Dan Stevens is no stranger to the small or big screen – having carved out an impressive career in acclaimed TV shows like Downton Abbey and Legion and hit films like Disney’s Beauty and The Beast.
But it seems the 39-year-old star is also no stranger to controversy – sparking headlines with his amusing and controversial appearances on talk shows.
The star has made headlines thanks to jokes about the Prime Minister, sex acts with men, and for breaking hearts over his devastating exit from Downton Abbey.
Here is a look back at some of Dan Stevens’ most scene-stealing moments that didn’t involve him being in a scripted drama…
Partygate quip
Dan has entered the world of politics – but only on the small screen – with a pivotal role in the Starz series Gaslit; a drama starring Julia Roberts and Seann Penn about the Watergate scandal that toppled US President Richard Nixon.
In his role, Dan plays a lawyer named John Dean who was an advisor to the White House and involved in the scandal which saw Nixon’s administration break in to the Democratic National Committee offices ahead of the then-president’s re-election campaign to steal money and bug the offices and then attempt to cover up the crimes.
Discussing the show on the BBC One talk show The One Show ahead of it’s release, Dan drew attention to the apparent similarities between shamed President Nixon and the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson – who was found to have broken the law in the same week that Dan appeared on The One Show and received a fine from police over ‘Partygate’.
Describing Gaslit, Dan said: “Well, what you've got is a criminal for a leader, who is wrapped in a messy war, embroiled in a stupid scandal and surrounded by ambitious idiots, and really should resign.”
After a pause, he then quipped: “No, I'm sorry that's the intro to Boris Johnson. I’ve just said the intro to Boris Johnson, I'm so sorry.”
His joke caused The One Show host Alex Jones to gasp in surprise while co-host Jermaine Jenas failed to stifle a laugh – and the moment went viral with fans discussing the moment online and revelling in Dan’s satirical comment.
Filling in for a ‘cannibal’
By starring in Gaslit, Dan has indirectly been dragged into a Hollywood controversy by association as he was not the original actor cast to play John Dean in the political drama.
The role was originally handed to Call Me By Your Name star Armie Hammer – whose career was derailed in 2012 by accusations of sexual abuse and cannibalistic fetishes.
An ex-girlfriend named Courtney Vucekovich made astonishing accusations that Armie had messaged her to request that he barbecue and eat one of her ribs.
Armie’s career came to an abrupt end as he faced allegations and a legal battle to give his version of events – and dropped out of multiple projects.
TV Line announced that Dan would Armie's place in the cast of Gaslit in April last year, reporting: “Stevens takes over the Hammer-vacated role of John Dean, the young White House Counsel torn between his ambition and his struggle with whether he can lie to protect the President.”
‘Beating off American men’
Gaslit is of course not the first high profile US project that Dan will have starred in – and back in 2014 he landed a lead role in the gritty drama The Guest.
He played an American soldier – and Dan was drawn into headlines when he appeared on Good Morning Britain to promote the film.
Show host Susanna Reid infamously asked him: “You play this apparent all-America hero and this is a big opportunity for you in Hollywood. You must have had to beat off a lot of American man to get this part."
As Dan and members of the studio crew broke into laughter, Susanna then asked: “Why does that make you giggle? Did you not have to beat them off?””
Following his starring role in The Guest, Dan went on to star in other Hollywood films including Beauty and the Beat, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Apostle, and Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
The ghost of Downton
For many, Dan is still best remembered – and missed – for his role as Matthew Crawley in the smash ITV period drama Downton Abbey.
He played the character for the first three seasons of the show from 2010 until 2012 – but left fans of the series heartbroken when Matthew was killed off in a car accident.
The actor says he has been forced to say sorry to fans for years since the heartbreaking scenes first aired – explaining in a 2017 interview: “I’m still apologising to people now.
“The way Matthew went was out of my hands – but it was rather shocking. There were some very upset people and I’ve had to apologise to a lot of people over the past four years.
“I’ve done a lot since then though – so hopefully people are seeing what I have been up to and are beginning to understand why I wanted to move on.”
X-Men furore
Marvel fans were thrilled to see Dan in mind-bending X-Men spin-off show Legion in 2017 playing the endearing and damaged character David Haller – a young man committed to a psychiatric hospital after being diagnosed as schizophrenic only to discover that the voices he thinks he can hear in his head are real as he has psychic abilities and is one of the most powerful mutants in the universe.
Fans were left torn over the course of the show’s critically acclaimed three seasons as viewers watched lead character David turn from loveable hero into a terrifying villain who rapes his own girlfriend and murders and tortures a number of his friends and past colleagues.
Defending the controversial storyline, Dan said in 2021: “What was lovely about that was that it was pretty much how [show creator Noah Hawley] had envisaged the whole thing. I know people want shows to run for like 27 years, but it just is not feasible.
“It's not good, generally. It's not interesting. And actually, if somebody has a three season arc, which is a story, it's a beginning, middle and end. You're not in some sort of endless open-ended thing.
“That was the ending as described to me. We'd go from cradle through the astral plane back to cradle, and yeah, I really liked the shape of that."
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