Matthew Needham

{{Infobox person

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|4|13|df=y}}

| birth_place = Kingston upon Thames, England

| education = London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (BA)

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 2007–present

}}

Matthew Needham (born 13 April 1984) is a British actor. He has worked on stage and screen, appearing in television series such as Casualty, Endeavour, and Sanditon. As of 2022, Needham portrays Larys Strong on the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon, his performance in the series has received critical acclaim.

Early life

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2007.

Career

Needham made his professional debut in BBC medical drama Casualty in September 2007.{{Cite news |date=2007-12-17 |title=Casualty blast show 'too graphic' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7148646.stm |access-date=2024-05-01 |language=en-GB}} In 2010 he appeared in the BBC series Sherlock. In 2011, he appeared in the ITV medical drama, Monroe.

Needham has performed on stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company,{{cite web |title=LOVE'S SACRIFICE on |url=https://www.rsc.org.uk/loves-sacrifice |accessdate=12 March 2016}} Royal Court Theatre, Royal National Theatre, Almeida Theatre, and Shakespeare's Globe. In his performance for the play Britannicus, he was nominated for the 2011 Ian Charleson Award.{{cite web |title=Ian Charleson Awards 2011 |url=http://www.iancharlesonawards.co.uk/72/awards/ian-charleson-awards-2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195953/http://www.iancharlesonawards.co.uk/72/awards/ian-charleson-awards-2011 |archivedate=3 March 2016 |accessdate=12 March 2016}}

In 2015, Needham starred in the short film Stutterer, written and directed by Benjamin Cleary and produced by Serena Armitage and Shan Christopher Ogilvie.{{cite web |date=3 March 2016 |title=Having a stammer is an everyday demon |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2016/03/having-stammer-everyday-demon-not-single-moment-feel-good-tv |accessdate=12 March 2016}}{{cite web |date=9 March 2016 |title=Smashing misconceptions about living with a stammer |url=http://www.afr.com/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/film-and-tv/the-unseen-challenges-of-a-stutterer-20160306-gnc5y3 |accessdate=12 March 2016}}{{cite web |date=26 February 2016 |title=Variety Film Review |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/2016-oscar-nominated-live-action-shorts-film-review-1201714930 |accessdate=12 March 2016}} The film won Best Live Action Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

In January 2017, he appeared in episode 2 of series 4 of the ITV drama series Endeavour. In March 2017, he played Stanley Kowalski in the BBC Radio 3 production of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.

In 2019, Needham played Mr. Crowe in the first series of the ITV period drama Sanditon. As of 2022, he plays Larys Strong on the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon.{{cite news |last1=Knight |first1=Lewis |date=19 September 2022 |title=Who is Larys Strong in House of the Dragon? Meet actor Matthew Needham |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/larys-strong-matthew-needham-house-dragon-explained/ |work=Radio Times}} In 2023, he appeared as Lucien Bonaparte alongside Joaquin Phoenix in the film Napoleon.