Mr. Carson Was Always the True Father-Figure of Downton Abbey
Actor Jim Carter shares why coming back to Downton in the film was his character’s “salvation.”
Robert Crawley may be the Earl of Grantham, but the true patriarch of Downton Abbey, at least according to the story’s creator Julian Fellowes, is Mr. Carson, the home’s stately butler, played by actor Jim Carter.
“Carson is the father of Downton,” Fellowes told me in a phone interview ahead of the movie’s premiere, “because he, in a way, believes in the system more than any of the others.”
And so, despite the fact that Carson retired at the end of the television series, he returns to the house to ensure that the royal visit goes smoothly. After all, a film without Carson managing the downstairs is akin to blasphemy in the Downton Abbey universe.
“He retired because he got a tremor in his heart, and he couldn’t do all the work,” Fellowes explained. “But I think we’ve established that whether or not you can pour wine—which I hope you notice he never does at any point in the film—that is less important than his general spirit, which is needed.”
When Lady Mary sees Mr. Barrow, who replaced Carson as the home’s butler, struggle with the preparations for King George V and Queen Mary’s arrival, she immediately turns to her beloved father-figure for help. And as Mrs. Hughes quips, Mr. Carson “could never refuse her anything.”
But he isn’t just coming back as a favor; returning to Downton is “Carson’s salvation,” Carter himself says.
“Carson wouldn’t last very long in retirement,” he tells me. “His life has been geared to serving this house, serving this family. Take that away from him, and I don’t think he’s got the resources to last very long.”
And so, Mr. Carson is once again put in charge of maintaining order in the Crawley family home.
“What is lovely in the film is that Barrow gets himself into a bit of a mess, and so when Carson come in and says, ‘Oh, we can get that sorted out. No trouble at all.” We’ve done it without it for 400 years,’ immediately, there’s a sense of reassurance there, which I think the audience appreciates,“ Kevin Doyle, who plays Mr. Molesley, says.
In real life, it seems, Carter is quite similar to his character. (For the record, his eyebrows are almost more impressive in real life.)
"It’s no accident that Jim’s playing that part,” Carter’s wife Imelda Staunton, who appears in the film as a new character, Lady Maud Bagshaw, tells me. "He’s as honorable as Mr. Carson.“
By the sound of it, he’s as paternal as his character, as well.
Fellow cast members, like Sophie McShera, who plays Daisy, call him "Daddy Jim,” and Laura Carmichael, who plays Lady Edith, has spoken publicly about Carter’s generosity and mentorship on set.
“[Downton] was my first time on a film set at all and Jim was so kind. It was a breakfast scene, and he saw me go 'Props! I don’t know how to do this?!’ And he said, 'Why don’t you come over here lovey and help yourself to some of this, and I’ll help you,’” she revealed in an interview with the British talk show This Morning.
“He was just amazing, and he’s remained that way the whole time.”
Carter says he isn’t a carbon copy of his character—"What’s different is I, Jim Carter, can’t abide routine. I hate routine. It drives me insane"—but they do share similar values.
“I do believe in behaving correctly and properly. I believe in good manners and politeness, and that you should have respect. I think there is a value in that,” he said. “Possibly, because I’m the oldest person downstairs, I have a paternal…”
Carter didn’t finish his thought, but his colleague Doyle jumped in without hesitation. “He’s the father of the company.”
baratheonpilled
areudirty
2087
titsay
turnnoffyourmind
kianamaiart
tangentwithtanner
pixelskylines
