The Fixer: Matt Symmonds (with Screencaps)
The second series of ITV's The Fixer premiered last week, but Elliot's first episode as MI6 officer Matt Symmonds aired last night. Underneath the cut is a detailed description of Elliot's new role, along with 18 screencaps I made from this week's episode.
From ITV's The Fixer Press Pack:
The last time Elliot Cowan was on our screens, he set pulses racing as the smouldering Mr. Darcy in the acclaimed post modern take on Pride and Prejudice, Lost in Austen. But as Matt Symmonds, Cowan is turning the heat up in a very different manner. Ferociously ambitious, manipulative and amoral, The Fixer’s newest recruit is a very different animal to nation’s the favourite literary heart throb, as the actor goes on to explain.
“Matt is a fast-tracked member of MI6 who hasn’t necessarily been involved in this kind of venture before as he has been more involved in the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He’s like a moth to the flame; attracted by the deniability of the unit he believes he can bring under his control. Because it’s deniable, it is untraceable and for that very fact, he is keen to use it to further his own projects. And so he embarks on a subversive and secret manipulation of Lenny and his team. It’s a dangerous game, and Matt is a dangerous guy. There are few depths he won’t stoop in order to get his way. He is exceptionally ambitious and self-centred in his objectives.
He has very modern, new Labour type techniques of manipulation which obviously brings him into immediate conflict with Lenny. There is an instant dislike between the two men. They couldn’t be more different from each other.”
He continues,
“Matt comes from a very privileged, privately educated background. He has been given every opportunity available, has always gotten his own way and assumes he will do nothing but succeed in everything he sets his mind to. He has not had to work too hard for what he has. Lenny’s experience however is the total opposite; it is born of hard graft. Having worked his way up from the bottom he understands the psychology of criminals as he has experienced it first hand and has gleaned his wisdom from that. Matt is a fast-tracked public school boy whose knowledge is largely procured from books or training courses.
Something to which he would never admit of course, his arrogance would never let him. He still perceives himself to be smarter than Lenny. Matt believes his power and privilege will ultimately enable him to out-play and out-manoeuvre the older guy.”
Symmonds may initially appear to be nothing more than a preening, arrogant, public school boy on the make, but he poses a very real threat to the continuation of the unit.
“Matt is not a man out to be liked and he is certainly not afraid of operating outside of the moral box. Manipulation, bribery and blackmail are just another day at the office and to a certain degree the unit, are their own worst enemy. They make choices that have been prompted gently by Matt and which play straight into his hands. He knows what buttons to press and pushes them to continue to make mistakes that could have them destroyed or discontinued which for the likes of Mercer would leave him hanging in prison. Symmonds knows this and allows them to play into the traps he has set for them yet he can wash his hands of when accused of double-dealing. He has them by the short and curlies a couple times - like when John Mercer finds himself in prison for a supposed rape which Matt has set him up for. He demonstrates his power then; that he can leave Mercer inside and allow the unit to flounder or he can make charges just disappear with one phone call. He knows’ exactly how much rope to let out and when to reel it back in.”
Looking back over this career, Cowan seems to have chosen his roles with care, and no two have been the same. What was it about this one that he found so attractive?
“It was partly because of the people involved who I’d be acting mostly with. Peter Mullen is my main exponent throughout the series and the prospect of working with him was so enticing. The experience fulfilled the expectation and beyond. There was also something about Matt. Playing this kind of character, on this basis, intermittently in a series that is already established and six episodes as apposed to one, is something I haven’t done before.
I was also a fan of the first series. It was really interesting and new. I’m not the sort of guy who tunes in every week or has that kind of social pattern. But it had enough going on to draw me in; like any guy I like a bit of action, explosions and mindless violence just to wind down after a long day but it also has a real vulnerability and great back stories for the characters. They’re like a weird dysfunctional family and that whole aspect has been played out really well. I would have loved to have been a part of the first series as to a certain degree it would have been interesting to see how Matt would have behaved in those kinds of circumstances if he has been invited into that flat to work directly with them. Who knows, he might yet!”
The new series is big on action with Symmonds the driving force behind a number of the missions the team get involved with, what was his most memorable day on set?
“Symmonds is really a back seat driver so I wasn’t involved in any of the stunts, but I really enjoyed my scene with Tamzin. There was only the one but I did enjoy coming in and meeting her finally having worked on the show for two months by that point. We were doing this wonderfully spikey interchange on the side of the River Thames, which is where I seem to do a lot of my work; out in the cold somewhere nice and remote. That was fun and then the moment when Peter, Andy and I finally had our little scene together was great. I really enjoyed having that kind of verbal punch up where I start the scene very confidently and then end up being threatened so succinctly by Mercer - and you’ll see that Matt does get threatened quite a lot - but it’s nice to find different ways of dealing with having a gun put in your face!”
How different was it playing Matt in The Fixer from portraying Darcy in Lost in Austen?
“In many ways the whole daily routine is very similar, spending days in a trailer and doing scenes; the practicalities stay the same. Donning a wig and britches is always going to feel different and the emotional range of someone like Darcy, although he is depressed for most of it, and so it’s all got to be going on underneath, is challenging. But it’s all challenging so you get out there and get some sort of physical feel for the character. They are both powerful men, they just use it differently. I enjoy playing characters that hold that kind of status; it gives you an excuse to behave in a way and say things you can’t or wouldn’t ever dream of in your day to day life. It gives me a chance, particularly with Matt, to let rip with some real venom. And that’s always fun to do.”
I've resized the images to fit onto this page, but if you
right-click and "Save As", you'll get the full 800 x 450 px size.
Save the images, share them, make graphics, etc. But do NOT hotlink.
I happen to enjoy watching Elliot in less-than-innocent roles such as this one (David Hunter anyone?). Check out his acting range - he goes from smiling one second, and then menacing the next. That's talent!
From ITV's The Fixer Press Pack:
The last time Elliot Cowan was on our screens, he set pulses racing as the smouldering Mr. Darcy in the acclaimed post modern take on Pride and Prejudice, Lost in Austen. But as Matt Symmonds, Cowan is turning the heat up in a very different manner. Ferociously ambitious, manipulative and amoral, The Fixer’s newest recruit is a very different animal to nation’s the favourite literary heart throb, as the actor goes on to explain.
“Matt is a fast-tracked member of MI6 who hasn’t necessarily been involved in this kind of venture before as he has been more involved in the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He’s like a moth to the flame; attracted by the deniability of the unit he believes he can bring under his control. Because it’s deniable, it is untraceable and for that very fact, he is keen to use it to further his own projects. And so he embarks on a subversive and secret manipulation of Lenny and his team. It’s a dangerous game, and Matt is a dangerous guy. There are few depths he won’t stoop in order to get his way. He is exceptionally ambitious and self-centred in his objectives.
He has very modern, new Labour type techniques of manipulation which obviously brings him into immediate conflict with Lenny. There is an instant dislike between the two men. They couldn’t be more different from each other.”
He continues,
“Matt comes from a very privileged, privately educated background. He has been given every opportunity available, has always gotten his own way and assumes he will do nothing but succeed in everything he sets his mind to. He has not had to work too hard for what he has. Lenny’s experience however is the total opposite; it is born of hard graft. Having worked his way up from the bottom he understands the psychology of criminals as he has experienced it first hand and has gleaned his wisdom from that. Matt is a fast-tracked public school boy whose knowledge is largely procured from books or training courses.
Something to which he would never admit of course, his arrogance would never let him. He still perceives himself to be smarter than Lenny. Matt believes his power and privilege will ultimately enable him to out-play and out-manoeuvre the older guy.”
Symmonds may initially appear to be nothing more than a preening, arrogant, public school boy on the make, but he poses a very real threat to the continuation of the unit.
“Matt is not a man out to be liked and he is certainly not afraid of operating outside of the moral box. Manipulation, bribery and blackmail are just another day at the office and to a certain degree the unit, are their own worst enemy. They make choices that have been prompted gently by Matt and which play straight into his hands. He knows what buttons to press and pushes them to continue to make mistakes that could have them destroyed or discontinued which for the likes of Mercer would leave him hanging in prison. Symmonds knows this and allows them to play into the traps he has set for them yet he can wash his hands of when accused of double-dealing. He has them by the short and curlies a couple times - like when John Mercer finds himself in prison for a supposed rape which Matt has set him up for. He demonstrates his power then; that he can leave Mercer inside and allow the unit to flounder or he can make charges just disappear with one phone call. He knows’ exactly how much rope to let out and when to reel it back in.”
Looking back over this career, Cowan seems to have chosen his roles with care, and no two have been the same. What was it about this one that he found so attractive?
“It was partly because of the people involved who I’d be acting mostly with. Peter Mullen is my main exponent throughout the series and the prospect of working with him was so enticing. The experience fulfilled the expectation and beyond. There was also something about Matt. Playing this kind of character, on this basis, intermittently in a series that is already established and six episodes as apposed to one, is something I haven’t done before.
I was also a fan of the first series. It was really interesting and new. I’m not the sort of guy who tunes in every week or has that kind of social pattern. But it had enough going on to draw me in; like any guy I like a bit of action, explosions and mindless violence just to wind down after a long day but it also has a real vulnerability and great back stories for the characters. They’re like a weird dysfunctional family and that whole aspect has been played out really well. I would have loved to have been a part of the first series as to a certain degree it would have been interesting to see how Matt would have behaved in those kinds of circumstances if he has been invited into that flat to work directly with them. Who knows, he might yet!”
The new series is big on action with Symmonds the driving force behind a number of the missions the team get involved with, what was his most memorable day on set?
“Symmonds is really a back seat driver so I wasn’t involved in any of the stunts, but I really enjoyed my scene with Tamzin. There was only the one but I did enjoy coming in and meeting her finally having worked on the show for two months by that point. We were doing this wonderfully spikey interchange on the side of the River Thames, which is where I seem to do a lot of my work; out in the cold somewhere nice and remote. That was fun and then the moment when Peter, Andy and I finally had our little scene together was great. I really enjoyed having that kind of verbal punch up where I start the scene very confidently and then end up being threatened so succinctly by Mercer - and you’ll see that Matt does get threatened quite a lot - but it’s nice to find different ways of dealing with having a gun put in your face!”
How different was it playing Matt in The Fixer from portraying Darcy in Lost in Austen?
“In many ways the whole daily routine is very similar, spending days in a trailer and doing scenes; the practicalities stay the same. Donning a wig and britches is always going to feel different and the emotional range of someone like Darcy, although he is depressed for most of it, and so it’s all got to be going on underneath, is challenging. But it’s all challenging so you get out there and get some sort of physical feel for the character. They are both powerful men, they just use it differently. I enjoy playing characters that hold that kind of status; it gives you an excuse to behave in a way and say things you can’t or wouldn’t ever dream of in your day to day life. It gives me a chance, particularly with Matt, to let rip with some real venom. And that’s always fun to do.”
I've resized the images to fit onto this page, but if you
right-click and "Save As", you'll get the full 800 x 450 px size.
Save the images, share them, make graphics, etc. But do NOT hotlink.
I happen to enjoy watching Elliot in less-than-innocent roles such as this one (David Hunter anyone?). Check out his acting range - he goes from smiling one second, and then menacing the next. That's talent!