'He's so aggressive and rude'

Matthew Goode plays broken detective Carl Morck in a dark and gritty new crime drama

- WORDS: LAURA CARRENO-MÜLLER

Matthew Goode is swapping palaces for police files in Netflix's gripping new eight-part series adapted from Jussi Adler-Olsen's bestselling crime novels.

Known for his polished turns in Downton Abbey and The Crown, Matthew delves into darker territory as DCI Carl Morck - a brilliant but broken detective with a chip on each shoulder.

"He's so aggressive and rude," says Matthew, 47. "I loved his sense of humour. He’s a complex character, and you get to see him warts and all."

We meet Carl at rock bottom: a horrific incident has left his partner on the force paralysed, another policeman dead and Carl drowning in guilt. Stripped of his spark and barely functioning, he's sidelined into investigating cold cases in the newly created Dept. Q.

His first case focuses on the disappearance of ambitious prosecutor Merritt Lingard. As the mystery unravels, Carl's own mind starts to fracture.

Chloe Pirrie plays Merritt, a woman whose ambition hides deep trauma. The actress is no stranger to intense roles, with credits including The Queen's Gambit, An Inspector Calls and Black Mirror. Here, Chloe reunites with the show's writer and director Scott Frank, who directed her as troubled Alice Harmon in The Queen's Gambit.

"Merritt's main strength is she doesn’t feel the need to please people," Chloe, 37, says. “She's loyal, someone you'd want on your side, but she's also isolated herself. She uses people and doesn’t think that highly of them. She's similar to Carl in that way.”