Date of Birth

3 December 1978, Exeter, Devon, England, UK

Birth Name

Matthew William Goode

Nickname

Goodey

Height

6' 2" (1.88 m)

Mini Biography

Matthew William Goode (born 3 April 1978) is an English actor. His films include Chasing Liberty (2004), Match Point (2005), Imagine Me and You (2006), Brideshead Revisited (2008), Watchmen (2009), A Single Man (2009), Leap Year (2010), Stoker (2013) and The Imitation Game (2014). Goode also starred in in the final season of Downton Abbey and in the CBS legal drama The Good Wife as Finley "Finn" Polmar from 2014 to 2015. Goode was born in Exeter, Devon. His father is a geologist and his mother, Jennifer, is a nurse and amateur theatre director. Goode is the youngest of five children with a brother, two half brothers, and a half sister, television presenter Sally Meen, from his mother's previous marriage. He grew up in the village of Clyst St. Mary, near Exeter.

Trivia

• Studied drama at the University of Birmingham before continuing his training at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.
• Is great friends with Laurence Fox
• Trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, whose alumni include Terence Stamp, Julia Ormond, Rupert Friend, Angela Lansbury, Hugh Bonneville, Sue Johnston, Minnie Driver and Julian Fellowes.
• Youngest of five (one brother, 2 half brothers and one half sister, who is ex TV Weather girl Sally Meen).
• Good friends with Ben Whishaw and Benedict Cumberbatch.
• Hailed by The Sunday Times Magazine as one of Britain's finest Rising Stars along with Romola Garai, Hugh Dancy, Eddie Redmayne, Gemma Arterton, Hayley Atwell, Andrea Riseborough, Richard Coyle, Tom Sturridge, Rachel Hurd Wood, Eliza Bennet Daniel Mays and Kaya Scodelario (2009).
• Has a daughter Matilda Eve Goode (born on March 1, 2009).
• Went to Exeter School in Exeter, Devon.
• Father of daughter, Teddie Eleanor Rose Goode, with Sophie Dymoke, born in September 2013.
• His favorite band is Coldplay. Chris Martin is one of his brother's old friends. Matthew and Chris were both born in Exeter, Devon.
• His favorite movie is The Last Waltz (1978).
• Played a mouse in "Wind in The Willows" at the age of 6.
• Had to memorize and speak his lines for more than 58 scenes in Spanish when filming Al sur de Granada (2003).
• Father of Ralph Goode - born August 2015.
• He and Jeremy Irons have played two roles in common, Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias in different adaptations of Watchmen, and Charles Ryder in different adaptations of Brideshead Revisited.

Quotes

• When it comes to acting, it is very limiting to be English. It was 'Bring on the posh!' All the parts I was being offered involved my accent or someone with money and title.
• [on playing Charles Ryder in Brideshead Revisited (2008)] It was hard without the voiceover, when you've got no words, it's difficult to be Mr Charm. I saw Charles Ryder as the loneliest person in the whole world. He had a loveless childhood growing up with no mother and a distant father - and who of us knows our father, anyway? Also, I'm no one, so just the fact that I was offered the part of Ryder is amazing.
• I don't think I know enough about acting to direct. You need to be a slight megalomaniac, not where you want to take over the world, but where you want to make every single decision and the buck stops with you. It's an awful lot of stress.
• Golf courses are beautiful, it's good for the soul and it gets out the anger... well, if you don't care about the score then you won't have a heart attack.
• I'm not posh, not in the slightest. My parents spent some money on my education, but I wasn't born to the purple.
• If I lived in L.A., I'd be schizophrenic after a week.
• I'm always pretty tense about everything when it comes to work.
• You spend some time raising a child in London, carrying it around on one side of your body - it puts your back out!
• I've thought about writing, but it hasn't happened yet. It's like schoolwork - you start doing your revisions two nights before you're compelled to turn it in.
• Some actors go, 'Bing!' and suddenly they're being paid huge sums. Me, I seem to get screwed every time.
• I like the fact that Hogan's shoes all have this sporty sole that is great even for an older man with a bad back like me.
• Making a film is very hard work, and you live or die by the sword just a little bit every time you do it, but I wouldn't chuck it in.
• My dad was a geologist and my mum was a nurse who directed amateur theatrics.
• My dream is to one day own a country house on the shore in England, have gotten married, wipe some debt off and get a few more good films.
• I'm very much a jobbing actor who's still trying to find a place to rent down the road.
• I'll tell you what, it doesn't get more beautiful than the west of Ireland. Connemara and County Derry are quite stunning, really.
• On Benedict Cumberbatch: I'm so proud of Ben. I've known him for such a long time and the last couple of years he's really come to the forefront. Which stops him from being on my sofa going, "God, my career's not going anywhere." And now it's impossible for him to walk down the streets.
• When you've got a new family, any kind of security you can have is great.
• I wouldn't say I'm drawn to dark roles, and it's not like I pick and choose.
• When you see a finished film, it's very rare that it exceeds your expectations.
• It's not easy when you've got kids. You have to make some pretty unselfish decisions. I've been lucky. I'm about to finish The Good Wife (2009) and Downton Abbey (2010) we'll see what happens.