‘Downton Abbey’ Cast and Crew

Clockwise from left: Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Julian Fellowes, Gareth Neame, Rob James-Collier and Joanne Froggatt were photographed June 11 at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.

Elizabeth McGovern

McGovern on her castmembers: "As the outsider on the series, someone who grew up and cut her professional teeth in Los Angeles, there is something just absolutely extraordinary about the discipline and commitment of this group of actors. Every day I’m in awe of it!"

Gareth Neame

"I like to think that it’s one of the things that may have led to success of the show; we all back Julian’s vision. Our broadcasters back our vision. And they frankly leave us alone to get on with the script," said executive producer Gareth Neame to The Hollywood Reporter.

Joanne Froggatt

"I’ve been acting since I was 16, and I’ve never done anything else, and honestly I can’t do anything else. I would be pretty useless!" said Froggatt who stars as Downton Abbey's Anna Bates.

Elizabeth McGovern

"If I weren’t acting? I’d be opening for Sting at the Montreux Jazz Festival with my band, Sadie and the Hotheads. Oh wait, I did! I play guitar and write songs. And because of Downton Abbey, we’ve really gotten some momentum, and we’re performing a lot more. It’s very exciting," said McGovern, who plays Cora Crawley on the PBS hit.

Julian Fellowes

Creator-writer Julian Fellowes told THR that his favorite fan interaction was "actually just after Matthew’s [Dan Stevens] death."

"I got a letter from this guy, and he said, 'I've got some recommendations on how to save the show. What we have to do is remount [Matthew’s] death at the beginning of the fourth episode. And this milk [truck] will come along, get jolted and fall all over Dan. Then it does something to his face and he wakes up as a different actor.' Then, at the very end of the letter, he said, 'I reread this letter, and I am not so sure about the milk.' "

Joanne Froggatt

Since starring on the show, Froggatt said the biggest change was "just coming out to the States more frequently." She continued, "Fame-wise … I don’t feel I’m instantly recognizable! I definitely don’t have people stopping me in the street every five minutes."

Michelle Dockery

Dockery on the death of Matt Crawley and her character Mary Crawley: "We knew quite early that Dan [Stevens] was leaving, but we certainly didn’t know how the story would pan out. Now going into [season] four, there is definitely more focus for me on Mary being in a very, very dark place."

Julian Fellowes

"Every show sets up its own reasonable expectations; Game of Thrones sets up certain expectations, and Downton inevitably sets up very different ones," said Fellowes. "It's not as though a serial killer is on the loose! It just wasn’t what fans thought they were going to get from the show. That's what we were up against really."

Michelle Dockery

"I’ve thought about what I would be if I weren’t acting, and I’d probably have been a dancer, I think, because that’s what I started out doing," Dockery explained. "I auditioned for musicals when I was 16 or 17. And I didn’t get any!"

Rob James-Collier

What has Downton Abbey done for Rob James-Collier, who stars as the show's Thomas Barrow?

"Doing Downton has afforded me a certain amount of security, which you rarely get as an actor. You hope that for six months of the year you’re going to be in employment," says James-Collier. He adds, "The show also makes it easier to get a mortgage. The bank manager looks on me more kindly than he used to."

Michelle Dockery

"But it’s strange, even though so much has happened since we started, I feel as an actor that the mood and tone has stayed the same as it was when the series began," commented Dockery.

Rob James-Collier

"This is one of the first shows I’ve done where we actually had a few weeks’ rehearsal before we started. That’s always huge," said James-Collier. "Something special is always born out of a rehearsal that you maybe wouldn’t have time to do on the day of shooting — like me kissing another man, for example, came out of that!"