The Welsh actor Matthew Rhys has received two Emmy nominations this year — for his leading roles in the hit horror-comedy show “Widow’s Bay” and the limited series crime thriller “The Beast in Me.” [Update, Sept. 14: He won in both categories. He’s the first actor to own lead acting Emmys in drama, comedy and limited series (he previously won for best actor in a drama in 2018 for “The Americans”).] You would think that career success would make him feel very secure in himself and his career. But as Lulu Garcia-Navarro learned in their conversation, you would be wrong. Rhys, 51, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He struggled through years of Hollywood fits and starts before playing the conflicted Soviet spy Philip Jennings in “The Americans.” In addition to giving a critically celebrated performance in that series, he fell in love with his co-star Keri Russell and the two have been together ever since. He talked about that experience, why his Welsh background keeps him humble and more. Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/magazine/matthew-rhys-interview.html [00:00] Introducing the actor Matthew Rhys [05:53] Why he turned down Hamlet [08:36] American vs. British acting methods [11:53] Playing comedy in “Widow's Bay” [15:37] Why horror films are popular now [18:43] The long wait for new seasons of streaming shows [19:39] “The Beast in Me” and characters with layers [22:19] Playing Chuck Palmer in "Girls" [27:00] Welsh pessimism and career struggles [31:18] The fight for the Welsh language [35:09] Falling in love with Keri Russell [38:39] Organizing life as an actor couple [43:05] What Rhys is hungry for now “The Interview” features conversations with the world’s most fascinating people. Each week, co-hosts David Marchese and Lulu Garcia-Navarro talk to compelling, influential figures in culture, politics, business, sports and beyond — illuminating who they are, why they do what they do and how they impact the rest of us. Subscribe to “The Interview”: https://www.youtube.com/@theinterviewpodcast Discover the journalism Times subscribers get daily, free for your first month in The New York Times app. Download here: https://nytimes.onelink.me/Xpht/a6wzplra #matthewrhys #theinterview #widowsbay #thebeastinme