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| Paul Giamatti to join cast of Downton Abbey | Paul Giamatti to join cast of Downton Abbey |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Sideways star Paul Giamatti is joining the cast of Downton Abbey alongside his fellow US actor Shirley MacLaine. | The Sideways star Paul Giamatti is joining the cast of Downton Abbey alongside his fellow US actor Shirley MacLaine. |
| But Downton fans will have to wait until the feature-length final episode of the fourth series at Christmas for Giamatti's entrance, playing Harold, the "maverick, playboy brother" of Elizabeth McGovern's Cora, Countess of Grantham. | But Downton fans will have to wait until the feature-length final episode of the fourth series at Christmas for Giamatti's entrance, playing Harold, the "maverick, playboy brother" of Elizabeth McGovern's Cora, Countess of Grantham. |
| MacLaine, who had a guest starring role in last year's third outing of the hit ITV drama as Cora's straight-talking American mother, will also be back for the Christmas special. | MacLaine, who had a guest starring role in last year's third outing of the hit ITV drama as Cora's straight-talking American mother, will also be back for the Christmas special. |
| The casting of big-name US talent is a canny move by Downton Abbey's producers with one eye on the American market, where the show is arguably an even bigger hit than in the UK. | The casting of big-name US talent is a canny move by Downton Abbey's producers with one eye on the American market, where the show is arguably an even bigger hit than in the UK. |
| It is the highest-rating drama in US broadcaster PBS's 40-year history and has won multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards. | It is the highest-rating drama in US broadcaster PBS's 40-year history and has won multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards. |
| Other new cast members for this autumn's new series include Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, the former EastEnders actor Nigel Harman, Tom Cullen, Julian Ovenden, Joanna David and Gary Carr. | Other new cast members for this autumn's new series include Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, the former EastEnders actor Nigel Harman, Tom Cullen, Julian Ovenden, Joanna David and Gary Carr. |
| The new series will rejoin Hugh Bonneville's Lord Grantham and his aristocratic family in the 1920s, with Carr playing a jazz singer. | The new series will rejoin Hugh Bonneville's Lord Grantham and his aristocratic family in the 1920s, with Carr playing a jazz singer. |
| Fans were left stunned at the end of last Christmas's final episode by the death of Dan Stevens's Matthew Crawley, heir to the Grantham estate, in a car accident after visiting his wife and their firstborn in hospital. | Fans were left stunned at the end of last Christmas's final episode by the death of Dan Stevens's Matthew Crawley, heir to the Grantham estate, in a car accident after visiting his wife and their firstborn in hospital. |
| Downton Abbey's creator Julian Fellowes recently admitted to the Hollywood Reporter that writing Stevens out had been "testing" but unavoidable with the actor leaving the show to pursue other projects. | Downton Abbey's creator Julian Fellowes recently admitted to the Hollywood Reporter that writing Stevens out had been "testing" but unavoidable with the actor leaving the show to pursue other projects. |
| Stevens apologised in a Radio Times interview for ruining fans' Christmas Day viewing, but said the manner of his exit was down to Fellowes and the show's producers. | Stevens apologised in a Radio Times interview for ruining fans' Christmas Day viewing, but said the manner of his exit was down to Fellowes and the show's producers. |
| Garethe Neame, managing director of the Downton Abbey producer Carnival Films, described Giamatti's character as a "rather free-spirited uncle" and predicted that he and MacLaine would "upset the Granthams' apple cart in this year's Christmas Day episode". | Garethe Neame, managing director of the Downton Abbey producer Carnival Films, described Giamatti's character as a "rather free-spirited uncle" and predicted that he and MacLaine would "upset the Granthams' apple cart in this year's Christmas Day episode". |