Matthew Rhys Shares What It’s Really Like Working With His Wife, Kerri Russell: Their Love Story

In 2013, Matthew Rhys and Kerri Russell debuted in The Americans as Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings. Though they appeared to be a typical American couple, living a traditional suburban life raising two teenage children, the duo were actually Russian spies, hiding their true identities as undercover KGB officers.

Off screen, Matthew and Kerri first met at a kickball party hosted by actress Jennifer Grey in the early 2000s, but they wouldn’t reconnect until years later when they shared the screen together. Here, a look at their love story, the times in which they’ve acted together and what Matthew Rhys has said about working with his wife.

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How did Kerri Russell and Matthew Rhys meet?

As Rhys remembered it on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, though they didn’t get together until over a decade later, he asked for her number the evening they first crossed paths. Kerri gave him her number, but his next move didn’t exactly leave the best impression on the Felicity actress. 

“This is where this all falls apart—I have no memory of this because I was very inebriated, but I left a very inebriated message on her answering machine as people had in those days,” he shared, further detailing that she didn’t return his call.

Years later, when they both began working on The Americans, Kerri was reminded of their initial encounter, and the chemistry between them grew. “We did all the readings together and all the things, and after a heavy dose of fight training, all sweaty, at lunch, you said, ‘You know we’ve met before.’ I said, ‘No we haven’t,’ and you said, ‘Yeah, we’ve met before, like 10 years ago at kickball.’ As soon as he said that, I knew exactly what [he meant] and I was like, ‘Oh! Of course I remember that,’” she shared on a separate episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

As for diving into their budding chemistry, Rhys shared with Page Six, “We were both at an age where we’ve done it long enough to go, ‘You know workplace [romances] can be disastrous.” He continued, “So, I think it was approached with caution and a great deal of trepidation, and coupled with that, for me, was certainly fun and excitement.”

Matthew Rhys and Kerri Russell loved sharing the screen

The Americans aired between 2013 and 2018, and after the series concluded, the duo both appeared in 2023’s Cocaine Bear. These days, Matthew Rhys is on folks’ radar thanks to his recent role in Widow’s Bay, while Russell is celebrated for her gig in The Diplomat. In a recent chat with Woman’s World, Rhys opened up about working apart these days and memories from The Americans. 

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“I sometimes feel like I am on The Diplomat, I run lines with her so much,” he revealed. “And then I watch Rufus [Sewell, Kerri’s co-star] and go, ‘Ah, that’s an interesting choice,’” the actor joked. “I sometimes feel like we are still very much entrenched in that way.”

Matthew also reflected on their time spent together on The Americans, sharing that he often looks back on directing Kerri while she was pregnant with their child, saying, “I thought she was gonna take my head off.” He continued, “She didn’t do anything, she looked at me a certain way. I remember going, ‘Oop!’ Never try and direct your pregnant partner is my one piece of showbiz advice.”

Whether Matthew and Kerri are sharing the screen or not, their bond is something to celebrate, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for them both.