Biography
Matthew Goode was a British actor who became a star in his native UK before breaking out across the pond, appearing all over film and television. Endowed with a classic Hollywood leading man's unassuming good looks, and with plenty of charisma to burn, Goode shined in everything from superhero blockbusters to period costume dramas to cheeky romantic comedies. Born on April 3, 1978 in Exeter, Devon, England, Goode was the youngest of five children, proceeded by a brother, two half-brothers, and a half-sister, TV presenter Sally Meen, from his mother's previous marriage. His mother, Jennifer, was a nurse who dabbled in amateur theater, while his father, Anthony, was a geologist. The family lived in Clyst St. Mary, a small village near Exeter. Goode was educated at Exeter School, before moving on to the University of Birmingham, and finally to London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, where he studied acting. Goode made his TV debut in 2002, with a small role in the adaptation of the popular YA novel "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" (ABC, 2002), before landing his first film role in "South from Granada" (2003), a part which essentially required him to become semi-fluent in Spanish. The next year, Goode got his breakout role when he was cast in the lead of the romantic comedy "Chasing Liberty" (2004), a take on "Roman Holiday" (1953) in which he played an ordinary bloke who falls for the President of the United States' daughter (Mandy Moore) after she escapes to go on a whirlwind European adventure. The film was a modest hit, and Goode soon found himself in demand, playing the friend and brother-in-law to a conniving, murderous tennis pro (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) in Woody Allen's acclaimed drama "Match Point" (2005), and the heist drama "The Lookout" (2007). After wowing critics with his star turn in the latest adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel "Brideshead Revisited" (2008), Goode took on a totem of fanboy culture when he played the villainous yuppie superhero Ozymandias in Zack Snyder's divisive take on Alan Moore's classic graphic novel "Watchmen" (2009). Goode next put his smoldering good looks to good use in Tom Ford's breakout queer drama "A Single Man" (2009), before taking a supporting part in Ricky Gervais's autobiographical flop "Cemetery Junction" (2010). Next, he went villainous as a wicked stepfather in "Stoker" (2013), the first English language offering from eccentric South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, before returning to more traditional faire, playing WWII codebreaker Hugh Alexander alongside Benedict Cumberbatch's doomed Alan Turing in the Oscar nominated drama "The Imitation Game" (2014). Goode then turned his sights back to television, joining the cast of the hit legal drama "The Good Wife" (CBS, 2009-2016) as Finley "Finn" Polmar for their 2014-2015 season, and then taking on the role of Henry Talbot; entrepreneur, race car driver, and object of Lady Mary Crawley's affections, during the final season of the popular British chamber drama "Downton Abbey" (PBS/ITV, 2010-2015). Goode then stayed in the lane of British historical drama, turning in an Emmy-nominated turn as Antony Armstrong-Jones on the second season of "The Crown" (Netflix, 2016-). Most recently, Goode could be seen starring in the hit fantasy horror series "A Discovery of Witches" (Sky One, 2018-), and reprising the role of Henry Talbot in the film adaptation of "Downton Abbey" (2019).
