‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’ Cast Interview

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(L to R) Hugh Bonneville, Allen Leech, and Kevin Doyle star in ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’.

Opening in theaters on September 12th is the third and final movie in the ‘Downton Abbey’ franchise entitled ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale‘, which was directed by Simon Curtis (‘My Week with Marilyn’).

The film stars Hugh Bonneville (‘Paddington’), Michelle Dockery (‘The Gentlemen’), Elizabeth McGovern (‘Ordinary People’), Allen Leech (‘Bohemian Rhapsody’), Kevin Doyle (‘Good’), Dominic West (‘The Wire’), Alessandro Nivola (‘Kraven the Hunter’), Joely Richardson (‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’), and Paul Giamatti (‘The Holdovers’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Hugh Bonneville. Allen Leech and Kevin Doyle about their work on ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’, Bonneville’s first reaction to the final screenplay, ending the franchise, what the series has meant to Leech personally, how Doyle’s character has changed since the last film, and the genius of series creator Julian Fellowes.

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Hugh Bonneville stars as Robert Grantham in 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale', a Focus Features release. Credit: Rory Mulvey / © 2025 Focus Features LLC.

Moviefone: To begin with, Hugh, what was your first reaction to reading the final screenplay and was it bittersweet making this movie knowing that it would be the last time you would play this character?

Hugh Bonneville: Well, we always knew that this was going to be the third and final film. The script went through many changes during its development. Julian was batting it back and forth, and the final iteration seemed the appropriate one. Where there are so many farewells within the story, so many elements of regime change, if you like, both upstairs and down, with the changing of the guard. It just felt like a good farewell to our audience who have been the real driving force in sustaining us for so long.

Allen Leech stars as Tom Branson in 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale', a Focus Features release. Credit: Rory Mulvey / © 2025 Focus Features LLC.

MF: Allen, as an actor, what has it meant to you personally to work with this cast and to be a part of this franchise?

Allen Leach: It’s been an absolute joy and a pleasure to be part of it, and something I don’t think any of us have expected. Certainly, for myself and Kevin, with our roles, we were only hired for a couple of episodes. So, it’s very surreal after fifteen years and the whole six seasons and three movies, to be here talking to you about this final part of it. It really has been such an incredibly important part of my life and I’m very grateful to Julian for including an Irish character first off, and then also not killing him off in the first couple of seasons. So, it’s been wonderful and it’s something I will miss terribly and that’s only really hitting home now as we do these last couple of days of the press tour that I won’t get to annoy Hugh as much as I normally would or Kevin.

(L to R) Kevin Doyle stars as Mr. Molesley and Michael Fox as Andy Parker in 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale', a Focus Features release. Credit: Rory Mulvey / © 2025 Focus Features LLC.

MF: Kevin, can you talk about how your character has changed since the last movie and where we find him when this movie begins?

Kevin Doyle: Well, he’s got a lot wealthier. He’s got a nice house, he’s got a lovely car, he’s got a beautiful wife. Yet, dot, dot, dot, there’s a lot of anxiety, there’s a lot of pressure on him to get these scripts out. He’s a bit of a perfectionist, and nothing has ever quite right for him, and so there’s a lot of self-imposed pressure, and he’s finding it difficult to live with.

(L to R) Producer Liz Trubridge, director Simon Curtis and writer/creator/producer Julian Fellowes on the set of ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Rory Mulvey / © 2025 Focus Features LLC.

MF: Hugh, can you talk about the genius of Julian Fellows and this incredible international phenomenon that he has created?

HB: Well, Julian, as an actor by his initial trade, has a good ear for dialogue, clearly. I can remember reading the very first script and finding all these characters so vivid. They really sprung into my mind’s eye, and I could see each of them well, before they were cast, and so that doesn’t always happen. Often, you can find the characters are interchangeable in a script, but these all had their own voice, and the narrative had such forward momentum that, like everyone who then came to watch the show, I wanted to know what happened next. So, I think that is what is part of the genius of Julian. Not only does he write great lines, but he inhabits these characters. He really cares about them, each of them, and they are complex and three dimensional. But they all come from a place of inherent goodness or a generosity of spirit, and I think that’s been the underlying tone of the show, that there is a warmth about it. It is a world of fiction. I mean, some UK journalists used to get a bit uppity that it wasn’t a documentary and wasn’t correct about the social injustices of the aristocracy. But nevertheless, millions of people have enjoyed visiting this fictional world and taking part in its stories and that they’ve been universal stories. So that’s what Julian’s knack has been to create a fast-paced narrative, but with characters with whom you want to spend time.

(L to R) Allen Leech stars as Tom Branson, Dominic West as Guy Dexter and Robert James-Collier as Thomas Barrow in ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Rory Mulvey / © 2025 Focus Features LLC.

MF: Finally, Kevin, what has your experience been like working with Julian on this franchise?

KD: In terms of Julian’s craft, it’s astonishing that he’s been able to sustain twenty odd characters for this length of time, and quite honestly, to keep all those actors happy as well with good storylines and within this one movie, he’s had to wrap it up. Well, not so much wrap up, but he’s had to suggest an ongoing life for twenty odd characters, which is an extraordinary achievement, I think.

(L to R) Laura Carmichael stars as Lady Edith, Harry Hadden-Paton as Bertie Hexham, Elizabeth McGovern as Cora Grantham, Hugh Bonneville stars as Robert Grantham and Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary in ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Rory Mulvey / © 2025 Focus Features LLC.

What is the plot of ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’?

The film follows the Crawley family and the Downton Abbey staff as they enter the 1930s. When Mary (Michelle Dockery) finds herself at the center of a public scandal caused by her divorce and the family faces financial trouble, the entire household grapples with the threat of social disgrace. The Crawleys must embrace change as the staff prepare for a new chapter with the next generation leading Downton Abbey into the future.