Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982)^[1] is an English actor. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in theITV period drama seriesDownton Abbey (2010–2012).

Dan Stevens
Stevens in 2024
Born	Daniel Jonathan Stevens (1982-10-10)10 October 1982 (age 42) London, England
Education	Emmanuel College, Cambridge (BA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1999-present
Spouse	Susie Hariet ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	3

He also starred as David in thethriller filmThe Guest (2014), SirLancelot in the adventure filmNight at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014),The Beast/Prince in Disney'slive action adaptation ofBeauty and the Beast (2017), Lorin Willis in the biographical legal dramaMarshall (2017),Charles Dickens in the biographical dramaThe Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) and RussianEurovision singer Alexander Lemtov inEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020). From 2017 to 2019, he starred asDavid Haller in theFX seriesLegion. In 2018, he starred in the Netflix horrorApostle, and since 2023, he has starred as Korvo Opposites in the animated seriesSolar Opposites. In 2024, Stevens starred as Trapper inGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Stevens was adopted at birth by parents who were both teachers, and grew up in Wales andsoutheast England.^[2][3] He has a younger brother, Jason Andrew Stevens (b. 1984), who was adopted from different biological parents.^[3] Stevensboarded on a scholarship atTonbridge School, aprivate school inKent. There he became interested in drama after auditioning for thetitle role inMacbeth with his teacher, novelistJonathan Smith.^[4][5] From the age of 15, he spent his summers training and performing with theNational Youth Theatre in London.

Stevens studiedEnglish Literature atEmmanuel College, Cambridge.^[3][6] While at Cambridge, he was a member of theFootlights withStefan Golaszewski,Tim Key andMark Watson,^[7] and was also active in theMarlowe Society. He was first spotted by directorPeter Hall at a Marlowe Society production ofMacbeth, in which he played the title character alongside Hall's daughter,Rebecca Hall.^[8][9][10]

In 2004, Stevens began his professional acting career whenPeter Hall cast him asOrlando in his touring production ofShakespeare'sAs You Like It. The tour took the production to theRose Theatre inKingston upon Thames, theBrooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, theCurran Theatre in San Francisco, and theAhmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. His debut performance earned him glowing reviews from prominent critics inBritain and theUnited States,^{[11][12][13][14]} as well as a commendation at the 2004Ian Charleson Awards.^[15]

In 2006, Stevens starred as Nick Guest in theBBCadaptation ofAlan Hollinghurst'sMan Booker Prize-winning novelThe Line of Beauty.^[16] Later that year, he played Simon Bliss inHay Fever byNoël Coward at London'sHaymarket Theatre, alongsidePeter Bowles and DameJudi Dench; the director was Peter Hall. He also performed as Lord Holmwood inan adaptation ofDracula for the BBC, and as Basil Brookes in the BBC Emmy Award-winning film,Maxwell. That same year, he was named one ofScreen International's 2006 Stars Of Tomorrow.^[17]

In 2008, Stevens appeared in the BBC adaptation ofJane Austen's novel,Sense & Sensibility, playingEdward Ferrars, and the West End revival of Noël Coward'sThe Vortex. In January 2009, he appeared on New Year's Day inAgatha Christie's Marple: Nemesis on ITV1 in Britain.^[18] He also appeared in an adaptation ofThe Turn of the Screw featuring futureDownton Abbey costarMichelle Dockery.^[19] In June 2009, he returned to theWest End, playing Septimus Hodge in an acclaimed revival ofTom Stoppard'sArcadia at theDuke of York's Theatre.^[20]

In 2010, Stevens got his biggest break^[21] when he was cast asMatthew Crawley in theITV seriesDownton Abbey, created and written byOscar-winning^[22] screenwriterJulian Fellowes.^[23] The series went on to be a global sensation^[24] and has been nominated for severalEmmy,BAFTA,Golden Globe andScreen Actors Guild Awards since its debut. The central love story of Matthew Crawley and his distant cousin,Lady Mary Crawley, played byMichelle Dockery, was enormously popular. Determined to move on with his career, Stevens chose to leave the series after finishing the third season and the Christmas Special in 2012.^[25][26] His exit caused a huge uproar with fans, who notably took toTwitter and other social media sites to express their anger at the character's death.^[27]

In November 2011, Stevens guest-hosted an episode ofHave I Got News for You. In March 2012, he completed shootingVamps, fromAmy Heckerling, andSummer in February, anEdwardian romance film set in an artist colony.^[28] Also in 2012, Stevens moved with his family to New York City,^[29] when he made his Broadway debut that year oppositeJessica Chastain andDavid Strathairn inThe Heiress.^[30]

In 2014, Stevens starred in the independent filmThe Guest, winning critical acclaim for his portrayal of a recently discharged army veteran who goes on a killing spree to protect his true identity.^[31][32][33] He earned aSaturn Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance. Also in 2014, he appeared in themagic realism comedy-drama filmThe Cobbler withAdam Sandler andDustin Hoffman, and in the dark action filmA Walk Among the Tombstones withLiam Neeson. He played asimulacrum ofSir Lancelot in the 2014 comedy filmNight at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb withBen Stiller andRobin Williams .^{[34][35][36][37]}

In February 2016, Stevens was cast in the lead role ofDavid Charles Haller in theFX seriesLegion, anX-Men-related drama created byNoah Hawley and he also starred alongsideAnne Hathaway andJason Sudeikis, giving life to Tim, Gloria's ex-boyfriend, inColossal.^[38] The first season began airing in February 2017 and received critical acclaim; a second season aired the next year, and was renewed for a third season in June 2018.^[39][40]

In 2017, Stevens played the titular role ofthe Beast, oppositeEmma Watson asBelle, in Disney'slive-action adaptation ofBeauty and the Beast, directed byBill Condonthe cast was also accompanied byLuke Evans,Ewan McGregor,Emma Thompson,Ian McKellen,Kevin Kline,Stanley Tucci andJosh Gad.^[41] The film was released in March 2017 to positive reviews, and earned over $1.2 billion in worldwide box office revenue, making it the highest-grossing live-action musical film, thesecond highest-grossing film of 2017, and the17th highest-grossing film of all time.^[42][43][44] At the same year, he appeared inMarshall withChadwick Boseman,Josh Gad andKate Hudson,^[45] andThe Man Who Invented Christmas, directed byBharat Nalluri, and co-starringChristopher Plummer andJonathan Pryce.^[46]

In 2018, Stevens starred in theNetflixthriller filmApostle, directed byGareth Huw Evans.^[47][48] In 2019, Stevens co-starred in the dramaLucy in the Sky, released in September 2019. It co-starsNatalie Portman andJon Hamm, and is directed byLegion creator, Noah Hawley.

In 2020, Stevens co-starred alongsideHarrison Ford inThe Call of the Wild, released on 21 February 2020. The film is based on the American classic novel byJack London. He also returned toBroadway to star inMartin McDonagh's dark comedyHangmen. TheAtlantic Theater Company production co-starredMark Addy andEwen Bremner. Stevens played the pivotal role of Mooney. The production was to have a 20-week limited engagement at theGolden Theatre inManhattan.^[49] Previews began on 29 February, however the production's run was suspended on 11 March, before it had officially opened, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. On 20 March the producers announced with regret that the production was closed permanently. All Broadway theatres were shut down soon afterwards.^[50] The same year, he appears as an "absurdly lascivious" Russian crooner in the Netflix musical comedy filmEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, co-starring withWill Ferrell andRachel McAdams.^[51]

In 2021, Stevens played a robot in the German languagesci-fi romanceI'm Your Man.^[52][53][54]

In 2022, Stevens voiced the villain Admiral Hornagold in the animated movieThe Sea Beast which premiered onNetflix.

In 2024, Stevens starred in the horror filmCuckoo withHunter Schafer,Marton Csokas andJessica Henwick. That same year he also played a leading role as theveterinarian Trapper inGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire withRebecca Hall andBrian Tyree Henry, directed byAdam Wingard. Stevens also appeared as Frank, a corrupt ex-police detective inAbigail withMelissa Barrera.

He has upcoming roles in biographical dramaSwiped withLily James, horror filmThe Ritual withAl Pacino, and as lead actor and executive producer of the third season ofThe Terror, adaptingVictor LaValle's novelThe Devil in Silver, forAMC.

Stevens has narrated over 30audiobooks, includingCasino Royale,Wolf Hall andWar Horse. In 2014, he was nominated for twoAudie Awards, in the Classic category and Solo Narration (Male) category forFrankenstein.^[55]

Outside acting, Stevens maintains an interest in writing and literature and is editor-at-large forThe Junket, an online quarterly that he co-founded in 2011 with some friends.^[56] He was a member of the judging panel for the 2012Man Booker Prize,^[23][57] and was a regular columnist for theSunday Telegraph.^[58]

A cricket enthusiast, he played for theAuthors XI team, which is composed of a number of prominent British writers, in 2012.^[59] He also contributed a chapter to the team's bookThe Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon,^[60] which was shortlisted for the 2014Cricket Society andM.C.C. Book of the Year Award.^[61]

In 2009, Stevens married South African jazz singer and singing teacher Susie Hariet. They have three children.^{[62][63][64][65]} He is fluent in English, French, and German.^[66]

• Dan Stevens onTwitter
• Dan Stevens atIMDb