Paul Giamatti pays tribute to Maggie Smith while discussing ‘Downton Abbey 3’

Paul Giamatti is stepping again into Downton Abbey—and this time, he is doing it with a mixture of reverence, shock, and a deep sense of honoring a legendary co-star.
As he prepares for the discharge of his upcoming Black Mirror episode, Giamatti can be opening up about his return to the long-lasting interval drama in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, a movie that carries the load of claiming goodbye to Dame Maggie Smith.
“It was not the identical with out her, but it surely felt very very similar to in her honor indirectly. She definitely nonetheless feels current via the entire thing. Not having her there may be clearly an enormous loss, however everyone was nonetheless performing in her spirit,” Giamatti advised PEOPLE, reflecting on Smith’s passing and the emotional tone her absence delivered to the set.
The actor, who initially popped into the Downton universe in the course of the Season 4 Christmas particular as Harold Levinson—Cora’s (Elizabeth McGovern) spirited American brother—admitted that rejoining the forged in spite of everything these years wasn’t one thing he ever anticipated.
In actual fact, he was simply as shocked as everybody else.
“The fascinating factor for me was that they even requested me in any respect as a result of I used to be like, ‘I don’t have an necessary character on this story.’ However what’s humorous is my character has a really vital position. He does one thing very vital within the film,” he teased, clearly holding again spoilers with a wink and a nudge.
Whereas Giamatti didn’t get a lot screentime with Maggie Smith throughout his unique run, the moments they did share left an impression.
“Working together with her the primary time round was probably the greatest issues ever and I didn’t even actually get to do this a lot together with her,” he recalled.
The ultimate chapter of Downton received’t be quick on acquainted faces. Alongside returning forged members like McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, and Laura Carmichael, The Grand Finale additionally welcomes recent vitality with newcomers Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale, and Arty Froushan.
And with Giamatti’s Harold now enjoying a extra pivotal position than earlier than, it seems like followers can count on a finale crammed with each coronary heart and some surprises.