Michelle Dockery is saying goodbye to Lady Mary Crawley. Photographer: Billie Scheepers Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Warning: spoilers ahead for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. Few can boast career longevity like the cast of Downton Abbey. "It's quite rare in an actor's career to have something that you go back to - like a regular job," says one of its stars, Michelle Dockery, famed for her performance as the unyielding and oft-mischievous Lady Mary Crawley. Dockery is reflecting on a whopping 15 years spent with this character, the two so closely entwined that the reality of never playing her again has, admittedly, taken some time to sink in. "It's reached it's end now," she tells The Hollywood Reporter. "We're soaking up this final, final one." Related Stories Movies "A Genius Has Passed": Tributes Pour in for Robert Redford After His Death Movies Oscars: Iran Picks 'Cause of Death: Unknown' as Best International Feature Submission Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is the third film in a trilogy that spawned from the wild popularity of ITV and PBS' six-season show set among the halls of a grand, stately home in early 20th century England. We pick up as Mary - as glamorous as ever, perhaps even more so - is caught in the throes of divorce, a scandalous development for women of that era. She is swiftly ousted from society, a plot point that came as a shock to Dockery, even if the split from Henry Talbot (a charming Matthew Goode) did not. "There was already rumblings of their marriage being on the rocks in A New Era, so I wasn't surprised when I read it," she says. "What I was surprised by were the reactions towards women at that time who were divorced." As Mary's family attempts to rally around the Downton heiress, Robert (Hugh Bonneville) and Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) are navigating their way through more financial strife, with those downstairs also left to ponder what the future holds for aristocratic homes like theirs. The world is changing, after all, and some aren't adapting fast enough. "Ultimately the film's about passing the baton on from one generation to another," continues Dockery. "Even though the last film was called A New Era, that's what you're seeing in this film - the new chapter." Returning to shepherd in the final phase for these beloved characters are Allen Leech, Laura Carmichael, Harry Hadden-Paton, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton, Phyllis Logan, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Joanne Froggatt and Robert James-Collier. Paul Giamatti, Alessandro Nivola and Dominic West also star. Both the absence and presence of the late Maggie Smith, beloved for her role as the whip-smart Violet Crawley, was also felt: "There was almost a quiet that fell when she walked onto set," Dockery recalls. "[Everyone] had that respect for her." Below, the British actress reminisces on the best of Downton Abbey and talks a little about what's coming after it. She discusses an alternate ending for The Grand Finale, which character she'd play if given the opportunity to swap and what it is about Downton that kept audiences coming back for six seasons and three films: "To be a part of something that gives people that comfort and that ease - it's a gift." *** How are you feeling about the prospect of never returning to Mary again? It's definitely sinking in now because we finished the New York tour last Thursday, and there's just been a couple of things since then. But it's reached its end now. I still feel really excited about people seeing [the film] and the response has been amazing so far. Yeah, we've all spent this time reflecting a lot on the last 15 years and just soaking up this final, final one. What are your biggest takeaways from the last 15 years? Well, it's really the friends that I've made. We say it a lot, but we are like a family. What I'll take with me is the friendships and [I'm] just very grateful for having been part of something that has been so beloved for such a long time. It's quite rare, I think, in an actor's career, to have something that you go back to - like a regular job! It's really unusual. You don't normally step back into something that has been ongoing for such a long time. So, yeah, I feel very grateful to have been part of it. Michelle Dockery and Laura Carmichael in season three of PBS' Downton Abbey. Joss Barratt/(C)PBS/Courtesy Everett Collection What do you think it is that people have loved so much about Downton Abbey - I know I find an immense sense of comfort in these characters. Julian [Fellowes] said it's a lot to do with each character having that goodness in them. I think comfort is the word. If we sum it up in one word, that's the one that I always come back to, because people do find it very soothing. ... And I understand that with period drama - I've always found it very soothing. I've just sta