0:00:02 > 0:00:05MUSIC: "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra
0:00:11 > 0:00:14New York, New York! And, as the song says, if you can make it here,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16you can make it anywhere.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23I'm here to meet a Cardiff actor who's certainly making it here.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26On screen and making it his home as well.
0:00:36 > 0:00:41A Welshman in New York who is going native and turning American.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Or is he?
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Born in 1974 in Whitchurch, Cardiff,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00Matthew Rhys Evans was the son of headmaster Glyn and teacher Helen.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03He was educated locally through the Welsh medium
0:01:03 > 0:01:07before gaining a place at Rada, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11He won a Bafta Cymru early on in his career before appearing in various
0:01:11 > 0:01:13films and TV around the world.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17He co-starred with Kathleen Turner in The Graduate in the West End,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20played Dylan Thomas opposite Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller
0:01:20 > 0:01:23in Edge Of Love and starred in the last Columbo.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27He then moved to LA for the long-running family drama
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Brothers and Sisters with Sally Field,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32which propelled him to a lead role in The Americans,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34where Matthew plays an undercover KGB agent
0:01:34 > 0:01:37in Ronald Reagan's 1980s Washington.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42- What do you do, Stan? - I'm an FBI agent.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45I'll have to make sure I don't do any spying around here.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47You'd better not.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Shot in New York, he co-stars with fellow KGB agent wife and off-screen
0:01:52 > 0:01:56partner Keri Russell, with whom he recently had a son, Sam.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03- So, where are we heading now, driver?- Brooklyn Heights.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06So Brooklyn Heights is a very affluent area, is it?
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Yeah. It's nice and most people from...
0:02:09 > 0:02:13working in Manhattan, they're living in Brooklyn Heights.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15I'm looking forward to seeing Matthew.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21It's very different from Whitchurch, where he grew up.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Very different.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27And here we are, I think.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35- Cheers, Naz. Thank you. - You're welcome.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38There we go. See what he says.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44- See you, boy.- Hello.- How are you, man? All right?- Very good.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47- How are you?- I thought it was Tom Hanks from Castaway for a minute.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50What, before or after he's lost the weight?
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- Right, come on. Where are you taking me?- I don't know where to begin.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56I'm going to show you the sights and sounds.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Don't you water plants in New York, then?
0:02:58 > 0:03:02I think it's indicative of my career.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06- Right, come on. Show me the sights of New York.- Onward to glory.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17- Of course, you have a young son. - What?!
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Sam Rhys. Congratulations.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Thank you very much. He's actually Sam Evans.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25Because I wanted to call him Sam Warburton, but she wouldn't agree to it.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27But my full name's Matthew Rhys Evans,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30- so he's going to be Sam Evans. - Oh, is he?- Yeah.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34- And how is that going down? - It's like a course in survival.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38I think there's a very strong reason why sleep deprivation is used as
0:03:38 > 0:03:40torture, or training in the special forces.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Cos anyone who can master it should receive a medal.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49- Brilliant.- It all felt very right and very natural.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53- And, of course, the series.- Yeah. - How's that all going?
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Well, I mean, it's a sort of dream in a way.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00It's strange. In America, it's a very different way of working.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03You sign up for sort of six to seven seasons
0:04:03 > 0:04:05before you start filming the first one.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08A lot of people are going, "Well, is this good to go six years?
0:04:08 > 0:04:11"Is it going to be any good?" Etc, etc.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14And you know, I hate to sound like the cliche,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16but The Americans is one of those jobs
0:04:16 > 0:04:19where the writing has got stronger and better
0:04:19 > 0:04:24and it's a job that keeps challenging you and to do a job that
0:04:24 > 0:04:27does that for six years is everything you want.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28You know, you cross your fingers,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30you do your best and you see what happens.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33- So...- Here we are.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35200 yards away from...
0:04:36 > 0:04:39..this magnificent skyline.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41- It's like Penarth pier. - A little bit. A little bit.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43That's Brooklyn Bridge, isn't it?
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- Brooklyn Bridge with the Empire State behind it.- Yeah.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48And then you've got...
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Well, Freedom Tower, One World Trade.
0:04:52 > 0:04:541,776 feet tall.
0:04:54 > 0:04:571776, the year of...
0:04:58 > 0:05:01- ..Independence.- Keep on going. - Statue of Liberty.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05- Ellis Island, named after a Welshman.- Right, OK.- Apparently,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09it was a sandbank with a pub on it, owned by a Welshman called Ellis.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12You take all this in, right, and you think, "Hang on now,
0:05:12 > 0:05:17"living in Brooklyn Heights, with a Hollywood superstar..."
0:05:17 > 0:05:19And she is.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Do you think now, "Right. You've made it now?"
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Is this... When you started off acting, could you ever imagine
0:05:27 > 0:05:29saying, "Here I am, showing my mates around,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33- "this is where we are and this is it?"- This is the view. Yeah. No.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35No, I still totally have this sort of...
0:05:35 > 0:05:37I have two things.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39I either pinch myself and the turn of the shoulder
0:05:39 > 0:05:42for the bloke who's going, "Oi, we didn't mean you!"
0:05:42 > 0:05:45We meant Matthew Rees the hooker. Get out!
0:05:45 > 0:05:47And is it...? Well, that's what they said.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49"I'm going to interview Matthew Rhys."
0:05:49 > 0:05:51They said, "What's Matthew Rees the hooker doing in New York?"
0:05:51 > 0:05:53That's exactly it. But I'm looking at it going, right...
0:05:53 > 0:05:58I started off my career and I go, "Right, I want to play for Wales."
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Did you... Have you got something that you've done it,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04or there is something else?
0:06:04 > 0:06:07There is still something else that lies over there,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10which is to be on Broadway. That's like the elusive Lions cap.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Well, I didn't have that, so there we are.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17I'll just rub some lemon juice into that one for you.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19- HE SOBS - I thought I'd relate it to you.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33One thing missing there, the Twin Towers.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Having moved here, how do they feel about it, or...?
0:06:36 > 0:06:40I think one thing you will see often, especially...
0:06:41 > 0:06:45..Fire Department tattoos and murals is "lest we forget",
0:06:45 > 0:06:47and they absolutely would.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52It became just an integral part of the fabric of the city.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57And I don't think it clouds them, but they absolutely...
0:06:58 > 0:07:00..it changed a number of things
0:07:00 > 0:07:04and they absolutely haven't forgotten it.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09- Pulled them all together. Incredible.- Yeah, incredibly so.
0:07:09 > 0:07:10But yeah,
0:07:10 > 0:07:16the memorials and commemorations are still enormous, as they should be.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Are those the footings for your new house
0:07:19 > 0:07:21after the second, or third or fourth series?
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Yes. Yeah, yes. I've brought a few boys over from Cardiff.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27There's Dai there on the caterpillar.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Working hard. So you can pop over and keep an eye on him.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Yeah. Yeah, I'm looking forward to how it turns out.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34I'm looking forward to the invite when it's all done.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Being an actor, I know everything is going so well for you, but...
0:07:48 > 0:07:51..out of work and waiting, you know. You talk to actors and they say,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54"I've got to do this job and that job, a painting job or whatever."
0:07:54 > 0:07:57- You nearly gave it up, didn't you? - Yeah.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01I did a year in the West End playing The Graduate with Kathleen Turner
0:08:01 > 0:08:05and I just thought, "Oh, I'm 25, I'm set now.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09- "This is going to be amazing." - Was that... "This is it, I've made it. Big break."
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Yeah. And then I didn't work for a whole year immediately after.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15- Couldn't catch a cold.- How do get your mind around that, then?
0:08:15 > 0:08:19- I didn't.- What do you do? - Well, I slightly didn't.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22I slightly lost it a bit and considered joining the army
0:08:22 > 0:08:26and things like that, cos you go, by then...
0:08:26 > 0:08:28After a year, you're sort of skint and you're going... I can't...
0:08:28 > 0:08:30It's not like you're not auditioning.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33I was auditioning tonnes, I couldn't land a thing.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37So, yeah, I started thinking about other professions.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Thank you very much.
0:08:45 > 0:08:46Good call.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50What do you like about the New York lifestyle, then?
0:08:52 > 0:08:55I'm not sure if it's what I like...
0:08:55 > 0:08:58or that I spend most of my time thinking I'm in a film.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Because I still have that thing when I walk around and, like you,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04someone brings it, they go, you know, "You want some coffee?"
0:09:04 > 0:09:06You go, "I feel like I'm in a Robert De Niro film."
0:09:06 > 0:09:11So I think it's a continuous feeling that I'm just in one big giant film.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13I've even got a soundtrack going right now.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17- You're, like, Al Pacino. - I might be happy with that.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19What about the American accent, then?
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Do you... When you speak at home, are you in the American accent?
0:09:22 > 0:09:26- No.- Or this Welsh one? - This Welsh one I'm stuck with.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Give us a bit of American. You know, the old Brooklyn accent.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33The archetypal one is people say is coffee. "You want some coffee?"
0:09:33 > 0:09:36It's Long Island. You know, Long Island, just outside New York.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40You know, they say Long Island, like, "You want some caw-fee?"
0:09:40 > 0:09:44So, in a Brooklyn accent, you might say, "You want some cah-fee?"
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Instead of caw-fee.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48And, all of a sudden, you're like, "What?"
0:09:48 > 0:09:52So I try to keep it as generic and general as possible.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55What's it like working in America and working with Americans?
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Does it drive you hard?
0:09:58 > 0:10:00100%.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03- It's one of the most overcrowded professions in the world.- Yeah.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07And every man and his dog thinks they can act, because, ultimately,
0:10:07 > 0:10:09- it's all you're doing is... - No, I can't.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Well, you're standing on a bit of tape talking to people.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Everyone goes, "How hard is that?" So, yeah.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19There's a million people there ready to go, "I'll do it quicker and cheaper."
0:10:19 > 0:10:22You've been mega-successful now in the States...
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- Mega?- I'll say that again.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29- Mega, you know, mega.- Thank you. £10 every time you say mega.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32- Brothers and Sisters? - Mm.- Massive hit.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34You played a gay lawyer.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Do you think that was the...that put you on that kind of plateau
0:10:39 > 0:10:42and that you could just pick and choose, or...?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44I'm not sure if I'm in a place where I can pick and choose,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47but it definitely gave me an opportunity.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50It was a big show, it was a network show,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53so you can sit back and learn and that's what I did.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Watch and learn.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57I did a lot of that on Brothers And Sisters.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01And it gave me the opportunity to audition for things like The Americans.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Maybe we should concentrate on Kevin. Chad dumped him.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06- Oh, Kev, I'm so sorry. - You know what?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09I'm going to join a monastery anyway,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12one of those vow of silence places, so I can stay out of trouble.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16Well, you'll probably find a way, especially with all those monks batting their eyes at you.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21Oh, what a sorry bunch we are. Look at us! God.
0:11:22 > 0:11:28Do you still get recognised a lot or do you love the anonymity of...
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- ..New York?- I think, in New York, even if they do recognise you,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34- they don't really care.- Yeah.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- Seen enough, see everyone. - I rarely get recognised.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Even when I go to the kitchen in the morning,
0:11:40 > 0:11:42it's touch and go if she remembers me!
0:11:42 > 0:11:45What about... So, moving on to The Americans,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48maybe in the UK they don't appreciate how big it is here...
0:11:48 > 0:11:51- Well, tell them!- I will tell them! Telling them now.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Even to the degree where you were summoned to the White House,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57because the Obamas are massive fans.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02- Who did you sit next door to in the White House?- Michelle Obama.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05- There we are. And what kind of conversation?- The First Lady.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10You know, I've been in a number of nerve-racking situations,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14but I have to say, I was so nervous.
0:12:14 > 0:12:20- Cacking yourself.- I didn't have a single thought in my head.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22I do remember going, "Say something, say something!"
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Cos I was just like this.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28There was one terrible moment where... She was all in white,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32this beautiful white gown and they'd gotten these small heirloom tomatoes
0:12:32 > 0:12:34from the garden that they'd poached and peeled.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Like a bull in a tantrum, I go like this and I fork this tomato.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43Oh, my God! It went off like a grenade. Right, it went "phom"!
0:12:43 > 0:12:46And I just watched it go and she's there,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48just watching, just sail past...
0:12:48 > 0:12:50IMITATES SLOW MOTION
0:12:52 > 0:12:56All of it missed her and she was none the wiser,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00talking to this Prime Minister of Singapore and I'm there going...
0:13:00 > 0:13:02IMITATES SLOW MOTION
0:13:03 > 0:13:05What was he like?
0:13:05 > 0:13:07They are the most, the most...
0:13:08 > 0:13:12..gracious, charming, down-to-earth. Everything you think they are.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15And more. And, you know, they're fans of the show,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18so they wanted to talk about the show, you want to talk about
0:13:18 > 0:13:20how to run America, so he's like, "I don't want to talk about it."
0:13:20 > 0:13:22And I'm like, "I don't want to talk about the show!"
0:13:22 > 0:13:25So, what do you ring home and tell Mum and Dad?
0:13:25 > 0:13:26"Have a guess where I've been today."
0:13:26 > 0:13:29"I'm sitting with the man that runs America."
0:13:29 > 0:13:32"Hang on. Ronald Reagan, ife?"
0:13:32 > 0:13:35What did they say? What did they say?
0:13:35 > 0:13:38I think they were just a bit shocked now.
0:13:38 > 0:13:45The other thing is, in The Americans, you're married to Keri.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Yeah. I mean, not in real life.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51No, you're married on the show, but now she is your partner.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55- Yeah.- The mother of your son. - Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59- That's a bit weird, isn't it? - I broke the cardinal rule.- Yes.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04- Dating a co-star. - Never date your co-star, ever.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06And I thought I'd cracked it.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08You know, "Done it, got through it."
0:14:08 > 0:14:12And then, you know, I was like, "Oh, no, I've become the cliche."
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Terrible! But it, so far, has worked.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Another thing I'm not sure of, as an actor,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20when you see someone you kind of love, right, having to do...
0:14:21 > 0:14:24- ..kind of love scenes? - It's the worst.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27It's the worst part of the job and, as it is,
0:14:27 > 0:14:29if you're two actors together, it's the worst thing for them as well.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33But it is... There's nothing that makes it any better,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36the amount of time you're with someone, it...
0:14:36 > 0:14:38You know, it's the worst feeling in the world,
0:14:38 > 0:14:44especially if he's got a better six-pack, bigger arms, you know?
0:14:44 > 0:14:46- All of that.- I can imagine.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- This is a wine bar.- Yes, I'm very familiar with this place.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51You've also got your...
0:14:52 > 0:14:54..hand in a few other pots.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57And you are now doing a wine show?
0:14:57 > 0:14:59- Yes.- With Matthew Goode from Downton Abbey?- Yeah.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03He called me up and went, "Do you want to go to Italy for three weeks to drink?"
0:15:03 > 0:15:06And I was like, "What time shall I be at Heathrow?"
0:15:08 > 0:15:10That's a little firework under the nose.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14- That's really powerful. - Yes.- It's a big wine.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17- How were we as sommeliers? - Do we have a lot to learn?
0:15:17 > 0:15:21- You are...not bad.- Good. - You talk too much. I think.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28- No? I'm wrong?- No! You're very, very right.- I can't say.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33- So you've done one series and you've done Italy and now the next one is, obviously...- France.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Then there's Spain? Argentina?
0:15:36 > 0:15:38That's what we were saying. This could run and run,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40as long as our livers hold out, we've got show.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49- Co un.- Af i i'r ochr arall. - All right.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01So, Math, where are we now in this great city?
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Well, we're leaving the great city of Brooklyn,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07will probably either get on the Brooklyn or the Manhattan Bridge.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09- Yes.- And make our way to Manhattan
0:16:09 > 0:16:13to probably my favourite bar in New York, for many reasons,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16called the White Horse Tavern.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- Dylan Thomas?- Dylan Thomas's... Also his favourite pub.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25We're just getting onto the Brooklyn Bridge now,
0:16:25 > 0:16:27which, when it was opened,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30I think it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33But it's iconic. It's an amazing skyline, isn't it?
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Yeah, it's incredible.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41The one downside of New York for me is that, sometimes,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45you just feel like you can't quite breathe.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47- Yeah.- It's only when you get to the countryside that you go, "Oh!"
0:16:47 > 0:16:51- And you realise.- So where do you... Where do you get out?
0:16:51 > 0:16:53We usually go upstate, about two hours north,
0:16:53 > 0:16:55a mountain range called...
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Two and a half. Woodstock, Catskills, all around there.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Just countryside. It's like being at home.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07It's absolutely boiling. How do you cope with the heat in summer?
0:17:07 > 0:17:09I don't. My Welsh blood...
0:17:10 > 0:17:14..congeals to a slow pulse and I'm good for nothing.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17I am no good in the summer in this city.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19I can't wait till autumn comes.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25BOTH: White Horse Tavern!
0:17:25 > 0:17:27- Where it all happened.- Here we are.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33How are you? You should try a Brooklyn lager.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36- Can I get an IPA and a Brooklyn lager, please?- Sure.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Thank you.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Guinness. Thank you very much.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- Taste. Cheers, boy.- Iechyd.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49- What do you think? - Yeah, it's all right.- All right?
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- It's wet, it's wet.- Cold. - So, this is...
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Dylan Thomas's local.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- Yeah.- It's where he spent a lot of his time.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00He did. And, as many know, it was...
0:18:00 > 0:18:02..where, you know, tragically,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06it all came to an end and he had his last few drinks here
0:18:06 > 0:18:11and then collapsed outside and then they took him to St Vincent's.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13So, they know the history of Dylan Thomas,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16is there a fondness for the Welsh in New York?
0:18:16 > 0:18:21Yeah, I think primarily because of him, you know?
0:18:21 > 0:18:25At his height, he was this rock-and-roll poet, you know,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29making poetry sexy and doing these readings.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31He was a new phenomenon in his time
0:18:31 > 0:18:36and he was a famous Welshman in New York, coveted and sought out.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38You Know, Bob Dylan Took His Name.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40In The Edge Of Love, you played Dylan,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42but as you said, it was mainly about the women.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45- Yes.- Do you think they should do a film where, right, that's it,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48- he's the main character? - Yes, of course.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51- And you'd play him?- Well, of course! There, there we are.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53End of conversation. I think,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57having got to know what his life was, there's certainly enough there
0:18:57 > 0:19:00to make an incredible feature film about it.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03If not a short series. And naturally, I should play him.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06This is just an amazing place, isn't it?
0:19:06 > 0:19:09- If you just look at the walls... - Yeah.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14And to me, yes, it was Dylan's pub, but also, to me,
0:19:14 > 0:19:19it's one of the last, or one of the only, great pubs in New York.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25- Dylan Thomas awards. Richard Burton.- Yes.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Accepted by daughter, Kate,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30who I did Under Milk Wood with a few years ago.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32- Incredible.- Yeah.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35This is the Dylan Thomas Room.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Do you feel you're maintaining now the kind of great Welsh actors,
0:19:41 > 0:19:46your Burtons, your Hopkinses, and leaving a Welsh legacy
0:19:46 > 0:19:48in American film industry?
0:19:48 > 0:19:51I think what Burton and Hopkins did for me was...
0:19:52 > 0:19:56- ..made it a very real and tangible dream.- You could make it?
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Yes, that it's possible for boys from Wales to go to Hollywood
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and have a career. Burton did that very early on.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06If, in some small way, if we're talking about legacy,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10that some kid sees The Americans and goes, "Oh, it is possible,"
0:20:10 > 0:20:13you know, "There is life after an Eisteddfod," then, you know...
0:20:13 > 0:20:16And that's why it's so important to have heroes. Your Gareth Bales...
0:20:16 > 0:20:19- Yes.- ..and Gareth Edwards, you know?
0:20:19 > 0:20:24Yeah, in every walk of life. So legacy, in that respect,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27then, if I'm part of a legacy, then, iechyd da.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32- How much do you miss Wales? - Enormously. Daily, daily.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36It's funny. I think as a young man...
0:20:36 > 0:20:39In your 20s, your 30s, you kind of, you know,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42you're running around the world and it's there for the taking.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47And in these last few years, as I get a little bit older,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51I start missing it more and more. And it's simple things, day to day.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54I miss Welsh banter. So much...
0:20:55 > 0:20:58- Sledging.- There's nothing like it.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02- Sarcasm...- Yeah. - Does Keri enjoy going to Wales?
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Yeah, loves going to Wales.
0:21:04 > 0:21:10But our life is definitely here, so I come here for my pocket of Wales.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13- Pints and pockets.- Incredible.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16And if you watch the rugby matches, local pubs?
0:21:16 > 0:21:18It depends, it depends on the game.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21I've realised I can't watch England and Wales in the pub any more.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25In fact, I'm encouraged not to. When I was told to get out.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28- "Get out, Rhys!" - Yes, I was full of expletives.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32- "I don't care if you're a Russian agent or not, get out!"- Yeah.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47So where are we in now, this is...?
0:21:47 > 0:21:49This is quite close to your house, isn't it?
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Yeah. This is a very regular hang-out for us.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Rooftop eating, a good view, keep an eye on the kids playing football.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03- It's perfect.- It's a lovely spot, innit? A lovely spot.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06The Americans, is it the toughest role you've had to play so far?
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Yeah. I would say yes, because Ronald Reagan,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13the height of the Cold War,
0:22:13 > 0:22:17what the KGB were trying to do is unbelievable.
0:22:17 > 0:22:22So making that believable in a drama is a big ask of the audience,
0:22:22 > 0:22:26so grounding that in reality I find difficult,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28but then the layers to the character,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32that you're this domestic dad by day and a sort of KGB agent by night.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36So, making those two marry in a very real way,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39so you don't go, "hang on". It's not like the Caped Crusader,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42you put your pants on the outside by night and off you go.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46- It's layers, basically. - But in the character as well,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49you have the high-speed car chases.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52How does that work? Do they close streets down in New York?
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Yeah, that's the Boy's Own Adventure stuff that I love.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Again, harking back to the American television that I watched.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02You get an opportunity with a closed street, police, stunt drivers
0:23:02 > 0:23:05and you're in a 1980s car that doesn't have power steering,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07I hasten to add,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10you know, flooring it along these American streets.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Those are the sort of great moments.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15And also, your fitness regime.
0:23:15 > 0:23:21You have a personal trainer, or you have self-defence classes, kung fu,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23- Krav Maga.- Yeah.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25You find yourself going, "This is my job.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27"Doing high-speed chases and doing kung fu."
0:23:27 > 0:23:31So, to what degree could you defend yourself
0:23:31 > 0:23:34if you were kind of attacked in the street?
0:23:34 > 0:23:36If you give me 20 minutes,
0:23:36 > 0:23:38- I could bore anyone to death about my career.- Don't need 20.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41- Don't need 20. - No, five solid minutes.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43When fending someone off, or...?
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Well, here's the thing. You learn all this stuff in showbiz...
0:23:46 > 0:23:49"In showbiz!" And you sort of go, "I think I'd be all right."
0:23:49 > 0:23:52And then I would imagine, if you cut to the reality,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56I would be screaming for my stunt double or shouting, "Cut!"
0:23:56 > 0:23:59- Best self-defence is this one, look. See?- Yeah, is...- You go like that.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01HUGE LAUGH
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Here's an expert.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07- Sword stuff is when you get nervous. - Yeah, I can imagine.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Or if someone comes in between the matinee and the evening performance in the theatre and they go...
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- SLURRED:- "Come on, let's go do the sword fight again."
0:24:14 > 0:24:16And you go, "What?"
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Yeah. Yeah. You've been to Dylan's pub!
0:24:20 > 0:24:23- SLURRED:- Just for lunch. I only had a sandwich.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Let's rehearse that fight again.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28But it happens.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31You've done over 50 episodes for The Americans and still going
0:24:31 > 0:24:36and over 100 Brothers And Sisters, how much time do you have?
0:24:36 > 0:24:38There's the script, you're doing it?
0:24:39 > 0:24:45It completely depends. Sometimes, you can get a script the week before and it doesn't change.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Other times, you walk on set and they go, "Oh, you know that scene?
0:24:49 > 0:24:52"We've just... We've tweaked it a bit. Sorry to do this to you."
0:24:52 > 0:24:55And you're going to shoot in five minutes.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59"Sorry to do this! These are the new lines, if that's OK?"
0:24:59 > 0:25:01- And you go... And that's when... - HE SQUEAKS
0:25:01 > 0:25:03- ..the panic sets in.- On set?
0:25:03 > 0:25:06As you're walking onto the set.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09You've learnt the scene and they go, "We've tweaked it, would you mind?
0:25:09 > 0:25:12"Sorry." And you're like, "We're shooting now?"
0:25:12 > 0:25:14And they're like, "We know. It's a tiny..."
0:25:14 > 0:25:16And you go, it's not a tweak! You've changed the scene!
0:25:16 > 0:25:19And they're like, "Yes, because the last one didn't make sense."
0:25:19 > 0:25:24Like, "Well, unless I can staple it to someone's forehead, you need to give me five minutes!"
0:25:24 > 0:25:27This is a scene...
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Season three, where Ncgobo was actually...
0:25:33 > 0:25:36- I could do that part. - Well, he's an African socialist, from South Africa.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41- OK.- So it's not a white Afrikaans accent.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43- It's not?- It's not Francois Pienaar.- How does it go?
0:25:44 > 0:25:47I won't attempt it. I won't attempt it, I'll leave it to you.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51- I'm not doing it. - Yeah, go on, you've got time.- OK.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54IN STRANGE ACCENT: Your wife is at home now.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56THEY LAUGH
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Here's a taste of The Americans for you, Ncgobo.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04Sounds like your new nickname.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Ncgobo Davies.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11It's a lot nicer than some of them I've had, let me tell you.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17- 2018...- Yeah? - It's the end of The Americans.
0:26:17 > 0:26:22- The end of my career. - No. I know you're working on things at the moment.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27What's the future, then, for Matthew, career-wise and living?
0:26:27 > 0:26:30- Family.- Living and life. Well, you know,
0:26:30 > 0:26:34I have a son... That's what trips me out,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36when I say my son is a New Yorker.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39He's going to say "Mom" and "Dad"!
0:26:39 > 0:26:41"Mam a Dad! Dwed e'n iawn, fachgen."
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Yeah, you know?
0:26:43 > 0:26:47So, our lives are here in New York for the foreseeable future.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50One thing you realise in this mad game
0:26:50 > 0:26:52is that you have no control over...
0:26:53 > 0:26:56..your career, really. And it can be a drop of a hat the next day.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59I've had jobs where they go, "Can you be in France tomorrow?"
0:26:59 > 0:27:02- And you go, "OK."- That must be a tough with the little one, isn't it?
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Yeah, unfortunately, that's one of the tougher elements of it.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08- Yeah.- Time away from the family.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12Things are going really well and I'm really happy for you.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16- Thank you.- Living the life.- I know. - Doing the great stuff on telly.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Happy families, lovely boy.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21- You sound like Windsor Davies! - I know.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24"Lovely boy, lovely boy." Can't get any better.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28No, it can't, it can't. So, knock on wood, long may it continue.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- Diolch i weld ni, boy. - Iechyd.- Pleser.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38For me, Matthew Rhys is a fantastic talent
0:27:38 > 0:27:42and following in the footsteps of Welsh legends
0:27:42 > 0:27:45who have made it over here, like Burton and Hopkins.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49I'm sure, wherever life takes him next, he will succeed.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53After all, if he's made it here, he can make it anywhere.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56# Well, I shuffled through the city on the 4th of July
0:27:56 > 0:27:58# I had a firecracker waiting to blow
0:27:58 > 0:28:00# Breakin' like a rocket who was makin' its way
0:28:00 > 0:28:02# To the cities of Mexico
0:28:02 > 0:28:05# Lived in an apartment out on Avenue A
0:28:05 > 0:28:07# I had a tar-hut on the corner of 10th
0:28:07 > 0:28:09# Had myself a lover who was finer than gold
0:28:09 > 0:28:11# But I've been broken up and busted up since
0:28:11 > 0:28:16# And love don't play any games with me, any more
0:28:16 > 0:28:18# Like she did before
0:28:18 > 0:28:23# Hell, I still love you, New York... #