Life and Career
Matheson was born in Stornoway, Scotland, the son of Sheena, a therapist, and Iain (Ado), a folk musician and painter. He made his feature film debut as Johnny Silver in Jez Butterworth's critically acclaimed directorial debut, Mojo. Prior to Mojo, Matheson had appeared in various television series.
He followed his role in Mojo with Stella Does Tricks, playing a male prostitute hooked on drugs. Matheson then played Marius in Bille August's film version of Les Misérables. Matheson played guitar for the role of Luke Shand, a youthful rocker helping to invigorate an old band in the sleeper hit Still Crazy.
Matheson continued with a starring role in the acclaimed independent British hit Tube Tales, which led to his first commercialized film, Bodywork, starring with the talented cast of Beth Winslet, Charlotte Coleman, and Clive Russell. Matheson later starred in Canone Inverso, as Jeno Varga, a young man who falls in love with a pianist. He learnt the violin for this role.
Following Canone, he took on the role of Mordred in the American TV film The Mists of Avalon.
Matheson proceeded in his career with a role as Thomas in the Danish film I Am Dina, based upon Dinas Bok. Matheson then landed the role of Yurii Zhivago, in Giacomo Campiotti's 2002 adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel, Doctor Zhivago.
Matheson continued his career starring in independent films, such as 2002's Deathwatch and the docu-film Comfortably Numb. Comfortably Numb, a docu-film centered around the lives of drug patients.
In 2006, Matheson co-starred with actress Demi Moore in the film Half Light.
Hans portrayed the Earl of Essex in a BBC production about Queen Elizabeth I of England called The Virgin Queen, broadcast in the US in 2005 and the UK in 2006.
Matheson starred as the Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in the second season of the ongoing Showtime series The Tudors.
Matheson played the part of Alec Stoke-d'Urberville in the four-part BBC adaptation of Tess of the d'Urbervilles (2008) and the Home Secretary Lord Coward in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009). Matheson then played Ixas in the 2010 Clash of the Titans remake.
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