In 2004, Stevens began his professional acting career when
Peter Hall cast him as
Orlando in his touring production of
Shakespeare's
As You Like It. The tour took the production to the
Rose Theatre in
Kingston upon Thames, the
Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, the
Curran Theatre in San Francisco, and the
Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. His debut performance earned him glowing reviews from prominent critics in
Britain and the
United States, as well as a commendation at the 2004
Ian Charleson Awards. In 2006, Stevens starred as Nick Guest in the
BBC adaptation of
Alan Hollinghurst's
Man Booker Prize-winning novel
The Line of Beauty. Later that year, he played Simon Bliss in
Hay Fever by
Noël Coward at London's
Haymarket Theatre, alongside
Peter Bowles and Dame
Judi Dench; the director was Peter Hall. He also performed as Lord Holmwood in
an adaptation of
Dracula for the BBC, and as Basil Brookes in the BBC Emmy Award-winning film,
Maxwell. That same year, he was named one of
Screen International's 2006 Stars Of Tomorrow. In 2008, Stevens appeared in the BBC adaptation of
Jane Austen's novel,
Sense & Sensibility, playing
Edward Ferrars, and the West End revival of Noël Coward's
The Vortex. In January 2009, he appeared on New Year's Day in ''
Agatha Christie's Marple: Nemesis
on ITV1 in Britain. He also appeared in an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw featuring future Downton Abbey'' costar
Michelle Dockery. In June 2009, he returned to the
West End, playing Septimus Hodge in an acclaimed revival of
Tom Stoppard's
Arcadia at the
Duke of York's Theatre. In 2010, Stevens got his biggest break when he was cast as
Matthew Crawley in the
ITV series
Downton Abbey, created and written by
Oscar-winning screenwriter
Julian Fellowes. The series went on to be a global sensation and has been nominated for several
Emmy,
BAFTA,
Golden Globe and
Screen Actors Guild Awards. The central love story of Matthew Crawley and his distant cousin,
Lady Mary Crawley, played by
Michelle Dockery, was enormously popular. Determined to move on with his career, Stevens chose to leave the series after finishing the third season and the Christmas Special in 2012. His exit caused a huge uproar with fans, who took to
Twitter and other social media sites to express their anger at the character's death. In November 2011, Stevens guest-hosted an episode of
Have I Got News for You. In March 2012, he completed shooting
Vamps, from
Amy Heckerling, and
Summer in February, an
Edwardian romance film set in an artist colony. Also in 2012, Stevens moved with his family to New York City, when he made his Broadway debut that year opposite
Jessica Chastain and
David Strathairn in
The Heiress. In 2014, Stevens starred in the independent film
The Guest, winning critical acclaim for his portrayal of a recently discharged army veteran who goes on a killing spree to protect his true identity. He earned a
Saturn Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance. Also in 2014, he appeared in the
magic realism comedy-drama film
The Cobbler with
Adam Sandler and
Dustin Hoffman, and in the dark action film
A Walk Among the Tombstones with
Liam Neeson. He played a
simulacrum of
Sir Lancelot in the 2014 comedy film
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb with
Ben Stiller,
Robin Williams,
Owen Wilson and
Rami Malek. In February 2016, Stevens was cast in the lead role of
David Charles Haller in the
FX series
Legion, an
X-Men-related drama created by
Noah Hawley and he also starred alongside
Anne Hathaway and
Jason Sudeikis, giving life to Tim, Gloria's ex-boyfriend, in
Colossal. The first season began airing in February 2017 and received critical acclaim; a second season aired the next year, and was renewed for a third season in June 2018. In 2017, Stevens played the titular role of
the Beast, opposite
Emma Watson as
Belle, in Disney's
live-action adaptation of
Beauty and the Beast, directed by
Bill Condon. The cast was also accompanied by
Luke Evans,
Ewan McGregor,
Emma Thompson,
Ian McKellen,
Kevin Kline,
Stanley Tucci and
Josh Gad. The film was released in March 2017 to positive reviews, and earned over $1.2 billion in worldwide box office revenue, making it the highest-grossing live-action musical film, the
second highest-grossing film of 2017, and the
17th highest-grossing film of all time. At the same year, he appeared in
Marshall with
Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad and
Kate Hudson, and
The Man Who Invented Christmas, directed by
Bharat Nalluri, and co-starring
Christopher Plummer and
Jonathan Pryce. promoting
Legion. In 2018, Stevens starred in the
Netflix thriller film Apostle, directed by
Gareth Huw Evans. In 2019, Stevens co-starred in the drama
Lucy in the Sky, released in September 2019. It co-stars
Natalie Portman and
Jon Hamm, and is directed by
Legion creator, Noah Hawley. In 2020, Stevens co-starred alongside
Harrison Ford in
The Call of the Wild, released on 21 February 2020. The film is based on the American classic novel by
Jack London. He also returned to
Broadway to star in
Martin McDonagh's dark comedy
Hangmen. The
Atlantic Theater Company production co-starred
Mark Addy and
Ewen Bremner. Stevens played the pivotal role of Mooney. The production was to have a 20-week limited engagement at the
Golden Theatre in
Manhattan. Previews began on 29 February, however the production's run was suspended on 11 March, before it had officially opened, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. On 20 March the producers announced with regret that the production was closed permanently. All Broadway theatres were shut down soon afterwards. The same year, he appears as an "absurdly lascivious" Russian crooner in the Netflix musical comedy film
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, co-starring with
Will Ferrell and
Rachel McAdams. In 2021, Stevens played a robot in the German language
sci-fi romance ''
I'm Your Man''. In 2022, Stevens voiced the villain Admiral Hornagold in the animated movie
The Sea Beast, which premiered on
Netflix. In 2024, Stevens starred in the horror film
Cuckoo with
Hunter Schafer,
Marton Csokas and
Jessica Henwick. That same year he also played a leading role as the
veterinarian Trapper Beasley in
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire with
Rebecca Hall and
Brian Tyree Henry, directed by
Adam Wingard. Stevens also appeared as Frank, a corrupt ex-police detective in
Abigail with
Melissa Barrera. In 2025, Stevens starred in the biographical drama
Swiped with
Lily James, the horror film
The Ritual with
Al Pacino, and the third season of
AMC's The Terror, as lead actor and executive producer. He also appeared in the Netflix series
Zero Day as political commentator Evan Green, starring alongside
Robert De Niro,
Lizzy Caplan and
Jesse Plemons. In April 2026, Stevens was cast in the
Dexter sequel series,
Dexter: Resurrection, portraying
serial killer Owen Stark / The
Five Borough Killer. In 2027, he will reprise the role of Trapper Beasley in
Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, with new cast members
Jack O'Connell,
Sam Neill,
Alycia Debnam-Carey and
Matthew Modine. On October 29, 2025, he was cast in the film
Hey Bear alongside
Mia Goth and
Zach Galifianakis. Outside acting, Stevens maintains an interest in writing and literature and is editor-at-large for
The Junket, an online quarterly that he co-founded in 2011 with some friends. He was a member of the judging panel for the 2012
Man Booker Prize, and was a regular columnist for the
Sunday Telegraph. A cricket enthusiast, he played for the
Authors XI team, which is composed of a number of prominent British writers, in 2012. He also contributed a chapter to the team's book
The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon, which was shortlisted for the 2014
Cricket Society and
M.C.C. Book of the Year Award. == Personal life ==