Though older and heavier than as a spoiled scoundrel in The Way We Live Now and heartthrob, Mr. Darcy, Matthew’s turn as kind-hearted Arthur Clennam in PBS Masterpiece Classic’s Little Dorrit is outstanding. No one has played the character better in my opinion.
My reviews of Little Dorrit:
- Click here to read Little Dorrit and the Grand Tour
- Click here to read my post about William Dorrit, the Father of the Marshalsea
- Click here to read my post about the character of Flora Finching, and how she is based on Charles Dickens’ first love.
Jane Austen's World 
Yes he’s older… however, he is a man… not a boy. A man should look healthy and robust not whithered and fragile.I hate this obsession with weight. Most men in Hollywood look like they need to eat a sandwich. Thank god for real men, thank God for Matthew. You look great!
An avid & maybe rabid Fan!
I also think Matthew looks amazing! No girl wants a scrony and thin hero! Love him just the way his is. Yum. :P
Thanks for the great stills! I am loving Matthew’s character thus far…he’s playing a real sweetheart. Your comment above reminds me that I’ve never seen The Way We Live Now…I need to check that out sometime!
[…] Images of Matthew Macfadyen as Arthur Clennam […]
I have enjoyed Matthew Macfadyen in everything I have seen him act in. He is such a good actor and if you like your male leads long and lean that is your business; there is no accounting for taste ;)
I have come across Matthew on Pride and Prejudice and I have enjoyed and loved his role in this movie. I have also seen the BBC version with Colin Firth. It’s different but also good. But I like the movie version better with Matthew. I have been searching all his movies and fortunately I was lucky enough to watch Little Dorrit here in Canada. Unfortunately, we could not watch the episodes here.
I hope he continues to be in characters like these but I also like him in MI5 which was just recently shown here too.
Any more movies for him or TV shows? More power to you Matthew and keep on making movies. I love you.
IMHO Matthew looked much more comfortable in the role of Authur than he did as Darcy. He also looks healthier with a little weight on him.
I am truly impressed with Matthew Macfadyen’s natural ability to bring to life the characters which is playing. He seems to actually become that person and pulls you, the viewer, right into his world. He is truly a gifted performer.
IMHO, Matthew is the quintessential Mr. Darcy in “Pride & Prejudice” and he portrayed the role of Arthur Clennam perfectly. There is no doubt about it that he is a handsome man and has a voice that can make you melt, but I believe in addition to being an award winning actor, he is sincerely a most honorable man, husband and father. If that isn’t perfection, what is?
I have seen several of his movies, such as P&P (one of my favorites), “Death at a Funeral,” “In My Father’s Den,” “Little Dorrit” and was a fan of him in MI-5 (as it is known in the U.S.; “Spooks” in England). If you haven’t seen “In My Father’s Den,” you should, as Matthew gives a powerful performance as man dealing with many serious family issues. “Death at a Funeral” is just flat out hilarious and proves he is adept at doing comedy as well.
Pretty much to me, if Matthew is in a film or show, it is going to be worth seeing as I think he chooses the roles he plays very carefully. I look forward to his upcoming performances in future films. In the meantime, I own a copy of P&P and plan to buy a copy of “Little Dorrit.”
I have not yet seen this series, having been put off by certain divertions from the original novel, my being well read on Little Dorrit, these divertions mattered. I am sure Matthew done a good job with his portrayal and from what I can see online, he done his best with the character, (by the way, none of the said diversions have to do with him). However, my love is with the 1988 adaptation of Little Dorrit with Sir Derek Jacobi playing Arthur Clennam, and it is difficult at this time to accept this new adaptation.
Matthew MacFadyen – Argentina MySpace Club
http://www.myspace.com/MatthewMacFadyenArgentina
we are getting little dorrit here on pbs this month and i love its a very good version but i think i like the 1988 version just a little bit more. because i like the fellow who played arthur clennam i just love to watch sir derek jacobi. he was on a version of the secret garden by hallmark. but i also like to watch matthew macfadyen. we got the older version from tcm’s we are recording both versions for our movie collections and we do loan them out to anyone. thats all i guess. sincerely virginia