Dan Stevens not too emotional about Downton exit

Downton Abbey fans were devastated when Matthew Crawley made his dramatic exit from the series at the end of the show’s third season. The British actor who played him, however, is less emotional about the plot point.

“It’s nice that people care, I suppose, about the show, but yeah, you know ... I had to do what I had to do,” Dan Stevens said.

He does recognise the phenomenon the show has become, airing in countries across the globe.

“It’s a show that means a lot to a lot of people, and, you know, we’ve obviously gone into a lot of homes on a Sunday night, so people feel very close to the show, which is great,” Stevens said.

On Downton, the relationship between Crawley and Michelle Dockery’s Lady Mary was a central storyline.

Stevens left the show to pursue other opportunities. He recently starred in The Heiress on Broadway with Jessica Chastain and shot a role in an upcoming film about the founder of WikiLeaks with fellow British actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

Stevens is now filming a movie with Liam Neeson called A Walk Among the Tombstones. That part has required the 30-year-old to trim down a bit and darken his hair.