Matthew Gregory Wise (born 15 May 1966) is an English actor and producer. He has appeared in several British television programmes and feature films. He played the role of John Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility, which also starred Emma Thompson, whom he later married.
Early life and education Wise was born on 15 May 1966 in Newcastle upon Tyne to architect parents Douglass Wise and Yvonne Jeannine Czeiler. He was educated at the independent St Peter's School, York. He went to Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh to study architecture and performed at Bedlam Theatre. Wise studied drama at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Career
His first professional job was on stage, starring in Good Rockin' Tonight, a musical based on TV producer Jack Good's life.
His television work includes four BBC period dramas: The Moonstone with Keeley Hawes, The Buccaneers alongside Carla Gugino, Madame Bovary with Frances O'Connor, The Riff Raff Element in 1992 and 1993, and as Sir Charles Maulver in the 2007 five-part series Cranford. In 1999 he starred as Marshall in ITV's seven-part drama Wonderful You alongside his future mother-in-law Phyllida Law and future brother-in-law Richard Lumsden. He filmed a number of readings of love scenes from a selection of classic and modern love scenes, from Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles to Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss for The Carte Noire Readers. In 2011, he appeared in Hallmark Channel's Honeymoon for One, starring Nicollette Sheridan.
He is also the producer of the 2010 BBC/Masterpiece production The Song of Lunch starring his wife, actress Emma Thompson, and Alan Rickman.
In February 2015, Wise made his theatrical return starring in Brad Fraser's Kill Me Now at the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, London. In July 2015, he played the role of emotionally distanced father Gilbert Aldridge in the BBC's two-part television adaptation of Sadie Jones' debut novel The Outcast. Wise portrayed Lord Louis Mountbatten in series 1 and 2 (2016/17) of Netflix's The Crown.
Wise won the celebrity version of The Great British Bake Off in aid of Stand Up to Cancer in 2019.
In 2021, Wise was a contestant on nineteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. He was partnered with Karen Hauer and the couple were eliminated in the fourth week.
Personal life Wise has been in a relationship with actress Emma Thompson since 1995, when they met on the set of Sense and Sensibility. Their daughter Gaia was conceived through IVF and was born in 1999. They married in 2003, and that same year, they informally adopted Tindyebwa Agaba, a Rwandan orphan and former child soldier.
He is a Patron for End of Life Doula UK, a membership association for end of life doulas (also known as death doulas) in the UK, and believes that planning for end of life is an act of love.
Wise is a socialist.
Filmography
Film Title Year Role NotesFeast of July1995Arch WilsonSense and Sensibility1995John WilloughbyJudas Kiss1998Ben DysonAfrica1999Josh SinclairMad Cows1999AlexThe Discovery of Heaven2001Max DeliusHills Like White Elephants2002The AmericanshortJohnny English2003Agent OneFive Moons Plaza2003Francesco DoniEvery Seven Years2004BoyfriendshortThe Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby2005Minister LeeA Cock and Bull Story2005GregThe Disappeared2008Jake RyanMorris: A Life with Bells On2009Miloslav VillandryEffie Gray2013John Ruskin 3 Days in Havana2013Harry SmithWalking on Sunshine2014DougA Private War2018Professor David Irens Military Wives 2019 Richard
Television Title Year Role NotesA Masculine Ending 1992 Jamie Baird TV filmCovington Cross1992Henry of GaultEpisode: PilotTyphon's People1993 Cato Macgill / Adam Prime TV filmThe Riff Raff Element1993Alister TV seriesTaggart1994Greg MartinEpisode: HellfireFeast of July 1995 Arch WilsonThe Buccaneers1995Guy ThwaiteTV mini-seriesThe Moonstone1996Franklin BlakeTV filmTales from the Crypt1996Justin Amberson Episode: Fatal CaperThe Place of the Dead1997Corporal Hugh Brittan TV filmHospital!1997Dr. Jim NightingaleHouse of Frankenstein 1997 1997Crispian Grimes TV filmAlice Through the Looking Glass1998Red KnightTV filmWonderful You1999Marshall, chartered accountantTV mini-seriesMadame Bovary2000RodolpheTV film (episodes 2, 3)Battersea to Bethlehem: A Christmas Story2001NarratorSirens2002Oliver RiceHornblower, Loyalty2003Major CôtardTV filmAccording to Bex2005Charles MathersNumber 132006Professor AndersonBBC Ghost Stories for ChristmasTrial & Retribution Sins of the Father2006John HarrogateTV filmElizabeth David: A Life in Recipes2006Peter HigginsTV filmAgatha Christie's Marple2007Nevile StrangeEpisode: Towards ZeroPlace of Execution2008Philip HawkinTV filmCranford2009Sir Charles MaulverThe Song of Lunch2010Producer TV filmLaw & Order: UK2011Gavin WilliamsEpisode 32: CrushHoneymoon for One2011SeanTV filmHomefront2012Major Pete Bartham2014Duncan LancasterThe Outcast2015Gilbert AldridgeGalavant2016Arnold GalavantThe Crown2016–2017Louis, Earl Mountbatten of BurmaMain role (Seasons 1–2)Modus2017Warren SchiffordStrange Angel2018Alfred MillerTV seriesStrictly Come Dancing2021ContestantSeries 19The Buccaneers2025Reede RobinsonSeason 2
See also
List of British actors
References
External links