Paul Giamatti honours Maggie Smith’s legacy in ‘Downton Abbey 3’

Washington [US], April 7 (ANI): Actor Paul Giamatti has spoken about the emotional experience of reprising his role in ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’ following Maggie Smith’s passing.

As per Deadline, in a recent interview, the actor reflected on how the film honours Smith’s legacy, and said, “It was not the same without her, but it felt very much like in her honor in some way. Everybody was still acting in her spirit.”

Giamatti, who initially appeared in the show’s Season 4 Christmas special, was surprised to be asked back for the film.

He teased that his character, Harold Levinson, has a significant role in the movie, and said, “The interesting thing for me was that they even asked me at all because I was like, ‘I don’t have an important character in this story,'” as quoted by Deadline.

The film features a star-studded cast, including Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, and Simon Russell Beale, as well as mainstays from the original series.

Executive producer Gareth Neame has earlier revealed that the movie will include a “meaningful” tribute to Smith, whose character, Violet Crawley, passed away in the previous film.

The film is set for theatrical release on September 12.