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){{cite web |last1=Griffin |first1=Cheryl |title=CAS Actor Matthew Needham |url=http://www.holby.tv/matthew-needham/ |website=holby.tv |publisher=Holby.tv |access-date=15 January 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Saint-Pierre |first1=Liam |title=After The Throne (Matthew Needham interview) |url=https://www.zeroninemagazine.com/covers/matthew-needham |website=zeroninemagazine.com |publisher=Zero.Nine Magazine |access-date=15 January 2025}} 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, as Junior doctor Toby De Silva making his first appearance 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}} He left the role in January 2009 and made a guest appearance in September of that year.{{Cite web |title=BBC One - Casualty - Toby De Silva |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1zDmJxjrDXJc845lydp76yZ/toby-de-silva |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}} In 2010, he appeared as Bezza in the BBC series Sherlock. In 2011, he appeared in the ITV medical drama, Monroe as David Foster, a patient with a blood clot.

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, "Canticle", in the role of Dudley Cavan. 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.

In 2021, he starred as the lead in the Independent film, Knightman, written and directed by Jun Sekiya. {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film829720.html |title=Knightman (S) (2020) |language=en |access-date=2024-10-16 |via=www.filmaffinity.com}} He won Best Actor/Performance at the 2021 Wild Indie Sci Fi & Fantasy Film Festival for his portrayal.{{Cite web |title=Matthew Needham {{!}} Actor |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2765916/ |access-date=2024-10-16 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}

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.

Filmography

= Film =

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!Role

!Notes

2015

|Shakespeare's Globe: Titus Andronicus

|Saturninus

|Filmed version of the stage show at The Globe

2015

|Shakespeare's Globe: The Comedy of Errors

|Antipholus of Ephesus

|Filmed version of the stage show at The Globe

2015

|Stutterer

|Greenwood Carsen

|Won Best Live Action Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards

2017

|The Ritual

|Junkie

2017

|From A Strange Land

|Jonas

|Short

2023

|Napoleon

|Lucien Bonaparte

2024

|The Generators

|Oscar

= Television =

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!Role

!Notes

2007–2009

|Casualty

|Toby De Silva

|Main Role, 61 Episodes

2010

|Sherlock

|Bezza

|1 Episode

2011

|Monroe

|David Foster

|1 Episode

2016

|The Hollow Crown

|Basset

|2 Episodes

2017

|Endeavour

|Dudley Jessop

|1 Episode

2018

|Doctors

|Kieran Barnes

|1 Episode

2019

|Chernobyl

|Dmitri

|1 Episode

2019

|Sanditon

|Mr Crowe

|7 Episodes

2021

|Doctor Who

|Old Swarm

|2 Episodes

2022–present

|House of the Dragon

|Larys Strong

|Main role, 13 episodes

2023

|Great Expectations

|Mr Drummle

|TV Mini Series, 4 Episodes

TBA

| Blade Runner 2099

| {{TBA}}

| Filming

= Stage =

class="wikitable"

!Year{{Cite web |title=Curtis Brown |url=https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/matthew-needham/cv |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=www.curtisbrown.co.uk}}

!Title

!Role

!Notes

2009

|Shades

|Mark

|Royal Court Theatre

2009

|The Grapes of Wrath

|Noah

|Chichester Festival Theatre

2011