After the noir film Second Skin (2000), Macfadyen acted in a number of poorly received films. One such film was the action film Styx (2001) which starred Peter Weller. A year later, he acted in the comedy film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) alongside a number of famous names: Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Smith and Ashley Judd. That same year, Macfadyen took the role of Vice-Counsel Dupont in Equilibrium (also 2002). The film, also starring Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Taye Diggs and Emily Watson, is set in the Future, where a fascist regime forbids all emotions.