dickens Confidential (series 2) | Charles Dickens | BBC Radio 4 |
2008 | Anthem for Doomed Youth | Narrator | BBC Armistice exhibition |
2008 | Josephine Hart Poetry Hour, TheThe Josephine Hart Poetry Hour (episode 1) | Narrator | BBC Radio 4 |
2008–09 | Orley Farm | Peregrine Orm | BBC Radio 4 |
2009 | Lady of the Camellias, TheThe Lady of the Camellias | Duval | BBC Radio 4 |
2009 | Guilty Until Proven Innocent | Jake | BBC Radio 4 |
2009 | Music Room, TheThe Music Room | Narrator | BBC Radio 4 |
2010 | Custom of the Country, TheThe Custom of the Country | Ralph Marvell | BBC Radio 4 |
2010 | The Secret Pilgrim (episode 1) | Ben Cavendish | BBC Radio 4 |
2010 | Coral Thief, TheThe Coral Thief | Narrator | BBC Radio 4 |
2010 | Story of the Siren – E.M. Forster Short Stories, TheThe Story of the Siren – E.M. Forster Short Stories | Narrator | BBC Radio 4 |
2011 | Thousand Kisses, AA Thousand Kisses | Catullus | BBC Radio 3 |
2011 | Widowers’ Houses | Harry Trench | BBC Radio 3 |
2011 | Portrait of Winston | Graham Sutherland | BBC Radio 4 |
2011 | King James Bible | Narrator | BBC Radio 4 |
2011 | Short History of Vampires – Dracula’s Guest, AA Short History of Vampires – Dracula’s Guest | Bram Stoker | BBC Radio 7 |
2011 | Words & Music – Money | Narrator | BBC Radio 3 |
2011 | Together – Face It | Narrator | BBC Radio 4 |
2011 | Spying Game Series – The Living Daylights, TheThe Spying Game Series – The Living Daylights | Narrator | BBC Radio 4 |
2011 | Something Understood | Reader | BBC Radio 4 |
2012 | Old Ways, TheThe Old Ways | Reader | BBC Radio 4 |
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