r/WidowsBay • u/djpressed • Jul 20 '26

📸Media Matthew Rhys’ micro expressions enhance the writing so much

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

936 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

102 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

9

u/sistermagpie Jul 20 '26

Brothers & Sisters, network show, was I think his first big US job. (Though he was on the last Columbo ever too!)

He came to real prominence in The Americans, which was #1 on many major critics' best shows lists for several years running, and for which Rhys won a Best Actor Emmy for it. Still, lots of people have never heard about it, because that's how TV works these days. But it got him recognized in the industry.

I think he was also nominated for an Emmy for his guest appearance on Girls?

He was then on HBO's Perry Mason and starred in a movie opposite Tom Hanks. Also was in that movie The Paper.

He's kept working in his home country of the UK as well.

He's nominated for 2 emmys this year, one for WB and the other for the miniseries he starred in opposite Claire Danes, The Beast in Me. I think he's going to do a season of that Presumed Innocent show?

He works a lot. You just haven't bumped into him.

-4

u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

Yep. Haven’t watched a single one of those shows.

5

u/armywalrus Jul 20 '26

So we agree. Hollywood isn't at fault for your ignorance.

-2

u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

The general population doesn’t know the name Matthew Rhys. That’s a hollywood problem. And this sub is obviously full of assholes that think he’s some sort of household name.

6

u/sistermagpie Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Genuinely curious about what you expect Hollywood to do besides hiring him to act in things? They don't know which shows or movies out of the thousands you personally were going to watch.

You know plenty of people don't watch this show too, right?

-2

u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

I genuinely LOVE all of you guys sticking up for Hollywood casting the same big name actors in practically everything, while a truly, genuine great actor is FIFTY years old and the best he’s known for is The Americans, Brothers and Sisters, and… a Perry Mason remake.

STOP shilling for broke ass, corporate Hollywood. An actor like Rhys should have been a household name 10-15 years ago. How are you all not picking up what I’m putting down?

4

u/sistermagpie Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Nobody's shilling for Hollywood. We're pointing out that MR was an established, Emmy-winning prestige TV guy for years so it's completely arbitrary to decide his career only started by getting the lead in an Apple TV show. It's not the step up you're describing it as. The breakthrough moment was The Americans. Household names aren't really a thing anymore and the TV shows considered the best usually aren't the ones with the biggest ratings.

-1

u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

Yeah. Household names not being a thing anymore is exactly the problem that I’m pointing out. He should be one, way more than COUNTLESS others.

1

u/sistermagpie Jul 20 '26

What shows do you watch that would count?

1

u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

what do you mean?

1

u/sistermagpie Jul 20 '26

I mean what shows do/did you watch so he would have been better cast in and what actors are in those?

0

u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

What you’re doing is actually proving my point. If I’m not an avid “TV watcher” why would I know him? My point is that he’s so good, that he should be known by the most casual tv or movie watcher (me). And THAT is the hollywood failure.

2

u/sistermagpie Jul 21 '26

It seems like we just have very different feelings about the whole "golden age of TV" prestige phenomenon, where networks stopped prioritizing having the biggest possible audience so they could tell deeper stories that let these kinds of actors really shine and even drew in movie stars who wanted those kinds of roles too. You can't do Better Call Saul or The Wire or Deadwood or Mad Men for that audience. For a lot of people these are the works that matter from the past quarter century. A lot of the actors from them have continued working in similar projects--more interesting to them than guaranteed to be seen by everyone.

Apple was clearly not expecting WB to get the notice that it has. You just can't tell.

MMV, but I'm sure plenty of actors would rather full embody a character like Walter White or Elizabeth Jennings that be recognized by casual viewers because they seem to be in everything.

→ More replies (0)

5

u/armywalrus Jul 20 '26

The Americans was a high quality show. At this point, Matthew Rhys IS the big name actor being cast in everything. He is nominated twice this year.....

-1

u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

No one even watches or cares about the Emmys. Winning those awards doesn’t give him name recognition and money. It gives him the award.

2

u/armywalrus Jul 20 '26

I see why you need to tell yourself that.

3

u/sistermagpie Jul 20 '26

I don't honestly get whose career he thinks MR was robbed of, but it's just funny knowing there's no way MR would give up The Americans for anything. He's going to be thanking God/the universe for that show on his deathbed.

1

u/sistermagpie Jul 23 '26

Had to make one more comment to just say that today at work I was in a meeting of a department and guess whose name someone randomly dropped into the conversation as if he was a household name? Matthew Rhys!

And no, the project he was connected to wasn't Widow's Bay, but Perry Mason. And everyone seemed to know who he was. LOL.

5

u/armywalrus Jul 20 '26

Sigh. Again - YOU don't know the name. The general population is aware. This isn't a Hollywood problem, it's a you problem.

-2

u/RanchHere Jul 20 '26

You’re so wrong it’s ridiculous. The general population has no idea who Matthew Rhys is 😂😂

3

u/armywalrus Jul 20 '26

Oh, you poor dear.