'Downton Abbey's' Dan Stevens discusses Broadway and his love for literature SUNDAY OCTOBER 21, 2012, 10:16 AM By ROBERT FELDBERG RECORD COLUMNIST (NORTH JERSEY)

So, Dan Stevens happily found himself summoned to Broadway, to play opposite Jessica Chastain in a revival of "The Heiress." Now in previews, the drama opens Nov. 1 at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

The handsome, 30-year-old British actor portrays Matthew Crawley, the decent, gentlemanly heir apparent to an earldom in "'Downton Abbey," the English TV series set in the early decades of the 20th century that caught on like wildfire in the United States – and around the world.

" 'Downton Abbey' obviously had a lot to do with me being here," Stevens said in a recent phone conversation. "That's the nature of the game.

"But I've always had a dream of being on Broadway. New York audiences are legendary back home."

As he expands his horizons, Stevens, who's married to voice teacher Susie Hariet and has two small children, has been pegged as having the appeal to be the series' breakout performer. For comparison's sake, his name has even appeared in the same sentence as that of film star Colin Firth.

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