Elizabeth McGovern wishes her Downton Abbey character ‘had more interesting stories’

Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Cora Crawley the Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey, has said that she wishes her character had “more interesting” storylines.

The 64-year-old plays a wealthy heiress who brings her substantial dowry to the titular estate, funding its operations. However, her character offers a more muted presence in contrast to others, such as Maggie Smith’s Violet Crawley.

McGovern reflected on the role’s difficulties and the lack of agency afforded to Cora as part of the show.

“I wish at times she could have had more interesting stories,” she told The Guardian. But she suggested that it would have been inappropriate for her to have “any more political or social power, because it just wouldn’t be accurate to the time”.

The Once Upon a Time in America actor said that it was challenging to experience the restrictions placed on women.

Asked if she struggled to play the character, she admitted: “At times, yes.”

“I think as a contemporary woman, it is hard to feel the straitjacket of that period,” she explained.

The popular period drama ran for six seasons between 2010 and 2015 and spawned two films, Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022), with a third, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, to be released in September this year.

Dame Maggie Smith played a key part in the show’s success and was beloved to its fandom. She died in September last year, aged 89. McGovern said the Harry Potter star’s presence “permeates” filming to this day.

“She’s still very much in the atmosphere,” she said. “I don’t feel there’s a big hole. In fact, in some ways, it sort of freed up the rest of the narrative to have a flow, because it’s not stopping for her moments. But everything she represents is there. She’s in every room, in every interaction, so it’s not like she’s not there. It’s a weird thing.”

McGovern is a celebrated actor whose credits include Once Upon a Time in America (1984), and Ragtime (1981) for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.