Shirley MacLaine says that she and Maggie Smith do not have a major showdown in the new season of Downton Abbey but she is promising plenty of sparring.
MacLaine plays Cora's mother, Martha Levinson in the third series of the show which begins this Sunday evening on UTV (TV3 screen it on Wednesday).
“She is extremely outspoken. Martha’s basic role in these episodes is to plead with the Dowager Countess to wrest herself, if possible, away from tradition,” says MacLaine. “Because that’s what caused the war in the first place. And to become more flexible in relating to change.”
However, MacLaine says their interaction is a little more subtle than just sneering and brickbats.
“The gunfight at the OK Corral does not happen between Maggie and me. We do a little sparring, we have our moments but it’s more sophisticated than that. Martha is not just a crass, cranky American coming in there to call a spade a spade.
“She’s very smart and to a large extent sensitive as to what’s going on with all her daughter’s children. And Maggie’s character is so well established but you have to look beyond what is her expected reaction to Martha.
"The Dowager Countess is a human being who has complications and a past of some pain that Martha understands - and to some extent addresses herself to.”
Described as “magnificent in her lack of deference”, Martha sweeps into Downton for Mary and Matthew's wedding and her arrival causes a stir above and below stairs. Her late husband Isidore, a dry goods millionaire from Cincinnati, left her a fortune and she enjoys her money.
