Tracing Perry Mason...

Matthew Rhys on playing the TV icon as a young man

- Caren Clark

PERRY MASON

NEW MON / SKY ATLANTIC / 9PM / EP 1 of 8 / DRAMA

Taking on the iconic role of indomitable defence lawyer Perry Mason, made famous by the legendary Raymond Burr in the classic US crime drama, would be a daunting prospect for any actor.

But when Cardiff-born Matthew Rhys (star of The Americans and Brothers & Sisters) agreed to play a young, downbeat Perry in Sky Atlantic’s tense new thriller Perry Mason, he was wary but also thrilled at the opportunity to bring something new to the character.

The eight-part series is set in 1930s Los Angeles during the Great Depression and an unshaven, hard-drinking Perry, prior to his law-court heyday, is working as a private investigator.

But when Perry’s mentor, veteran lawyer Elias Birchard ‘EB’ Jonathan (played by The Crown’s John Lithgow), asks him to investigate the shocking kidnap and murder of a baby boy, the troubled sleuth is drawn into a dark conspiracy…

Here, Matthew, 45, tells us more about Perry’s return to our screens…