HE became a household name as a middle-class lawyer who married into the aristocracy.

And now Dan Stevens is making waves across the Pond having swapped Downton Abbey for the bright lights of Hollywood.

4 Dan Stevens has become one of the UK's rising stars Credit: Getty Images

But who exactly is he? Here's all you need to know:



Who is Dan Stevens?

He was born in Croydon, south London on October 10, 1982, and was adopted at birth by two teachers and grew up near the Brecon Beacons in Wales.

He admits that he was a troublesome child and went through a rebellious streak which saw him suspended from school.

Dan then won a scholarship to the prestigious Tonbridge School in Kent where he boarded from the age of 11.

He studied English Literature at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Dan is married to South African jazz singer and teacher Susie Hariet and they have a daughter called Willow and a son named Aubrey.

4 Playing Matthew Crawley on ITV's Downton Abbey made Dan a household name Credit: ITV

How did Dan get into acting?

At the age of 13, while he was at Tonbridge, he auditioned for and landed the part of Macbeth in the school's production.

Two years later he joined the National Youth Theatre and spent his summers traiing and performing in London.

While at Cambridge, he became a member of the university's theatrical club Footlights and was also active in the university's theatre club The Marlowe Society.

4 Dan is married to singer Susie Hariet with whom he has two children Credit: Getty Images

When did he turn professional?

In 2004, while performing in a Marlowe Society production of Macbeth, he was spotted by director Sir Peter Hall who cast him as Orlando in his touring production of Shakespeare's As You Like It.

Two years later, he starred as Nick Guest in the BBC's adaptation of The Line of Beauty and in late 2006 starred in Noel Coward's Hay Fever at the Haymarket Theatre in London alongside Dame Judi Dench.

In 2008 he starred in a BBC adaptation of Sense & Sensibility and appeared in Agatha Christie's Marple: Nemesis.

How did Dan become a household name?

In 2010 he was cast as Matthew Crawley in Julian Fellowes' Downton Abbey for ITV.

The period drama became a ratings hit not just in the UK but around the world and Dan and the cast became international stars.

Downton was recognised by Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed English-language television series of 2011 and it was the most watched television series on both ITV and PBS, making it the most successful British costume drama series since ITV's Brideshead Revisited in 1981.

Dan left the show at the end of the third season after Matthew was killed off in a car crash.

4 Credit: Fox

What has Dan starred in since leaving Downton Abbey?

In 2012 he and his family moved to New York where he was starring in The Heiress alongside Jessica Chastain.

Two years later he was cast in the movie The Guest in which he played a recently discharged army veteran who goes on a killing spree to protect his true identity.

Dan also starred in the comedy-drama movie The Cobbler and then the dark action film A Walk Among the Tombstones.

He then played Sir Lancelot in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

Dan was then cast as the Beast in Disney's live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast alongside Emma Watson as Belle.

He also stars as David Charles Haller in the FX and Marvel Television series Legion, the first TV series to be connected to the X-Men film series.

His latest movie sees him take on the role as Charles Dickens in The Man Who Invented Christmas - a drama based around the famous novelist.

Final trailer for Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson