On the Level: Downton star Robert James Collier talks about his new crime drama.

After six seasons as Downton Abbey’s scheming footman Thomas, Robert James Collier returns to our screens this week in the new British crime drama The Level. Screening across five nights, the series stars Karla Crome as Detective Sergeant Nancy Devlin, a

TV Guide: This is your first role after the final series of Downton Abbey. Why did you want to play Kevin?

Robert: I wanted the next thing to be something new and good. Sometimes you have to wait for that. The Level is really fresh, fast-paced, high-octane, exciting and has a young cast. It’s just non-stop with so much going on and is so interwoven and interconnected. It was worth the wait. There was an increase in the number of bad guy roles I was offered (after Downton) – although not necessarily butlering. It was nice to get something fresh, new and worlds apart. So it’s another stepping stone. One of the reasons I became an actor is to play different characters and meet different people in different locations. You couldn’t get any more different than The Level.

How do you look back on this new role after leaving Downton

Abbey behind?

I was so nervous on my first day filming on The Level. I hadn’t worked for about eight months so I was like, ‘Oh, how do I act again? I’ve forgotten.’ Downton was a fantastic journey. And I always use the word ‘privilege’ because if you’re ever working in this game, it’s a privilege. It’s so hard to get work and there are so many better actors than me out of work. Downton was a once-in-a-lifetime experience in terms of its success across the world. I can’t see that happening again for a while on such a scale. To be part of that was fantastic. And to get six years out of it when I was originally only signed for the first series – because Thomas was going to get sacked or die. Sometimes you look

back and go, ‘Wow, have we just gone on that journey together?’ But it has to end. You don’t want it to fade out, become jaded and worn. There’s always that danger. So we were very lucky to get six series – to close that door, to have the memories.

When we first see Kevin, he is wearing a cast. Have you ever broken anything?

My own bones, no. But I broke a Victorian fireplace belonging to me yesterday in a house I’m refurbishing with my cousin. He took his time getting it off the wall, because it’s going on another wall. It’s been there since 1850. I had all the separate pieces of the fireplace lined up. Then I’ve turned to say something, slightly hungover, and clipped one of the front legs. I was just like, ‘Oh my God’. It’ll glue back together. Just one of those moments.

O’Dowd is seen driving in a speeding police car chase in The Level. How much of that were you allowed to film yourself?

More than I wanted to, because I’m a bad driver. I’ve got an automatic and haven’t driven a manual for years. They asked, ‘Can you drive a manual?’ And I went, ‘Yeah, but I prefer an automatic’. Then they gave me a manual. Of course, they strap a hugely expensive camera to the side of it. So the width is huge and I’ve got to get through these tiny gates at speed. It was quite nerve-racking. There were a few close calls. I’m a terrible driver. I shouldn’t be let loose on the roads.

Nancy and O’Dowd do a job that makes a difference. Do actors make a difference?

We’re not saving lives. We’re not claiming that. But for a culture to evolve and advance you need the arts. It’s inspiration – a world of escapism for other people. And it’s not just TV, film and stage. It’s art, books and music. I don’t know where I’d be without music in my life. It permeates right through. And it’s a great way for children to get involved in the arts. It helps children develop teamwork and inter-personal skills. It gives them confidence and a release you can’t achieve through some of the other subjects in schools which are maybe more academic.

A vintage mobile phone features in the drama. Do you think we’re now too obsessed with our mobiles?

It’s an addiction. The battery human. You look around on the train and everyone is staring at a screen. I’m guilty of it as well but I think we can be too connected to being connected. And we do look at screens too much. It affects the senses. I definitely think as a species we need to cut back on that. It’s interrupting life too much. It’s bad for the eyes as well.

“It’s so hard to get work and there are so many better actors than me out of work.” – Robert James Collier