With “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” now enchanting audiences in theatres, Michelle Dockery invites us into a rare moment of reflection. Having embodied the elegant yet fiercely complex Lady Mary Crawley for over a decade, Dockery now stands at the threshold of farewell — poised between nostalgia and renewal.
INDULGE: Where do we meet Lady Mary at the start of this film?
DOCKERY: At the start of the film, she is almost no longer Lady Mary Talbot. She is separated and about to officially divorce. Despite that, we find her in a good place. In the last film, you could see the beginnings of a changing of the guard. With Violet’s death, it was very much an end of an era. The reality of that for Robert is setting in. There’s been a lot of talk about Mary taking the reins, but not her actually doing it. They’re all still grieving Violet, so for Robert, there’s a reluctance for him to really pass the baton on. It’s been a very soft transition, but this film is really about change.
INDULGE: Do you have a favourite moment from Downton or from this film that you will take with you?
DOCKERY: There are so many moments over the years. This film particularly, when we were filming up in Harrogate doing Ascot and the County Fair, it was a really special time when we’re all together. Both above and below stairs are all together doing a scene because we get to hang out. There’s some people, like Jim, I didn’t see as much of in this film because Carson and Mary don’t interact quite as much. There’ve been hundreds of moments over the years. Even when we were doing the last readthrough, we were all reminiscing about the first one. I remember I was a bit late and thought I was going to be in so much trouble, but then nobody really noticed because it was just a meet and greet at the beginning. I was sat next to Maggie, and I was terrified, but she was so lovely. She was always so sweet to me, Laura and Jess [Brown Findlay] as her grandchildren. Thinking back to that time and where we are now, it’s amazing the journey that everyone has been on.
“We are like family, and it was so important in this film, particularly because we know it’s the last one.”
INDULGE: What is Lady Mary and Lady Edith’s relationship like in this film?
DOCKERY: Edith and Mary have matured, certainly. We saw that in the last two films, they’ve grown up. They’re not living at Downton together, which probably helps, having some time apart. They’ve always loved each other, but there were a lot of times they didn’t like each other very much. The two of them are quite different people, and they like each other much more. You see Edith helping Mary navigate this difficult time. It’s like any family when things start to fall apart, the family is there to pick up the pieces. Edith steps in and helps Mary through it. I love their relationship, and I love that they can still have little digs at each other and wind each other up.
INDULGE: What was it like working with Laura, for what could be the last time?
DOCKERY: We spend so much time together in our normal lives, it doesn’t feel like a goodbye. We’ve just had the best time. It’s been 14 years and we’ve grown up together. Both of us were in our twenties when we started this. It’s brought us all so much joy. We are like family, we’ve all been there for each other, and it was so important in this film, particularly because we know it’s the last one, to relish every second. I felt very conscious of that each day at work, and so wanted to soak it all up.
INDULGE: It must be impossible to leave Downton without taking a little bit of it home with you. Did you manage to sneak away with any props or keepsakes?
DOCKERY: My really treasured item that I have from Downton is the little dog that Mary gives Matthew at the train station in series two. Donal, our amazing production designer, gave it to me. What’s funny is that I have a lurcher dog that looks exactly the same as this little teddy. It’s like Julian could foresee that I was going to have a lurcher in the future that looked like the little dog that Mary gives Matthew. It’s bizarre. I really treasure that, it’s such a special little thing.
INDULGE: If you could go back and play any character other than your own, who would it be?
DOCKERY: Thomas. Always Thomas, because he’s had the best journey, from start to finish. He’s had his ups and downs. He is such a three-dimensional, brilliant character. All the characters are, but there’s just something about Thomas that is so cleverly written, and I just love the way Rob plays him.
INDULGE: Last question, how are you going to say goodbye to Mary?
DOCKERY: I don’t think I will ever say goodbye to Mary or Downton. Mary will always be part of me as will Downton Abbey as a whole. We are such a family that, for us, it never really ends.
–Kelly Fine
More information at https://www.focusfeatures.com/downton-abbey-the-grand-finale
indulge 