Ms. Knightley next stars in Tony Scott’s action thriller Domino, as real-life bounty hunter Domino Harvey. She is currently at work filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (the first of two sequels to be filmed back-to-back). The UK native acquired an agent at an early age, and appeared in her first television drama (Ferdinand Fairfax’ Royal Celebration) at the age of 6. Her subsequent television credits included playing Lara in Giacomo Campiotti’s miniseries remake of Doctor Zhivago (opposite Hans Matheson). Ms. Knightley’s first big-screen role was as a handmaiden in George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Among her subsequent films were Gillies Mackinnon’s Pure; Antoine Fuqua’s King Arthur (again for producer Jerry Bruckheimer), as Guinevere; and John Maybury’s The Jacket.  

MATTHEW MACFADYEN (Mr. Darcy) Matthew Macfadyen has become best known to audiences on both sides of the Atlantic for his compelling portrayal of government agent Tom Quinn in the hit series Spooks.  The series (co-starring Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, and Peter Firth) enjoyed three successful seasons on the BBC.  Mr. Macfadyen is now also making a name for himself in films. After small but pivotal roles in Ben Elton’s Maybe Baby (with Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson), Michael Apted’s Enigma (with Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet), and Paul McGuigan’s The Reckoning (with Paul Bettany and Willem Dafoe), he played his first lead film role (opposite Miranda Otto) in Brad McGann’s In My Father’s Den. The dramatic thriller attracted attention from the worldwide film industry.

Mr. Macfadyen’s acting career began with extensive schooling. He attended Oakham School in Rutland , Leicestershire, where he was a drama scholar from 1990 to 1992. On leaving Oakham, he was accepted at the famed Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). He graduated from RADA to join the innovative Cheek by Jowl theatre company, and made his professional stage debut in the troupe’s production of The Duchess of Malfi. He also performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, in productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and School for Scandal, and on international tours. In 1998, Mr. Macfadyen starred again with Cheek by Jowl, as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, opposite Saskia Reeves as Beatrice. The production “crossed the pond” to the U.S. , playing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). In 1999, he was nominated for the prestigious RSC Ian Charleson Award for Best Classical Actor under 30.  

At that time, Mr. Macfadyen began working in U.K. television, taking a role in David Skynner’s telefilm remake of Wuthering Heights. He was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award for his first television starring role, in Peter Kosminsky’s BAFTA Award-winning BBC drama Warriors. He subsequently starred opposite Sir Michael Gambon in Stephen Poliakoff’s miniseries Perfect Strangers, again winning acclaim. His subsequent U.K. television miniseries appearances include David Yates’ BAFTA Award-winning The Way We Live Now and Peter Kosminsky’s The Project. Mr. Macfadyen’s most recent stage appearance is in Nicholas Hytner’s National Theater production of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, starring as Prince Hal opposite Sir Michael Gambon’s Falstaff.  

BRENDA BLETHYN (Mrs. Bennet) Brenda Blethyn will next be seen starring onscreen in Gaby Dellal’s On a Clear Day, opposite Peter Mullan. Her performance in Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies gained the actress international recognition, as she won Best Actress honours from the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, the Cannes International Film Festival, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. She was also nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Academy Award.

Ms. Blethyn was again nominated for an Academy Award, as Best Supporting Actress, for her performance in Mark Herman’s Little Voice, which also brought her BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, and Golden Globe Award nominations. She has been nominated a third time for the latter, for her performance in Nigel Cole’s Saving Grace. Her other film credits include Cherie Nowlan’s upcoming Clubland; John McKay’s Piccadilly Jim ; Kevin Spacey’s Beyond the Sea; Nicole Holofcener’s Lovely & Amazing; Robert Redford’s A River Runs Through It; and Nicolas Roeg’s The Witches. Ms. Blethyn was an Emmy Award nominee for her performance in Robert Dornhelm’s miniseries Anne Frank: The Whole Story. Her other notable television credits include Christopher Menaul’s Belonging (for which she earned a BAFTA Award nomination); Benjamin Ross’ RKO 281 (as Louella Parsons) and Roger Michell’s miniseries The Buddha of Suburbia. She has been acting on the stage for 30 years, and recently starred on Broadway in Marsha Norman’s ‘night, Mother, opposite Edie Falco for director Michael Mayer. In 2000, Ms. Blethyn was awarded the Order of the British Empire .  

DONALD SUTHERLAND (Mr. Bennet)  Donald Sutherland’s career as an actor encompasses over 100 films. These include such classics as Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen; Robert Altman’s MASH; Alan J. Pakula’s Klute (opposite Jane Fonda); Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now (opposite Julie Christie); John Schlesinger’s The Day of the Locust; Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1900; Federico Fellini’s Casanova; John Landis’ National Lampoon’s Animal House; Robert Redford’s Ordinary People (opposite Mary Tyler Moore and Timothy Hutton); and Oliver Stone’s JFK.  

Mr. Sutherland’s many other films include Paul Mazursky’s Alex in Wonderland; Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers; Bob Clark’s Murder by Decree; Richard Marquand’s Eye of the Needle; Richard Pearce’s Threshold; Euzhan Palcy’s A Dry White Season; Fred Schepisi’s Six Degrees of Separation; Barry Levinson’s Disclosure; Joel Schumacher’s A Time to Kill; Robert Towne’s Without Limits; Clint Eastwood’s Space Cowboys; F. Gary Gray’s The Italian Job; and Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain.  

He will shortly be seen starring in Griffin Dunne’s Fierce People (opposite Diane Lane); Robert Edwards’ Land of the Blind (opposite Ralph Fiennes); Aric Avelino’s American Gun (opposite Sissy Spacek); James C.E. Burke’s Aurora Borealis (opposite Louise Fletcher and Juliette Lewis); and Robert Towne’s Ask the Dust (opposite Salma Hayek).  

Mr. Sutherland won Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for his performance in Chris Gerolmo’s Citizen X, and won a second Golden Globe Award for his performance in John Frankenheimer’s Path to War. 

JUDI DENCH (Lady Catherine de Bourg) Since playing Ophelia in Hamlet at the Old Vic 40 years ago, Judi Dench has received worldwide acclaim for a career marked by outstanding performances in both classical and contemporary roles and notable for encompassing the full range of the stage, television, and motion pictures. She has won 9 BAFTA Awards to date. Ms. Dench received the OBE (Order of the British Empire ) in 1970 for services to the theatre, and subsequently became a DBE (Dame of the British Empire ) in 1998 and received the Order of the Companion of Honour this year.  

She won the Academy Award for her performance in John Madden’s Shakespeare in Love, in addition to a BAFTA Award and the National Society of Film Critics citation. An earlier collaboration with the director, Mrs. Brown, earned her Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination. Ms. Dench was again an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee for both Lasse Hallström’s Chocolat (for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award) and Richard Eyre’s Iris (for which she won a BAFTA Award).  

Her other feature film credits include David Hare’s Wetherby; Merchant Ivory’s A Room with a View (for which she won a BAFTA Award); David Jones’ 84 Charing Cross Road; Charles Sturridge’s A Handful of Dust (for which she won a BAFTA Award); Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V and Hamlet; Franco Zeffirelli’s Tea with Mussolini; Lasse Hallström’s The Shipping News; Charles Dance’s Ladies in Lavender; and four movies as spy boss “M” opposite Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, the most recent of which was Lee Tamahori’s Die Another Day. Ms. Dench will soon be seen starring opposite Bob Hoskins in the title role of Stephen Frears’ Mrs. Henderson Presents, and next begins work on Richard Eyre’s Notes on a Scandal.  

Her television work includes the long-running series As Time Goes By (starring opposite Geoffrey Palmer); the animated series Angelina Ballerina (starring opposite her daughter, Finty Williams); and Gillies Mackinnon’s telefilm (also for Working Title) The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, for which she won BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards.  

In recent years, Ms. Dench has starred onstage in David Hare’s Amy’s View (winning a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway production); Peter Hall’s staging of The Royal Family; David Hare’s The Breath of Life, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, with Dame Maggie Smith; and All’s Well That Ends Well, for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and then the West End. 

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