'Downton Abbey' casting news: Paul Giamatti will portray an American relative
Another American is coming to 鈥�Downton Abbey.鈥�
鈥�The Ides of March鈥� actor Paul Giamatti will be appearing in the smash-hit British drama as Harold Levinson, brother of American countess Cora. The brother character has been discussed during the series by Cora and their mother (Shirley Maclaine), but so far had remained offscreen.
Harold is 鈥渇ree-spirited,鈥� Carnival Films managing director and 鈥淒ownton鈥� executive producer Gareth Neame said in a , and that during the finale of the upcoming season, he and Maclaine will 鈥渦pset the Granthams鈥� apple cart.鈥�
鈥淲e can't wait to see him work alongside Shirley Maclaine,鈥� Neame said.
鈥淒ownton鈥� will be premiering its fourth season in the UK this fall and is scheduled to come to America鈥檚 PBS stations in January of 2014.
The show centers on the lives of a British aristocratic family, the Crawleys, and the drama occurring between the family鈥檚 servants. So far, the family has weathered World War I and the social upheaval of the 1920s.
And (spoiler alert for season three) 鈥淒ownton鈥� shocked fans with its most recent season finale, which aired on Christmas Day in the UK, when the episode included the demise of the romantic lead, Matthew Crawley, who was married to the Crawley family鈥檚 oldest daughter.
Giamatti starred to critical acclaim in the HBO miniseries 鈥�John Adams鈥� as the title character, a role for which he received an Emmy Award. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 2005 film 鈥�Cinderella Man鈥� and was one of the two male leads in the well-received 2004 film 鈥�Sideways.鈥澛�
He will portray Friar Laurence in the upcoming adaptation of 鈥淩omeo and Juliet,鈥� and will play the Spider-Man villain the Rhino in 鈥淭he Amazing Spider-Man 2.鈥� He will also appear as part of the star-studded cast of the film 鈥淪aving Mr. Banks,鈥� in which Emma Thompson will play 鈥淢ary Poppins鈥� author P.L. Travers and Tom Hanks will portray Walt Disney.
