“You used to give yourself all this hope and then you’d be knocked down. It was good,” the “Widow’s Bay” star said.

Matthew Rhys felt ‘enlivened’ and ‘crappy’ after losing buzzy biopic role to Edward Norton

“You used to give yourself all this hope and then you’d be knocked down. It was good,” the “Widow’s Bay” star said.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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August 15, 2026 11:26 a.m. ET

Matthew Rhys; Edward Norton. Credit:

Amanda Edwards/Getty;  Ian West/PA Images via Getty

- Matthew Rhys auditioned to play a biopic role that ultimately went to Edward Norton.

- He said that he “felt crappy” after losing the part: “It’s terrible.”

- However, he also said that the experience “enlivened me again.”

Matthew Rhys has very mixed feelings about missing out on a role that eventually landed an Oscar nomination.

The *Americans* star reflected on auditioning to play Pete Seeger — a part that ultimately went to Edward Norton — in James Mangold’s 2024 Bob Dylan biopic *A Complete Unknown*.

“I was like, Who got it? And they went, Ed Norton. I was, like, Oh, OK,” Rhys told* **The New York Times*. “But it’s terrible. I felt crappy, because it reminds you of everything you used to do.”

However, Rhys said that experiencing that rejection was also oddly encouraging. “You used to make yourself vulnerable,” he explained. “You used to give yourself all this hope and then you’d be knocked down. It was good. It enlivened me again.”

Edward Norton in ‘A Complete Unknown’.

Searchlight Pictures

Rhys said that continuing to audition for roles helps him maintain his passion and motivation, even if he doesn’t get every role. “That’s what drives the need to go and still do that at this stage,” he said. “And also, if you want something, get after it. Prove to them you can do it. I was kind of relieved that I still had that hunger.”

Most of Rhys’ most notable work has come on the small screen, but he has his sights set on film. “Movies to me are still the grail. The Oscars still have the allure to me,” he said. “That’s another echelon. You always think, especially with the awards, that it’ll fulfill some gaping hole that has been there your entire life. You go, If I just win an award, it’ll fulfill everything, and it does nothing. Whatever hole you’re trying to fill is still very much at the center of your gut.”

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Rhys is a rare double nominee at the Emmys this year, as he was recognized for both his comedic performance on *Widow’s Bay* and his dramatic turn on *The Beast in Me*. He reflected on whether these nominations make him feel more secure in his career.

“I find myself at moments going, Maybe I can relax,” he said. “And then you go, Oh, that’s the death knell if you do. I’ve just been through the up and down so much, I’m never quite comfortable. And in a way, it keeps you a little bit hungry.”

Matthew Rhys in Los Angeles on Aug. 13, 2026.

Katie Flores/Variety via Getty

The *Perry Mason* star said that he’s simultaneously pessimistic and optimistic about the trajectory of his career at any given moment — and he tries not to worry too much about his momentum after inheriting wisdom from his *A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood* costar Tom Hanks.

“I have the parrot that keeps saying: [parrot voice] ‘It’s all gonna fail! It’s all going to go downhill!’ I have that all the time,” he said. “This sounds like a perverse name drop, but Tom Hanks’s motto is ‘This, too, shall pass.’ He says that about everything. You’ve been out of work for a long time? This, too, shall pass. You win two Oscars? This, too, shall pass.”

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Rhys pointed to a West End play that he performed in 2000 as a moment of particular confidence. “I remember after doing *The Graduate* with Kathleen Turner, thinking I was on an ascent. Like, this is it,” he said. “And then I was out of work for a long time.”

That experience helped Rhys recognize the inherent volatility of an actor’s career. “I realized the entire journey is the roller coaster,” he said. “You’re up, and then you’re down, and you’re up. So this is just a moment. It’s a fantastic moment, but it’s a moment.”

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Source: “EW Biopic”