Elizabeth McGovern has opened up about starring in ‘Downton Abbey’, which has become a “mixed blessing” for the American actress.
After playing Lady Cora Crawley, the Countess of Grantham on the hit ITV series, McGovern shared her sentiments on feeling “liberated” and being able to focus on her music career.
The 54-year-old actress is set to begin working on a fourth album with her six-member folk band Sadie and the Hotheads, who are bound for Bush Hall on Oct. 30.
“We all grew fond of each other as a cast so it’s sad to say goodbye, but ... I’m loving the liberating feeling I’m having working on the music,” she explained. “It’s just so exciting to concentrate on that one thing and not be split in half all the time. [‘Downton’ has been] a mixed blessing.”
The sixth and final series of ‘Downton Abbey’ is currently airing on Sunday nights prior to a Christmas special finale.
McGovern, who has been involved with the widely acclaimed period drama since it began in 2010, also discussed the challenges of creating a balance between being a TV drama star and a musician at the same time. “You just don’t want it [Downton Abbey] to go on forever and ever, it’s just not natural,” she said, while adding that the her band’s latest material is “really a reflection of what is going on with me and my life right now. The songs are about getting older.”
The Academy Award nominee, who resides in Chiswick with her British director husband Simon Curtis, also said that it had been tough to reach out to fans who actually attend their performances for the music, and not just because they were fans of ‘Downton Abbey.’
“We’ve started to get people who are really there for the music. It used to be very much weighted in the other direction — everyone was a Downton fan,” she said.
Meanwhile, McGovern’s character on the period drama is said to become more “independent” following all the trials and tribulations that have been endured at their interesting residence over the past years.
"Over the course of the show, Cora has grown in confidence and become more of an independent woman,” McGovern said in an interview with IBTimes UK. “Especially in the final season, with her children grown, she actually starts pursuing her own interests and defining herself outside the household a bit more.”
The mother-of-two is also in awe of how her character’s journey has unfolded in the past seasons. Lady Cora’s way of living can be deemed as a long way from a selfish life owing to the fact that she is known to give more attention to the people around her, thereby being recognized as a “very nice person.”
McGovern believes that Lady Cora has been given an out-of-the-ordinary arc because of her openness towards other people’s situations. Robert Crawley’s (Hugh Bonneville) wife also remains inimitable to their high-status dwelling owing to her American roots at the core of an aristocratic English family.
"That's what I really love about the character is that she can embrace it and loves the pomp and circumstance, she loves the dinners, she loves the menu but she could chuck it in a minute. It's not what it's about for her, it's about people,” the actress explained.
‘Downton Abbey’ season six airs every Sunday on ITV.
