Dan Stevens

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This article is about the English actor. For the American punk rock musician, see Dan Stevens (musician).
Dan Stevens
Dan Stevens.jpg
Stevens in Germany in 2009
Born (1982-10-10) 10 October 1982 (age 30)[1]
Croydon, London, England[2]
Occupation Actor
Years active 2004–present
Spouse(s) Susie Hariet (2009–present)
Children Willow Stevens (born 2009)
Aubrey Stevens (born 2012)

Daniel Jonathan "Dan" Stevens[3] (born 10 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Matthew Crawley on ITV's Downton Abbey.

Contents

Early life and education [edit]

Stevens was adopted at birth and grew up in Croydon.[4] He has a younger brother who was also adopted.[5]

After a rebellious youth,[6] Stevens boarded at Tonbridge School, a private boarding school in Kent, where he became interested in drama after auditioning for the title role in Macbeth with his teacher, novelist Jonathan Smith.[7][8] Stevens went on to read English Literature at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and narrowly missed out on a first due to devoting much of his time to theatre during his final year.[6] While at Cambridge he was a member of the Footlights alongside Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key and Mark Watson[9] and the Marlowe Society; he also gained acting experience with the National Youth Theatre.[6] He was first spotted by director Sir Peter Hall at a production of Macbeth in which he played the title character alongside Hall's daughter, Rebecca, who played Lady Macbeth.[10][11][12]

Career [edit]

Stevens has worked extensively in theatre in Britain and the United States, alongside Peter Hall. He was nominated for an Ian Charleson Award for his portrayal of Orlando in Shakespeare's As You Like It for the Peter Hall Company in 2005.

In 2006, Stevens starred as Nick Guest in the BBC Television adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst's Booker Prize-winning novel The Line of Beauty.[13] 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.

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.[14] 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.[15]

In 2011, Stevens guest-hosted an episode of Have I Got News For You, which aired 25 November of that year.

In March 2012, he completed shooting two films: Vamps, the latest film from Amy Heckerling, and Summer in February, an Edwardian romance set in an artist colony.[16]

Stevens played Matthew Crawley in the ITV series Downton Abbey, written by Julian Fellowes.[17]

Stevens has narrated several audiobooks, including The Angel's Game, Wolf Hall and War Horse.

Stevens was a member of the judging panel for the 2012 Man Booker Prize for Fiction,[17][18] editor-at-large for The Junket, an online quarterly which he co-founded,[19] and is a regular columnist for the Daily Telegraph.[20]

Personal life [edit]

Stevens is married to South African jazz vocalist-turned-singing teacher Susie Hariet. They met in 2006, when appearing at different theatres in Sheffield, England.[2] The couple have two children: a daughter named Willow, born December 2009;[5] and a son named Aubrey, born in May 2012.[21][22]

Filmography [edit]

Year Film Role Notes
2004 Frankenstein Henry TV mini-series
2006 The Line of Beauty Nick Guest TV mini-series (3 episodes)
Dracula Lord Arthur Holmwood TV film
2007 Marple: Nemesis Michael Faber TV film
Maxwell Basil Brookes TV film
2008 Sense and Sensibility Edward Ferrars TV mini-series (3 episodes)
Masterpiece Theatre Edward Ferrars TV series (1 episode: "Sense and Sensibility")
2009 Hilde David Cameron
The Turn of the Screw Dr. Fisher TV film
2010-2012 Downton Abbey Matthew Crawley TV series (25 episodes: 2010–2012)
2012 Vamps Joey post-production
Summer in February Gilbert Evans post-production
2013 The Fifth Estate Ian Katz
2014 A Walk Among the Tombstones filming

Theatre [edit]

Year Production Role Director Venue Awards
2004 As You Like It Orlando Peter Hall The Rose Theatre, Kingston Nominated - Ian Charleson Award[5]
2005 You Can Never Tell Theatre Royal, Bath
Waiting for Godot
Private Lives
Much Ado About Nothing Claudio
2006 The Romans in Britain[23] Marban/Maitland Samuel West Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
Hay Fever[24] Simon Peter Hall Theatre Royal, Haymarket
2008 The Vortex[25] Nicky Lancaster Apollo Theatre, London
2009 Every Good Boy Deserves Favour[26] Felix Barrett and Tom Morris National Theatre, London
Arcadia[27] Septimus Hodge David Leveaux Duke of York's Theatre, London
2010 Late at Night David Richard Curtis The Old Vic, London
2012 The Heiress[28] Morris Townsend Moisés Kaufman Broadway

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Dan Stevens @ Talented British Actors". 
  2. ^ a b "He does prefer redheads! Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens on why his wife is his only leading lady". Daily Mail. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2012. 
  3. ^ "Dan Stevens profile". UK Cinema Release Dates. 
  4. ^ "Dan Stevens" (2013) The Tatler List, Condé Nast, UK
  5. ^ a b c "I'm not really posh, says 'Downton Abbey' actor Dan Stevens" (27 August 2011) The Telegraph, accessed 2 January 2012
  6. ^ a b c Gannon, Louise (September 3, 2011). "'I spent most of my early years totally rebelling against anything I could': Dan Stevens on how he went from rebellious youth to Downton Abbey's heir apparent". Daily Mail. Retrieved October 3, 2011. 
  7. ^ "The best teachers will always bowl you over". The Guardian. 19 June 2011. 
  8. ^ "Dan Stevens: My Best Teacher". Times Educational Supplement. 23 September 2011. 
  9. ^ "Footlights Alumni 2000-2009". Footlights. 
  10. ^ "Macbeth". Marlowe Society. 2002. 
  11. ^ "Rebecca Hall takes the lead". Daily Telegraph. 29 October 2011. 
  12. ^ "Dan Stevens Interview: How Being 'Downton Abbey's Hero Has Changed His Life". Huffington Post. 4 November 2011. 
  13. ^ "Close-up: Dan Stevens". The Independent. 24 February 2008. 
  14. ^ Miss Marple: Nemesis at the Internet Movie Database
  15. ^ Bosanquet, Theo. "Critics Hail Stoppard's Arcadia". Review Round-up. Whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 2009-06-09. 
  16. ^ Jury, Louise (9 March 2012). "Abbey vs Abba as heart-throbs play love rivals". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 23 March 2012. 
  17. ^ a b Brown, Mark (13 December 2011). "Downton Abbey actor named as Booker judge". The Guardian (London). p. 7. 
  18. ^ Man Booker Prize - Dan Stevens
  19. ^ "That's bound to shake up the literature critics: Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens joins 2012 Booker judging panel". Daily Mail. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2012. 
  20. ^ "A Dan for All Seasons". Wall Street Journal. 15 October 2012. 
  21. ^ "Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens's joy over extra passenger". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 August 2012. 
  22. ^ "Sunday Telegraph September column & Sunday Times interview". September 9, 2012. 
  23. ^ "Brenton’s Romans in Britain Faces Fresh Protests". 8 February 2006. 
  24. ^ "Flu Fells Dench, Hay Fever Cancels Four Previews". 6 April 2006. 
  25. ^ "Divas ‘Dancical’ Honours Piaf, Garland & Dietrich". 4 April 2008. 
  26. ^ "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour". 
  27. ^ What's on stage, ed. (8 June 2009). "Critics Hail Stoppard's Arcadia". 
  28. ^ "DOWNTON ABBEY Star Dan Stevens to Join Jessica Chastain & David Strathairn in THE HEIRESS on Broadway - October 2012!". 

External links [edit]

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