Lily James has confessed she still has to remind herself that her role in Downton Abbey is not a dream.

The 24-year-old actress plays naughty cousin Lady Rose in the ITV drama, who is sent to live at Downton Abbey in the new series so the Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith) can keep an eye on her.

Lily said: “I still feel a bit like, ‘Am I really in this show?’ It’s such a HUGE thing and it’s so great and it’s just a brilliant drama.

“I watched it, and to be in it and a part of the whole series is absolutely wonderful, and it’s been a great opportunity for me because I’m just starting out.

“It’s not my first job, but Downton feels like your first job, because it’s so huge it’s like nothing else mattered before!”

The new series sees the house in mourning after the death of Matthew Crawley, but Lily promised Lady Rose will bring some fun to Downton.

She revealed: “It’s very sombre and sad because Matthew’s died, so she’s trying to behave and fit and then as the series progresses, she’s trying to have fun and live life to the full.

“She’s like a flapper, that wave of passion and dancing and drinking.”

(Source)

Added several high quality stills from episode 2 of ‘Downton Abbey’ series four.

GALLERY LINKS
Television Productions > Downton Abbey (2012-2013) > Season 4 > Episode Stills > Episode #4.2

New interview and photoshoot for Lily, alongside her ‘Downton Abbey’ co-stars Sophie McShera and Cara Theobold.

GALLERY LINKS
Studio Photoshoots > Outtakes & Sessions > Session 025

Lady Rose MacClare is the headstrong great-niece of the Dowager Countess, played by Dame Maggie Smith. In the last series we saw her banished to Scotland in disgrace after she embarked on an affair with a married man and was caught in flagrante with him at the notoriously louche Blue Dragon nightclub.

Actress Lily James admits that – like Lady Rose – she is often driven by the heart rather than the head and can be impulsive. ‘A friend once asked me to cat-sit while she was on holiday,’ says Lily, 24, ‘and I fell in love with her cat so much that the day after she collected it, I drove to Essex and bought myself a beautiful black and white kitten, Coco, which was entirely mad as I was away a lot and living a ridiculous nomadic existence. She’s been staying at my mum’s but I’m about to move into a flatshare in South London, so we can be reunited.’

Lady Rose is drawn to adventure like a moth to a flame, so her return south of the border is bound to create a stir. ‘She’s a very strong-willed character. Like a coiled spring waiting to be released, she is desperate to rebel against the strictures of her upbringing.’

Not so Lily, whose grandmother Helen Horton was an actress with roles in films including Alien and Superman 3. Her father, who died in 2000, was also in the business and wrote music and plays. ‘They were both a huge inspiration, and although neither of my two brothers were interested in an acting career, I went to the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and loved it.’
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Last month, Lily attended a press day for ‘Downton Abbey’ and here is a video interview (3:54).

Another interview of our lovely Lily with RadioTimes this time. Lily talks mischief, drinking tea with Maggie Smith and being inspired by Downton Abbey fashion.

“Maggie Smith’s just been one of my idols growing up… so now to be sitting drinking tea with her is slightly bizarre!”

Lily James plays Lady Rose, Downton Abbey’s new resident trouble maker. Before the drama returns to ITV, we sat down with the 24-year-old rising star to find out what’s in store for her in series four…

What was it like to join the cast after almost three series?
It was really overwhelming at the start of the series. I’ve loved the show. But everyone was really welcoming and really encouraging and really warm. Especially this year, I feel totally a part of it now. And it didn’t take long. My first day was like the first day of school, I was like ‘Like me! Like me!’

Can we expect mischief from Rose in the next series?
She wants to shake up her own life, so I guess that has an impact on the household. She puts herself in positions that are really inappriopriate and searches for fun in places that weren’t allowed at that time for young girls.

She’s risking her position and she’s risking being with the family and Downton, which she loves, so when she does try and have fun she has to try and rein it in.

Does this fun have anything to do with a certain jazz musician…?
Ah. [laughs] You’ll have to wait and see.

Okay, we won’t talk plot spoilers, but did you have an idea of where you wanted Rose to go in series four?
All actors want to sort of show a rounded character… so I was hoping that you’d see lots of different sides to Rose. You know, obviously, she’s the party girl and she’s sort of seeking an adrenaline rush, seeking excitement, but there is also lots of other stuff going on so that’s what I was hoping you’d see.
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Thanks to Raina, I have updated the gallery with high quality photos of Lily at the after party of “The Seagull” press night on november 12, 2012 in London.

GALLERY LINKS
Public Appearances > 2012 > “The Seagull” Press Night – After Party

I have added to the gallery three more high quality stills of ‘Downton Abbey’ series four.

GALLERY LINKS
Television Productions > Downton Abbey (2012-2013) > Season 4 > Episode Stills > Episode #4.1