Matthew Gregory Wise (born 15 May 1966) is an English actor and producer. He has appeared in several British television programmes and feature films. He played the role of John Willoughby in ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' ( working title; ''Elinor and Marianne'') is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously: ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might h ...

'', which also starred

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...

, whom he later married.

Early life and education

Wise was born on 15 May 1966 in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

to architect parents Douglass Wise and Yvonne Jeannine Czeiler. He was educated at the independent St Peter's School,

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. He went to

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

to study architecture and performed at

Bedlam Theatre Bedlam Theatre is a theatre in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The building was completed in 1848 for the New North Free Church. After closing as a church in 1941, the building served as a chaplaincy centre and then a s ...

. Wise studied drama at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Career

His first professional job was on stage, starring in ''Good Rockin' Tonight'', a musical based on TV producer Jack Good's life. His television work includes four

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

period dramas: ''

The Moonstone ''The Moonstone: A Romance'' by Wilkie Collins is an 1868 British epistolary novel. It is an early example of the modern detective novel, and established many of the ground rules of the modern genre. Its publication was started on 4 January 18 ...

'' with Keeley Hawes, ''

The Buccaneers ''The Buccaneers'' is the last novel written by Edith Wharton. The story is set in the 1870s, around the time Wharton was a young girl. It was unfinished work, unfinished at the time of her death in 1937 and published in that form in 1938. Whar ...

'' alongside Carla Gugino, ''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' (; ), commonly known as simply ''Madame Bovary'', is the début novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, originally published in 1856 and 1857. The eponymous character, Emma Bovary, lives beyond he ...

'' with Frances O'Connor, '' The Riff Raff Element'' in 1992 and 1993, and as Sir Charles Maulver in the 2007 five-part series '' Cranford''. In 1999 he starred as Marshall in ITV's seven-part drama '' Wonderful You'' alongside his future mother-in-law Phyllida Law and future brother-in-law Richard Lumsden. He filmed a number of readings of love scenes from a selection of classic and modern love scenes, from

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

's ''

Tess of the d'Urbervilles ''Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman'' is the twelfth published novel by English author Thomas Hardy. It initially appeared in a Book censorship, censored and Serialized novel, serialised version, published by the British illustrated newsp ...

'' to Kiran Desai's '' The Inheritance of Loss'' for The Carte Noire Readers. In 2011, he appeared in

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

's ''Honeymoon for One'', starring

Nicollette Sheridan Nicollette Sheridan (born November 21, 1963) is an American actress. She began her career as a fashion model before landing a role in the short-lived American Broadcasting Company, ABC primetime soap opera ''Paper Dolls'' in 1984, as well as st ...

. He is also the producer of the 2010 BBC/

Masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

production '' The Song of Lunch'' starring his wife, actress

, and

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, wikt:languid#Etymology 1, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and b ...

. In February 2015, Wise made his theatrical return starring in Brad Fraser's ''Kill Me Now'' at the Park Theatre in

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in Harringay, north London, England. The park lies on the southern-most edge of the London Borough of Haringey. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal ...

, London. In July 2015, he played the role of emotionally distanced father Gilbert Aldridge in the BBC's two-part television adaptation of Sadie Jones’ debut novel ''The Outcast''. Wise portrayed Lord Louis Mountbatten in series 1 and 2 (2016/17) of

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

''. Wise won the celebrity version of ''

The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...

'' in aid of

Stand Up to Cancer Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable organization that was established as a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). In 2022, SU2C was separately incorporated and was recognized by the IRS as a Section 501(c)(3) public charit ...

in 2019. In 2021, Wise was a contestant on nineteenth series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

''. He was partnered with Karen Hauer and the couple were eliminated in the fourth week.

Personal life

Wise has been in a relationship with actress

since 1995, when they met on the set of ''Sense and Sensibility''. Their daughter Gaia was conceived through IVF and was born in 1999. They married in 2003, and that same year, they informally adopted Tindyebwa Agaba, a

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

n orphan and former

child soldier Children in the military, including state armed forces, non-state armed groups, and other military organizations, may be trained for combat, assigned to support roles, such as cooks, porters/couriers, or messengers, or used for tactical adv ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Greg 1966 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Newcastle upon Tyne People educated at St Peter's School, York