
“The thing about Mary is that she’s incredibly strong and has already been through quite a lot. Before Matthew died, she lost a sister and went through the whole scandal with Pamuk and Richard Carlisle. She’s really been through the mill. And what’s wonderful to play is the whole British, stiff-upper-lip thing. You keep calm and carry on. She’s not weak. She’s a survivor. So she will come through it.” — Michelle Dockery
(Source: bodaciouscans)

Of all the characters, Mary is the one who undergoes the greatest metamorphosis over the course of the three series. When we first met her she appeared to be a hard-hearted, rather cold and ambitious elder daughter of an earl. Blighted by having been born a girl rather than a boy, she needed to prove that she could make a success of herself just as much as any male heir would have. Mary’s closest relationships are with men: her father, Matthew and Carson. This stems, perhaps, from her feeling that she should have been born a boy. If she wasn’t one, then she was going to be as near as dammit. Her admirable qualities are ones that would have been considered masculine in 1920: she’s an adventurer, brave, an excellent horsewoman and a natural leader. In many ways, a woman of her disposition at that time would have been frustrated by the stemming of her potential. — Jessica Fellowes, The Chronicles of Downton Abbey
(Source: bodaciouscans)
Top 8 people/things that should have played Matthew Crawley instead of Dan Stevens (According to Twitter users):
- Tom Hiddleston
- Jon Hamm
- Cate Blanchett
- Michelle Dockery
- Meryl Streep
- Meryl Streep’s Oscar
- A bedpost
- A broken Swifter
(Source: provoloneclone)