Lady Edith’s metamorphosis
In her “first real job” on Downton Abbey, Laura Carmichael talks about how her character is finding her voice,
TONY WONG
This article contains spoilers up to the end of Season 4 of Downton
Abbey and potential spoilers for Season 5.
Laura Carmichael was famously working as a receptionist at a doctor’s office when she was asked to read for a part in Downton Abbey in 2010. At the time she was set to go to Dubai to do a production of Twelfth Night. Fortunately for Downton fans, she decided to hold out for the role of Lady Edith. Born in Southhampton, England, Carmichael, 28, studied theatre at the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol. The Star caught up with her to talk about the trials and tribulations of playing Edith as she makes a way for herself in the modern world as a single woman. Season 5 begins on PBS on Jan. 4. Lady Edith, it seems, has gone from being one of the more unpopular characters after her early squabbles with Lady Mary to becoming one of the most beloved. It seems to have become quite an evolution for you.
Everyone is very kind and everyone seems to be rooting for her. And I think it’s because she’s gone through so much unhappiness. I think she’s brilliant. She’s bold as well. She doesn’t lie down and take it. She carries on. She doesn’t sit back and let life take her down. And maybe that’s the appeal.
We’ve gone through a lot with all our characters. They’ve grown up. They started as young teenagers vying for attention. They’ve gone through a war.
I feel very sorry for those girls whose lives revolved around getting a husband. Edith I think was the most traditional of the three. She would have fought for a simple match. She did try to make it, she would have been very happy having someone and being the lady of the house. But she was jilted and ended up finding a voice for herself. All of those things have softened her and added to who she is. Now, she’s become a sort of Carrie Bradshaw at the turn of the century. She’s a journalist with a column and a commitment it seems.
I love that she’s writing for a women’s magazine; they are a joy to read. We actually use a lot of them for our art department so I end up reading them. They are just joyful things, written in a way that feels very hysterical now, like how many times you should chew your food so you would lose weight. I don’t think Edith would be writing that. She’s trying to raise awareness about the war, I would hope. Or looking at problems of a modern-day woman. We don’t see a lot of her writing or what she’s writing about. Will that change in Season 5?
I know, it’s a dilemma. (Creator) Julian Fellowes has 17 main characters so there’s obviously a lot more going on behind the scenes. I’m certainly always wanting more references to what she does. In Season 5 we see more of her in London writing for the newspaper. Lady Edith has never had a particularly easy road. What can we expect of her path in the new season?
It’s always a bummer to start this way. We know where she is and it’s not a happy place when we leave her at the end of the last season. The child she brought back from Switzerland, she has managed to find a home on the estate. It’s not going to be without its problems. She cannot live with the fact that her child has been separated from her. And of course, her love interest, Michael Gregson, is still missing or stuck somewhere in Germany? It’s all very mysterious. Do we find him in Season 5?
Yes, Gregson is still missing. It’s incredibly difficult. We are constantly scanning to find out what’s happening. It’s an interesting rolling drama; you never know with these storylines. But yes and no, we don’t find out. I have to leave you with that. Why has Downton touched a chord with audiences, do you think? You would think so many years later we wouldn’t care about class.
I think it’s really like any other workplace drama. It’s about class. It’s about the ethics of the class system. It’s something we all know and can relate to in our own homes or offices . . . It’s part of our history. Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary) has been finding the time to sneak out to make the occasional movie appearance. Do you dare to think about life after Downton?
Downton has opened a lot of doors that I’m still exploring. It’s my first real job. Hugh (Bonneville, who plays Lord Grantham) keeps telling me that they’re not all like this. I’ve been lucky.
“She’s trying to raise awareness about the war, I would hope. Or looking at problems of a modern-day woman.” LAURA CARMICHAEL ON THE WRITING OF HER CHARACTER, LADY EDITH