LONG before Jim Carter accepted the role of a butler in the ITV series Downton Abbey, his name on a cast list was already a solid guarantee of quality. From the BBC’s The Singing Detective and Cranford to films such as A Month in the Country, The Madness of King George, Brassed Off and Shakespeare in Love, he had a CV to leave most British character actors green with envy.
However, within a year of the first airing of the Julian Fellowesscripted drama in 2010, his portrayal of the crusty, old-fashioned, deeply conservative yet loveably loyal and upstanding Mr Carson had turned him into a global name.
Slightly self-consciously, he says he’s since been publicly recognised on trips to such far-flung lands as New Zealand and India and even when riding a bicycle in Cambodia. ‘It’s been different for us all,’ he reflects. ‘I mean, Maggie Smith, with two Oscars, has never been in anything that made her so recognisable. Films don’t, because you only see them once, whereas with a TV series there’s repetition and, being in someone’s living room, there’s a human intimacy.’
He reckons it was on a trip to the US to publicise the second series at the end of 2011 that the cast first realised that they were part of a phenomenon. ‘I remember us walking down the streets of Manhattan and getting recognised a lot and thinking “that’s weird”.
‘Then we were invited down to the British ambassador’s residence, where all the great and the good, the mottled and the liver-spotted of Washington DC behaved disgracefully. It was like we were the Bay City Rollers. They were pulling at us, wanting selfies. It was so undignified,’ he laughs at the memory.
Denne historien er fra September 11, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra September 11, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
