Matthew Rhys has built a distinguished career portraying characters defined by intellect, restraint, and moral tension. From the Soviet operative Philip Jennings in “The Americans,” which earned him an Emmy, to the weary defense attorney in “Perry Mason,” Rhys gravitates toward protagonists navigating the difficult space between principle and survival. His latest project marks a sharp departure. In the acclaimed Netflix limited series “The Beast in Me,” he plays Niles, a magnetic and deeply unsettling presence whose arrival disrupts the fragile solitude of a grieving author played by Claire Danes. Even Rhys was surprised. “I was confused when I read it,” he admitted. “I never get seen for characters like Niles. I asked if they were sure I wasn’t up for the FBI cop.”
“The Beast in Me” follows Aggie, a once celebrated writer living in isolation after a devastating loss. When Niles inserts himself into her world, the story becomes a taut psychological thriller built on shifting power, damaged psyches, and the dangerous intimacy between two people who see something familiar in the other’s wounds. Rhys’ performance suggests a predatory intelligence beneath immaculate self-control. The work has earned him some of the strongest reviews of his career and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series.
Rather than play Niles as an archetypal villain, Rhys focused on building a psychological framework that felt grounded. “Initially I saw him as a pure sociopath,” he said. “But what really interested me was where it all came from.” He collaborated with the writers to shape a history of trauma, environment, and latent tendencies that informed the character’s precision and volatility.
Rhys also reinvented his vocal and physical language for the role. After years refining the grounded American voices of Jennings and Mason, he developed something sharper and more clipped for Niles. “Niles has spent his life trying to get away from him,” Rhys explained. “I wanted the voice to reflect that.” Small calibrations in posture and stillness completed the portrait, allowing the threat to emanate from behavior rather than action.
The series hinges on Rhys’ dynamic with Claire Danes, crystallized in their now-signature lunch scene, filmed over two full days. Rhys called working with her a transformative experience. “She’s a powerhouse. You have to show up ready. There’s no coasting.”
“The Beast in Me” has generated one of the most intense audience reactions of Rhys’ career, something he finds oddly reassuring. “Great thrillers rely on relationships and the interplay between people,” he said. “If that holds an audience, it means people are still interested in the human condition.”
As awards season builds and Rhys steps into the next chapter with “Presumed Innocent” Season Two, he joined Awards Focus for a conversation about embracing the unfamiliar, crafting a villain from the inside out, and finding creative freedom in one of his boldest performances to date.
Awards Focus: To start, how did you get involved with the project?
Matthew Rhys: It was sent to my agent, who passed it on to me, but I was confused when I read it. I thought, wait, they want to see me for Niles? I never get seen for [characters like] Niles. I asked if they were sure I wasn’t up for the FBI cop. They said no, Niles. That was disconcerting. I wondered what it was about me they thought could play him, because I’d never done anything like that. But I was excited. I rarely get to play characters like this, and they tend to be very interesting and very fun. Niles certainly was. That was exhilarating for me.
AF: You’ve played morally complicated but ultimately noble characters like Philip Jennings and Perry Mason. What was your first impression of Niles? Did you see him as a pure sociopath?
Rhys: Initially, yes. But what really interested me was where it all came from. It couldn’t just be mustache-twirling evil. I kept asking the writers where it stemmed from. When they started talking about his father, his brother, and the family dynamics that shaped him, it became more interesting. I wanted to build a coherent structure for why he’s like this, not just because the story needed it.
AF: As you shaped that backstory, what was your final impression of him? Is Niles pure evil, or something more complicated?
Rhys: I think there are genuinely evil people in the world, sometimes without explanation. Other times, there are influences that bring something latent to the surface. With Niles, it felt like a combination. Something was already there, and childhood trauma magnified it. That was how I understood him.
AF: The first time we see you, you’re standing at the top of the stairwell. We’ve already been warned about this character, and your delivery is instantly unsettling. Were you shooting that in sequence, and did you know that would be the audience’s first impression?
Rhys: I knew it would be the first time the audience saw him, but we didn’t shoot it early. What came almost immediately was the lunch scene. That was my second day. As terrifying as that was, it gave me enormous real estate to understand who he was and who he was in relation to Aggie. By the time we shot that stairwell scene, I had a much clearer sense of him.
AF: Your American accent is so strong that people often forget you’re Welsh. For Niles, you created a vocal identity that feels very different from Perry or Philip. What was the intention behind that?
Rhys: I thought about Jonathan Banks, who plays his father. Niles has spent his life trying to get away from him, so I wanted a voice that was very different. Jonathan has a deep, grounded presence. I wanted Niles to be a bit higher, slightly nasal, more clipped. Something that felt deliberately removed.
AF: Early on, there’s a kind of petulance to him. He’s frightening not through action, but through expression and behavior. Was that challenging, especially since you said you rarely get these roles?
Rhys: It was. There are moments where his honesty is vicious, and that can become broad very quickly. I didn’t want it to tip into cliché. I had a code with Antonio Campos that if it felt too much, we’d pull it back. The challenge was finding where that behavior lived in a real place. When someone says something offensive in a very matter-of-fact way, it can be more arresting than overt aggression. That was the temperature I was looking for.
AF: Given how beloved you are from recent work, the audience reaction to this character must be interesting.
Rhys: It’s odd. This is one of the projects where I’ve had the strongest public reaction. People say, “Oh my God, you’re evil,” and I hope they saw the show. But it’s reassuring in a way. “The Beast in Me” is an old-school thriller. Great thrillers work on relationships and the interplay between people. If that holds an audience, that’s comforting. It means people are still interested in the human condition.
AF: I was surprised there wasn’t any source material. It feels like a novel. When you were introduced to Niles, how much of what we see was on the page versus something you built?
Rhys: It was a solid collaboration. Gabe Rotter created the character, and a lot of it was there early on. You take those elements and start embellishing. Much of it was already on the page, which is a treat for someone as lazy as me.
AF: Why do you think Niles take such an intense interest in Aggie?
Rhys: He sees a kindred spirit. Someone wounded in a similar way. He sees his shadow self in her. There’s a freedom in the honesty of people who have been through a lot. They’re deeply open and deeply closed at the same time. He looks at her and sees himself, and he likes what he sees.
AF: The lunch scene you referenced feels like the signature scene of the series. When choosing a project, how much does a role matter versus knowing someone like Claire Danes is already attached?
Rhys: Watching “Homeland,” I always thought Claire was extraordinary. When you’re working opposite her, you feel it immediately. She’s a powerhouse. You have to show up ready. There’s no coasting. It’s terrifying and exhilarating. She raises your game.
AF: You had two days to shoot that scene, which is rare. How did it evolve?
Rhys: We were incredibly lucky. It’s a huge scene that establishes so much. Having time to explore, to go too far and then pull it back, to adjust the levels, that’s a luxury you don’t often get. The evolution was vast.
AF: There are a few violent moments, including the scene where Niles kills his ex-wife. How do you prepare for something like that, and then step away from it?
Rhys: It’s so alien to me that all I can do is pretend really hard. I can’t draw from experience. That kind of pretending is different from emotional recall. The switch is cleaner. I hope it works, because I don’t know what it feels like to bludgeon someone to death.
AF: You also share scenes with Brittany Snow. What did you think of what she brought to her character?
Rhys: She’s incredibly deft. She presents something, then turns it on its head. You think you know what’s happening, and suddenly you don’t. That kind of chameleon work is rare.
AF: Did you know how Niles’ story would end when you started shooting?
Rhys: No. We had three episodes. I kept asking Claire, because she was ahead. She told me to trust Howard Gordon. That’s what he does. And she was right. He pulls something out you never expect.
AF: Any projects coming up that you’re allowed to talk about?
Rhys: “Presumed Innocent” Season Two. My first day is today. I’m heading out in about 45 minutes. I’m working with Rachel Brosnahan.
AF: Congratulations. And for what it’s worth, “The Americans” deserves a Netflix second life.
Rhys: We should do a “Homeland” and “The Americans” mash-up.
AF: Where Claire hunts the two of you.
Rhys: Exactly.