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Downton Abbey Biographical Notes

Downton Abbey Biographical Notes

Biographical Notes

Laura Carmichael Lady Edith Crawley in Downton Abbey

Jealous sister, wartime nurse, jilted bride, Lady Edith has seen her share of stress, yet she launches into Downton Abbey, 4, with all the self-confidence of a new woman in the Roaring Twenties. No Crawley stick-in-the-mud she! plays this complex character with charm and vulnerability. A graduate of the Old Vic Theatre School, she recently made her West End debut in opposite and . Carmichael's other television and film credits include The Heart of Thomas Hardy, House at the End of Our Street, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, in which she played Sal opposite Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, and . Her previous stage appearances include The Cuckolds, A Chaste in Cheapside, The Vicar of Wakefield, and —all at the .

Michelle Dockery Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey

Michelle Dockery’s character, Lady Mary, returns to Downton Abbey, Season 4, as a brand new mother and widow. Considering the Mr. Pamuk incident, the ill-fated engagement to Sir Richard, and the on-again-off-again relationship with Matthew, she has already been through quite a lot. And it’s not over. Dockery has sailed through the emotional turmoil with critical accolades, including Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominations for Best Actress. In upcoming work, she stars with and in the soon-to-be-released action film Non-Stop. Recently, she starred with in the BBC spy thriller Reckless, she played the socialite Princess Myagkaya opposite and in ’s Anna Karenina, and she was Kate Percy in an all-star production of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part One and Part Two, which will air under the umbrella title The Hollow Crown on Great Performances on PBS in September. A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Dockery was nominated in 2006 for the Award for her performance in Pillars of the Community at the National Theatre. In 2007, she won second prize at the for her portrayal of Eliza Doolittle in Sir ’s production of at the Theatre Royal, Bath, which also earned her a nomination for Best Newcomer at the Evening Standard Awards. In 2009, she appeared in Burnt by the Sun at the National Theatre, for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

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Funding provided by Downton Abbey, August 2013 TCA Bios, Page 2

Joanne Froggatt Anna Bates (née Smith) in Downton Abbey

The most sweet tempered of all Downton Abbey characters, Anna has been at the heart of the series’ most shocking storylines: the stashing of Mr. Pamuk’s body in Season 1, and the murder trial and near execution of her new husband, Mr. Bates—a legal drama that reached a happy conclusion last season and won actress an Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress during Season 2. The forensic work must have come in handy for Joanne’s starring role as Detective Inspector Sarah Clayton in the new feature filmuwantme2killhim? by Amityville Horror–remake director Andrew Douglas. She will also be seen in two soon-to-be-released films:Still Life opposite Eddie Marsan, directed by Uberto Pasolini (The Full Monty), and Filth alongside James McAvoy and Jamie Bell. Last year Joanne was featured in True Love, a five-part series for the BBC, in which she starred with and Vicky McClure. In 2010 she delivered a hard-hitting performance as a female soldier returning from the Iraq war in filmIn Our Name, earning the Best Newcomer Award at the British Independent Film Awards. On stage, Froggatt recently starred in a run of The Knowledge/Little Platoons at London’s Bush Theatre, earning rave reviews and in December 2010 she took a guest role in the Christmas special of the acclaimed comedy series The Royle Family. Her other television work includes Danielle Cable: Eye Witness (Best Actress nominee Awards), the BAFTA award-winning See No Evil–The Moors Murders, Murder in the Outback, Island at War, and the multi-award-winning series for the BBC: Life on Mars and The Street.

Phyllis Logan Mrs. Hughes in Downton Abbey

Phyllis Logan stars as Mrs. Hughes, the redoubtable Scottish housekeeper at Downton Abbey. A Scot herself, Logan is known in Britain for some quite different roles—for example, the flirtatious Lady Jane in the long-running TV comedy series Lovejoy, or the passionate seductress of Bill Paterson in an episode of the BBC’s paranormal series Sea of Souls. A familiar face on British television, Logan’s credits include Lip Service, Kavanagh, Inspector Morse, Poirot, Dalziel & Pascoe, Alibi, Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Fields of Gold, and NCS Manhunt. Recent years have seen her in Vera, Wallander, Beneath the Skin, Silent Witness, Missing, Holby City, Hope & Glory, and . Logan’s theater credits include the original West End production of Marvin’s Room and Richard III with Kenneth Branagh at Crucible. Most recently she appeared at the Bush with Joseph Fiennes and Ian Hart in 2000 Feet Away. For her film debutAnother Time Another Place, she won BAFTA’s Most Outstanding Newcomer to Films in 1983. Her other film credits includeShooting Fish, Soft Top Hard Shoulders, and Mike Leigh’s Secrets and Lies. Most recently on film Logan has been seen inNativity! opposite Martin Freeman.

Sophie McShera Daisy Mason in Downton Abbey

Promoted to Downton Abbey’s assistant cook in season 3, Daisy is tempted to high-handed ways with the replacement scullery maid, Ivy. Actress Sophie McShera stars as another despot in Disney’s upcoming live-action film of Cinderella, directed by Kenneth Branagh, in which she plays the wicked stepsister Drizella opposite Downton Abbey’s (Lady Rose) in the title role and as the Fairy Godmother. In 2009-2010 McShera played the role of Pea opposite Mark Rylance in the critically acclaimed play Jerusalem, which was given an extended run in London’s West End. Earlier this year, she starred with Sarah Hadland and Russell Tovey in The Job Lot, a new comedy series on ITV. Also on television, she played a student at a failing inner-city school in the long-running BBC drama series . McShera began her professional acting career at age twelve in a production of The Goodbye Girl at The Palladium in London.

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Gareth Neame Executive Producer, Downton Abbey

Gareth Neame is a Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award winning Drama Producer and Executive, based in London. Neame is the Managing Director of , the respected British production company which he sold to NBC Universal in 2008 as the cornerstone of their new international TV studios. Neame is one of the UK’s leading producers and is responsible for the global TV phenomenon Downton Abbey, winner of The Golden Globe® for Best Mini Series and nine Primetime Emmy® Awards, including Best Mini Series. With a total of 39 nominations, it is the most nominated non-US show in the history of the Emmys®. Among numerous national and international awards, the show garnered a Guinness World Record for the highest critical review ratings for a TV show. Neame has also been recognised by The Producers Guild of America with the David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-form Television. Neame has also recently executive produced adaptations of Shakespeare’s history plays The Hollow Crown; Richard II, Henry IV Part 1 & 2 and . Carnival also produced the British Academy Award winning Best Drama serial Any Human Heart for C4, David Hare’s political thriller Page Eight starring Bill Nighy and , Blake Morrison’s The Last Weekend and also produces the popular crime series on ITV1 Whitechapel. Forthcoming productions include Murder on the Home Front and a new series of Dracula for NBC to star Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Carnival’s prestigious output has resulted in the company winning The Broadcast Award in 2012 and The Bulldog award in 2011 for Best Production Company. Over the years, Carnival has produced many popular shows such as Hotel Babylon, Poirot, Enid, Sea of Souls, Jeeves and Wooster, As If, Rosemary and Thyme and Traffik, as well as US content such as The Philanthropist for NBC and The Grid for TNT. Other productions Neame has been responsible for at Carnival include Whistleblowers, Midnight Man and The Old Curiosity Shop. Prior to joining the company, Neame had a successful career as Head of Drama at the BBC and was instrumental in the significant growth in independent production, responsible for the development and production of a range of innovative, award-winning and popular shows such as Spooks (MI5), Bodies, Outlaws, Hustle, New Tricks, Tipping the Velvet and Clocking Off. After graduating with a degree in English and Drama in 1988, Neame worked extensively in both production and development at the BBC and as an independent producer. Neame was the Executive Producer of the multi-award winning series State of Play and other producer credits include Truth or Dare (BAFTA winner, RTS nominated), All the King’s Men, The Woman in White (BAFTA nominated), The Missing Postman (British Comedy Award winner), Station Jim, Getting Hurt, The Wyvern Mystery, Lorna Doone, Happy Birthday Shakespeare, Cambridge Spies, Take a Girl Like You, Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky (nominated for South Bank Show award), Paranoid and Peter Kosminsky’s multi award winning Warriors. Neame served on The Council of The British Academy of Film and Television Arts from 2004-06 and has spoken about the contribution of IP to the UK economy and on issues of IP piracy to the IP Alliance at The House of Commons.

Rebecca Eaton Executive Producer, MASTERPIECE

Named one of TIME Magazine’s Most Influential People of 2011, took over the helm of the PBS series MASTERPIECE THEATRE and MYSTERY! in 1985, and oversaw a highly successfully relaunch of MASTERPIECE in 2008 that has attracted a broader range of viewers to the series. Eaton has brought American audiences such high-profile titles asPrime Suspect, Bleak House, The Prince, Inspector Morse, Miss Marple, The Complete Jane Austen, Cranford, Wallander, Little Dorrit, and the recent hits Sherlock and Downton Abbey, which drew more than 24.1 million viewers during its third season. Under her leadership, MASTERPIECE has won 44 Primetime ®, 17 Peabody Awards, two Golden Globes®, and two Academy Award® nominations. Eaton’s distinguished career has earned her the official recognition of Queen Elizabeth II—with an honorary OBE (Officer, Order of the British Empire). Eaton's memoir, MAKING MASTERPIECE: 25 Years Behind the Scenes at Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! on PBS, will be published by Viking on October 29, 2013.

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