A Downton Abbey star looked unrecognisable as he sported a thick beard in a trailer for a new Netflix thriller.
Netflix’s highly anticipated crime drama Dept. Q, which lands on the streamer tomorrow, is a Scottish series based on the book series by Jussi Adler-Olsen.
The series sees the English actor trading drawing rooms for dark basements as he stars in the drama as a cranky detective with PTSD, Carl Morck, who tries to solve cold cases from a shabby office.
The actor is best known for his tall, dark and handsome appearance from his countless other roles in TV and film during his illustrious career, in which he is, more often than not, perfectly groomed.
But he looks a far cry from that as he sports a rugged beard in the new drama – so do YOU know who it is?
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A Downton Abbey star looked unrecognisable as he sported a thick beard in a trailer for a new Netflix thriller
The series sees the English actor trading drawing rooms for dark basements as he stars in the drama as a cranky detective with PTSD, Carl Morck, who tries to solve cold cases from a shabby office
It is none other than Matthew Goode, 47, who is best known as dashing Henry Talbot, race car driver and love interest of Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey.
He also won hearts in The Crown as society photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon in the second season of the biographical drama series, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
The British heartthrob has been busy working on varying roles throughout the years, from cult horror hit Stoker to The Imitation Game and even dabbling in vampire fantasy with A Discovery of Witches in 2018.
Despite his varied resume, he was never known as the biggest name, making him Hollywood’s best-kept secret – until now.
Matthew, who was born in Exeter, Devon, is the youngest in his family. He has a brother, two half-brothers and a half-sister.
His father, Anthony, was a geologist, and his mother, Jennifer, was a nurse and amateur theatre director.
He lives quietly in Surrey with his wife, Sophie Dymoke, who used to work in the fashion industry, and their three children, Matilda, 16, Teddie, 11, and Ralph, nine.
Goode’s film debut came in 2002 with the television film Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.
It is none other than Matthew Goode, 47, who is best known as dashing Henry Talbot, race car driver and love interest of Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey
Matthew looks a far cry from this usual ultra-groomed appearance as he sports a rugged beard in the new drama
It was the role in Downton Abbey that really propelled his career. Goode joined the cast in the final episode of Series 5
However his first major break came in 2004’s Chasing Liberty, playing opposite American pop darling Mandy Moore as the roguishly charming British spy protecting a runaway First Daughter.
His performance earned him a nomination for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout Movie Star.
The film caught the attention of Hollywood and soon after, he was cast in Woody Allen’s Match Point, alongside Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
After this, he portrayed Colin Firth’s lover, Jim, in A Single Man, before taking to rom-com as Declan in Leap Year, opposite Amy Adams.
Matthew had a role in Amma Asante’s Belle (2013), The Imitation Game, an Oscar-nominated biopic of Alan Turing starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and Allied, a war thriller starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.
From there, the roles kept coming. He starred in Brideshead Revisited and Watchmen showing a rare ability to disappear into wildly different roles, all while keeping a low profile in real life.
He also made notable television appearances even joining the cast of the legal drama The Good Wife from 2014 to 2015, portraying the enigmatic lawyer Finn Polmar.
![In Chasing Liberty [2004] he played Ben Calder, a charming and mysterious man who becomes the love interest of the film's protagonist, Anna Foster, played by Mandy Moore](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/05/29/09/98818221-0-In_Chasing_Liberty_2004_he_played_Ben_Calder_a_charming_and_myst-a-8_1748509176674.jpg)
In Chasing Liberty [2004] he played Ben Calder, a charming and mysterious man who becomes the love interest of the film’s protagonist, Anna Foster, played by Mandy Moore
He lives quietly in Surrey with his wife, Sophie Dymoke, who used to work in the fashion industry, and their three children, Matilda, 16, Teddie, 11, and Ralph, nine (pictured together in 2020)
However it was the role in Downton Abbey that really propelled his career. Goode joined the cast in the final episode of Series 5, first appearing in the 2014 Christmas special as Henry Talbot, a well-connected gentleman and professional racing driver.
His character quickly became a romantic interest for Lady Mary Crawley, played by Michelle Dockery, and he went on to play a key role throughout Series 6, the final full season of the ITV period drama.
He had reportedly asked to be part of the popular drama years before and it ‘hadn’t worked out’ out the time but it was a job he was doing with Dockery that led to him being cast.
Matthew reprised his role as Henry Talbot in the first Downton Abbey feature film, released in 2019. His role was small, appearing briefly at the end of the film due to his limited availability during production.
