The art of the butler is to be omnipresent without being seen. But when it comes to "Downton Abbey"—the smash hit saga of the noble British Grantham family—Carson the butler often steals the scenes. Jim Carter, the actor behind Mr. Carson's sonorous voice and elegant demeanor, joined Jim Braude and Margery Eagan in our studios at WGBH.
Highlights from the interview include:
On Downton Abbey coming to an end after six seasons
"We finished filming it in August. My hair has grown, I've put on weight. Everything has changed. I've got a suntan. It's been a big piece of my life for six years...You don't want to outstay your welcome, especially if you're a British gentleman. We wanted to go out while the stories are still believable. Otherwise, Carson would be 125, the Dowager would be long gone, the house would be sold to a health farm, Carson would be doing aromatherapy. You've got to go before it gets silly. It's always nice to leave people loving it...We don't want to fade away. We want to go out while we're on top."
The only thing that isn't genuine is the red wine—we couldn't let Maggie Smith lose her nerve at nine o'clock in the morning.
On the show's surprising appeal to American audiences
"I think it's because it's exotic, isn't it? Whilst being strangely very traditional, it seems exotic in this day when everything is so casual. You hardly dress up for any occasions now. In this society ruled by ritual, everything has to be done properly, everybody has to wear the right outfit for every occasion. The table settings are immaculate. When we do those dining room scenes, there are real flowers on the table, really exotic silverware on the table, the food is cooked by a home economist offstage and brought on so that Hugh Bonneville is eating lobster in aspic at eight o'clock in the morning and is replaced every time. The only thing that isn't genuine is the red wine--we couldn't let Maggie Smith lose her nerve at nine o'clock in the morning. So there's a little spoiler for you. It's not red wine, folks, it's grape juice."
On his Boston connection
"I was in Boston 40 years ago playing at the downstairs theater at the Charles Playhouse...for nine months we played an English comedy show. It was called 'The Wild Stunt Show' and we shot people out of cannons and there were mailbag escapes and we set fire to somebody's head. It was raucous and vulgar and such good fun...I have to say, I love Boston as a city, because it's got four proper seasons. It has the cold winter you're having at the moment but a bright spring and a hot summer and a colorful autumn. I had a great time."
On the final scene he filmed for Downton Abbey
"The last day all the servants were together, we were all together in the servants' hall last August. We were filming a scene that is right at the end of the series. It was kind of a low-key scene and it was low lighting, it wasn't a big intense scene. But there was a feeling of farewell about it. At the end of that, they said 'cut—and that's the end of all the servants in the servants hall at Downton Abbey.' I didn't think, because I'm a curmudgeonly old creature a bit like Mr. Carson, I didn't think it would affect me at all. Well, we were all in tears, I can tell you."
Jim Carter is an actor and the co-founder of WandAid. For more information about his appearances in the Portsmouth and Boston areas to fundraise for Nepal, click here. This transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.
