Exeter actor Matthew Goode stars in Watchmen

By D+CFilm, on Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Exeter’s own Matthew Goode is staring in what promises to be one of the hottest films of the year – Watchmen.

The Exeter-born actor hot-footed it from Brideshead Revisited to take up the role of Adrian ‘Ozymandias’ Veidt in the film based on the 1986 graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

Directors, such at Terry Gilliam and Darren Araonfsky toyed with trying to film the multi-layered and nuanced graphic novel (vigilante superheroes, plus murder, plus conspiracy, plus cold war tensions, plus Richard Nixon). But it’s Zack Snyder (he of 300) who’s brought it off, for a cool $120 million.

Matthew started out on TV, with My Family and Other Animals with Imelda Staunton, as well as the Trollope adaptation He Knew He Was Right.

His screen breakthrough came with the Woody Allen pic Match Point.

More recently he’s starred Brideshead Revisited with Emma Thompson and Michael Gambon, he said: “I get starstruck just like anyone, which is great because I think my career must be going in the right direction.”

And from there went straight into filming the action pick Watchmen.

“It was quite hard work,” he said.

“Watchmen was something completely different for me after Brideshead Revisited. I put on about a stone – pure muscle, of course! I had to eat a lot of chicken breasts and protein bars, and then have a week off and have a few drinks.”

Posted by Cptn

• Join the Devon and Cornwall film online community.