Succession's Matthew Macfadyen learnt about debut Emmy nod on the way to supermarket

Matthew Macfadyen revealed he learned of his debut Emmy nomination for his role in Succession while he was heading out the door to get groceries.

"Unglamorous, but that's the truth of it," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "And then I got a really nice call from my agent and my agent in the States and they all said congrats. It was lovely."

Macfadyen was stunned to learn Succession had earned 18 Emmy nominations in total. "Wow," he responded. "I didn't know that. It's brilliant."

The English actor plays desperate social climber Tom Wambsgans in the hit HBO production, which screens on Sky Atlantic in the UK, and revealed he has spent lockdown with his family in London while he awaited news about when the tale of a Machiavellian media dynasty would start filming season three.

Macfadyen said: "We were supposed to start at the end of April. They’re hoping to start in the autumn, I suppose, but I know that a lot of shows are sort of sliding to January. I think it changes week to week — or day to day, really."

He said the problem was the guidelines for working with the COVID-19 restrictions were changing all the time in the TV and film industry.

"So the producers have to make really difficult decisions about whether to start or not, and whether they’ll be screwed up halfway down the shoot if something else happens," he said. "And then wouldn’t be able to do the show the way that you want it to be done, so it’s tricky. But fingers crossed. I really miss it."

Back to the Emmy Awards, Macfadyen is nominated as Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series alongside Succession co-stars Nicholas Braun and Kieran Culkin, but had conflicting feelings about the virtual ceremony in September.

"I know this sounds ungrateful but I hope I never do another Zoom again. Having to rearrange the curtains behind your head… even an Emmy ceremony on Zoom is just sort of weird to me. But I’d probably be in the same ol’ place. I think I’d dress up, you know. I think I’d honour the occasion and make an effort."

He provided some details about his Zoom set-up and domestic arrangement with wife, The Durrells star Keeley Hawes: "I share a study with my wife and we actually sit opposite each other at the desk. But I think my desk has the nicer background, so she kicks me out whenever she needs to do one."

Find out which other shows and stars were nominated at the Emmy Awards 2020.

If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV guide.