Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley and Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Photo: ITV
4:57PM GMT 16 Dec 2011
The heart-throb of the period drama has complained that love today was more likely to be a case of "quick speed-date, straight in the sack, game over".
Speaking to The Big Issue magazine, the actor said the lingering "will they, won't they" courtship between Lady Mary and Matthew that has kept viewers gripped could not happen today.
He told the magazine playing a character in a bygone era made him yearn for old-fashioned romance.
Asked if he mourned "the passing of anything in British life," he said: "One of the things I really wish we still had is the time people had to do things. Everything’s so accelerated now.
“One of the nice things about the Matthew and Mary ‘Will they, won’t they?’ story is the time they can take to ponder over these questions, much more than we do now.
“One of the nice things about the Matthew and Mary ‘Will they, won’t they?’ story is the time they can take to ponder over these questions, much more than we do now.
“These days it’s a quick speed-date, straight in the sack, game over. I don’t think you could stretch Matthew and Mary’s story out to 30 minutes today.
“People took their time and considered things a lot more. I think we’ve lost that now.”
Fans of the show will get the chance to see the heir of the estate and Lady Mary's relationship develop in ITV's Christmas special.
The pair's chances were heightened when Matthew's fiancée died in the last series.
Earlier this year, Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary, said Downton Abbey was set in an age of chivalry, which has since disappeared.
"We take so many of our freedoms for granted nowadays – I can travel where I like, I can have a baby when I like, I can do any job I want – but I do think chivalry has been lost a little bit," the 29-year-old said.
Referring to her character's fate, she said: "If she marries Matthew, that would tie everything up nicely. I love carrying that storyline because with it you carry the fate of Downton; whoever Matthew marries will become Queen of Downton."
Stevens also revealed his character's speedy recovery from his First World War injury was more realistic than many people believed.
He said he suffered a similar injury when he played rugby but recovered just as quickly.
“I know lots of people thought it was highly implausible. But I think for the sake of Downton and our story, we needed Matthew to be able to walk and function again. And it was thoroughly medically researched," he said.
“Actually, I had a similar experience myself – years ago I had a rugby accident when the scrum collapsed and I was left with a spinal injury that paralysed my left leg.
“Then suddenly, after four weeks, the swelling went down and I was able to walk again.
“Julian (Fellowes, the scriptwriter) didn’t know this at all, it’s really weird. So when we got the script and everyone said – but this is ridiculous, this could never happen … I said – well, actually guys, it sort of happened to me.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/downton-abbey/8961644/Downton-Abbey-star-Dan-Stevens-laments-lost-art-of-romance.html The Telegraph
“People took their time and considered things a lot more. I think we’ve lost that now.”
Fans of the show will get the chance to see the heir of the estate and Lady Mary's relationship develop in ITV's Christmas special.
The pair's chances were heightened when Matthew's fiancée died in the last series.
Earlier this year, Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary, said Downton Abbey was set in an age of chivalry, which has since disappeared.
"We take so many of our freedoms for granted nowadays – I can travel where I like, I can have a baby when I like, I can do any job I want – but I do think chivalry has been lost a little bit," the 29-year-old said.
Referring to her character's fate, she said: "If she marries Matthew, that would tie everything up nicely. I love carrying that storyline because with it you carry the fate of Downton; whoever Matthew marries will become Queen of Downton."
Stevens also revealed his character's speedy recovery from his First World War injury was more realistic than many people believed.
He said he suffered a similar injury when he played rugby but recovered just as quickly.
“I know lots of people thought it was highly implausible. But I think for the sake of Downton and our story, we needed Matthew to be able to walk and function again. And it was thoroughly medically researched," he said.
“Actually, I had a similar experience myself – years ago I had a rugby accident when the scrum collapsed and I was left with a spinal injury that paralysed my left leg.
“Then suddenly, after four weeks, the swelling went down and I was able to walk again.
“Julian (Fellowes, the scriptwriter) didn’t know this at all, it’s really weird. So when we got the script and everyone said – but this is ridiculous, this could never happen … I said – well, actually guys, it sort of happened to me.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/downton-abbey/8961644/Downton-Abbey-star-Dan-Stevens-laments-lost-art-of-romance.html The Telegraph
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