‘The Diplomat’ Star Rufus Sewell On His Bold, Emmy-Worthy Work [VIDEO]

Australian born Brit Rufus Sewell has been working on stage, screen and TV for over three decades and, this season, may snag his second Emmy nomination for his bold work in season two of the hit Netflix series, The Diplomat. Oddly, his sole Emmy nod to date was not for season one (which was merited), but for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in 2019, which he totally deserved if only for the line delivery, “I’m never quite as drunk as people think I am.”

If you haven’t binged The Diplomat, you’re missing out on one a thrilling and satiric (to the degree that anything can be anymore) look at the political world of diplomacy —which, this season, is scarily timely. Kate Wyler (the amazing Keri Russell) is the current U.S. Ambassador to the UK who is being tapped to be the potential Vice-Presidential option once the current VP (Allison Janney) is ousted. Kate’s ambitious husband, Hal (Sewell) who used to be the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, is doing all he can to make sure she steps up.

Season Two escalates U.K. and U.S. relations and ends with quite the unexpected plot twist that places the Wylers in a precarious predicament and promises an exciting and fraught season three—which is done filming and promises to surprise viewers.

Rufus Sewell got his start onstage working with luminaries like Albert Finney and Judi Dench (who helped snag him an agent) and starred on the West End in plays like Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia (Olivier nomination) in 1993, Brian Friel’s Translations in 1995 and Stoppard’s Rock ’n Roll in 2006-08 both in London (Olivier Award) and on Broadway (Tony nomination).

His film credits include, Michael Winner’s Dirty Weekend (1993), Christopher Hampton’s Carrington (1995), John Schlesinger’s Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet (1996), Alex Proyas’s cult classic Dark City (1998), Brian Hegeland’s A Knight’s Tale (2001), Nancy Meyer’s The Holiday (2006), Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Tourist (2010), Rupert Goold’s Judy(2019), Florian Zeller’s The Father (2020) and, most recently, Nadia Conners’ winning new film, The Uninvited, which is in theaters now.

On the small screen he’s made his mark in Middlemarch (1994), Helen of Troy (2003), John Adams (2008), Victoria (2016-17), The Man in High Castle (2014-19) and Kaleidoscope (2023), among many other shows and miniseries.

In The Diplomat, created by Deborah Cahn (Homeland), Sewell’s Hal enjoys a Tracy/Hepburn kind of sparring with Russell’s Kate. It’s the kind of love/loathe power dynamic that’s a delight to watch. And it allows Sewell the freedom to deliver a captivating portrayal of a man who both adores his wife, believes in her, but can’t help going a few steps too far in his ambitions for her (and himself).

The Contending had the pleasure of a video zoom-chat with Rufus Sewell right after shooting wrapped on season three.