Dept Q has been a huge hit with viewers – and while fans have been full of praise for the show’s lead star, Matthew Goode, his co-star Alexej Manvelov, who plays Akram in the show, has also been hailed as a scene stealer. The Swedish actor, 43, portrays Detective Mørck’s ‘assistant’ who served in the Syrian police, and uses any means necessary to find answers in the case.
Although Alexej is a hugely successful actor, starring in shows including Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and the hit HBO show Chernobyl, this wasn’t always the case. The star started out by working in the construction industry, despite wanting to be an actor.
According to the Swedish publication Aftonbladet, Alexej worked in construction – reportedly as a sheet metal technician – for eight years after moving to Stockholm to pursue his dream, where he took up working with independent theatre groups and auditioning.
The star appeared in various Swedish productions including the thriller Before We Die and Stockholm Requiem before landing the role of Garo in HBO’s Chernobyl. He went on to star as Alexei Petrov in Jack Ryan in 2023 before landing the Netflix role.
Speaking about his co-star to Netflix’s Tudum, Matthew said: “[Writer and director Scott Frank] assembled one of the finest casts I’ve ever gotten to work with. “It’s just an incredible playpen for an actor.”
© Justin Downing/Netflix“Leah Byrne is a stone-cold star. I felt like I’ve known Jamie [Sives] for a long time, we just get on so well… Alexej [Manvelov] is joy, pure joy, capital J.”
Dept Q is an adaptation of the hit novels by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen, and follows detective Carl Mørck, who is given a cold case assignment after being badly injured following a mysterious attack that left his partner paralysed and a young police officer dead. The show follows the cold case alongside exploring the truth behind Mørck’s attack.
Speaking about the plot, Matthew said: “When we join the story, a 16-year-old case up in Aberdeen has been solved. The optics of that look really good, because right now they’re lacking finance and crime figures are going up.
“So Kate Dickie’s character — the boss of the police force — her higher-ups say, ‘Let’s form a cold case unit.’ She puts Carl in charge because she can keep an eye on him in the basement.” Have you been enjoying the series so far?
