“I hope it’s been sanitized!” — Matthew Rhys on boldness, comedy, and working with a prosthetic

According to the CinemaDrame news agency, he is often regarded as one of the most restrained and compelling actors on screen, but in the horror-comedy series Widows’ Bay he takes on a role reminiscent of Basil Fawlty. In this interview, Matthew Rhys reflects on his failed James Bond audition, a controversial scene in Girls, and even the moment he almost joined the army.

“What an idiot!” Rhys says, covering his face with both hands. He has just recalled something he said back in 2000, when he was performing in a West End stage adaptation of The Graduate, playing Dustin Hoffman’s role. At the time, he was 25 and had recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. When asked whether he could imagine himself in middle age, like Mrs. Robinson—played by the then 45-year-old Kathleen Turner—he replied: “Yes, and it’s terrifying. I don’t know if I’ll still be acting.”

The “terrifying” part may sound amusing in hindsight, but the insecurity was real. As Rhys acknowledges, acting is an unstable profession. Speaking via video call from his Brooklyn home, where he lives with actress Keri Russell, their 10-year-old son, and Russell’s two teenage children, he recalls that after The Graduate he went through his longest period of unemployment: “I thought I had made it, but suddenly I realized—no, I hadn’t.”

Things became so uncertain that he even applied to join the army, but the recruitment officer assumed he was only researching a role and rejected him. Rhys laughs as he remembers the officer looking at his résumé and saying, “I’m very confused…”

Now 51, the Cardiff-born actor reflects on his career with humor, even though he once joked that his eyes give him a permanently sorrowful look. His professional path is far more stable today. He recently returned home after six months filming the second season of the thriller Presumed Innocent. But the focus of this conversation is his lead role in Widows’ Bay, a horror-comedy blending small-town Americana with Stephen King-like atmosphere—both unsettling and funny.

In the series, Rhys plays Tom Laffitis, the mayor of a small New England town surrounded by rumors that no one born there can ever leave. Tom, an outsider himself, tries to attract tourists by downplaying the town’s dark history, denying ghosts and strange creatures said to inhabit it.

Widows’ Bay marks the culmination of more than two decades of successful work for Rhys in American television. He spent five years on Brothers & Sisters, played a Soviet spy in The Americans—a role that earned him an Emmy—and reunited with Keri Russell, who played his on-screen partner. He also drew attention in Girls, portraying a toxic and abusive writer.

Even in his darkest roles, a streak of dark comedy often appears. But Widows’ Bay gives him a rare chance to fully embrace comedy. One memorable scene features a dinner with a journalist hoping to write something positive about the town. Tom tries to stay composed, but when the journalist expresses admiration, he suddenly loses control in an exaggerated outburst.

Rhys says: “We thought, let’s try it. It was a risky moment. That’s the whole project for me. It’s outside my comfort zone—sometimes it feels like it could succeed or completely fail, but I loved every second of it.”

He also notes that he often plays outsiders—a feeling he knows well in real life. Even in Wales, he felt different, as the only drama student in a sports-focused school. That sense of otherness continued after moving to the United States.

Despite his success in television, he is less interested in cinema these days: “Television is the best medium for me. I’ve worked with big film stars, so I know that world. But I prefer long-form storytelling.”

Rhys continues to take on complex roles. His character in Widows’ Bay also carries darker layers beneath the comedy. He believes age has made it easier to access deeper emotions: “The more you live, the more you have to draw from.”

Reflecting on his early career, he adds: “Back then I didn’t have much experience. Things were simple. The interesting stuff came with time—and luckily, it did.”

In the end, the fear he once had about middle age seems to have disappeared entirely.