'Downton Abbey' Star Michelle Dockery Received Bereavement Cards at Loss of On-Screen Husband
Michelle Dockery has been portraying Lady Mary Crawley for four seasons of "Downton Abbey" now, and fans are still as enthralled with the actress and the character as ever. In a new interview, Dockery revealed that she actually received bereavement cards after her on-screen husband was killed.
"People will consider me a part of their lives for however long 'Downton Abbey' lasts," Dockery told Observer Magazine. "It's a lovely thing to feel as an actor. I get a delivery of letters about once a month. I even had bereavement cards after the last series."
This season is quite different, given the cast shake-up and the loss of Dan Stevens, who played Crawley's husband, Matthew.
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"It was just really strange not having Stevens around because three years is a long time to work with someone so closely. There was a real sense of isolation with the character in the first episode because Mary has very much retreated," Dockery told Boston Common magazine. "She's become a bit of a recluse. It's almost how it felt for me."
Dockery's character has the hard task of raising a son on her own, but can at least take an example from her brother-in-law, who lost his wife in childbirth. This season promises to be full of emotion, just as the other three seasons have been, thanks to creator Juliann Fellowes.
Before finding international fame on "Downton Abbey," Dockery was an accomplished actress and singer. She earned a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her role in the play "Burnt by the Sun." It wasn't until 2005 that she made her television debut in the English series "Fingersmith" before going on to play Kathryn in "The Red Riding Trilogy." However, in 2010, Dockery's career skyrocketed with the premiere of "Downton Abbey."
While the fourth series is already airing in the U.K., American fans have to wait until January to see what has happened with the Crawley family.
