MICHELLE DOCKERY
Lady Mary Crawley was quick to get rid of her corset and tights after Downton, and set tongues wagging with her extremely racy turn in the US series GoodBehavior.
Playing a serial con-artist, who has just been released from prison and immediately begins a romance with a hitman, was about as far from the Abbey as it was possible to go and it was for exactly that reason Michelle (35) picked the challenging role.
It also served as a good distraction from the loss of her fiancé John Dineen, who passed away from cancer in 2015, a topic she still can’t bring herself to talk about, other than acknowledging the support she received from friends and family.
“It was very fortunate for me that this came along at the right time. It wasn’t a conscious decision to do something so totally different from Lady Mary, but I was completely hooked on the script from the first page.”
However, she did have to pass her driving test to take the part – living in London her whole life, Michelle had never bothered with a car before!
Michelle has also just starred alongside Jim Broadbent in the nostalgic drama TheSense ofanEnding, which will be hitting New Zealand cinemas in May – a role where she could finally wear a pair of leggings!
But while she has definitely been keen to branch out from the role that made her name, Michelle’s also dropped a fairly large hint that we may just be returning to Downton.
“I think there is definitely a possibility [of a movie],” she says.
“And that’s all I can say! We are still hopeful.”