The cultural phenomenon Downton Abbey Series 3, which depicts the lives of the noble Crawley family and the staff that serves them, doesn't return to PBS' Masterpiece Classic until January, 2013. But that didn't stop the cast from getting together at the TV Critics tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to talk about the new season.
The Great War is over and the long-awaited engagement between Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) is on. Robert and Cora Crawley (Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern), the Earl and Countess of Grantham, are facing financial ruin. Cora's mother, Martha Levinson (Shirley MacLaine), arrives on the scene, and Lord Crawley's valet, John Bates (Brendon Coyle) still sits in prison, convicted of murdering his wife. I know... it's hard to wait until next year to see what happens!
Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern spoke of the upcoming season, and his Emmy nomination for Best Actor in a Drama.
How does it feel to be nominated for an Emmy?
Hugh: We have a word in England which is gobsmacked. I don't know if it translates. [To say] I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. To hear my name in the same breath as Jon Hamm and Damian Lewis, it's a tremendous honor.
It really is. And to have had the show embraced so wholeheartedly by America is very special to us.
Elizabeth, can you talk about the progression of Lady Cora from the beginning to standing by Lord Crawley's side through an economic downturn?
Elizabeth: I didn't know who Cora was until I met Shirley! Suddenly it all came clear, and I realized that for two years I was in a bit of a fog.
I think that there is a light that mothers hand on to their daughters, which I think Shirley gave Cora in her aura simply by being on the set, which is one of great strength, humor, resilience and flexibility.
It became very clear to me the journey that Cora had undertaken to go, from Martha Levinson to the Countess of Downton Abbey.
She's a more old-fashioned idea of women's strength. She is somebody who is extremely flexible and resilient, and can roll with the punches. She is strong in a quieter, more self-effacing way.
It's nice to resurrect that idea of female strength, because I think that has churned the wheels of history for many centuries, that quiet, strong woman that just connects all the dots in the family. And that to me is Cora.
READ MORE: http://filmreviewonline.com/2012/08/27/downton-abbey-series-3-hugh-bonneville-elizabeth-mcgovern/
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