Downtown Abbey's Michelle Dockery talks The Gentleman and more

Speaking to NET-A-PORTER’s weekly digital magazine PORTER, Michelle Dockery talks about unpredictable Downton Abbey fans, nights out on the dance floor and surprising audiences with her latest character’s east-London accent: “It may come as a bit of a shock to everyone when I open my mouth in the film.”

The film in question is The Gentlemen, starring Dockery and seeing director and writer Guy Ritchie back at his best. It’s a classic gangster caper with a stellar line-up, including Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Grant and Colin Farrell.

Dockery is most well-known for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey, making the role in The Gentlemen a great departure for the 38-year-old British actress. Dockery plays Rosalind in Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen and explains that her own life is more similar to this new role than viewers might expect: “Rosalind runs a car dealership, which she’s inherited through her family. She’s a real tough east London girl. I grew up in Essex, and my family has a sort of east London background, so it was great to step into that world.”

Dockery notes that loyal Downton Abbey fans still surprise her: “I got into a cab a little while ago, and the driver was this big, burly Guy Ritchie type. ‘Where you going, love?’ he said. And then it went a bit quiet. And then he was like, ‘You alright?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah,’ and told him about my day. And he suddenly went, ‘Shame about your sister in season 3.’ And I just laughed out loud. People really surprise me sometimes.”

In the accompanying shoot, Dockery channels a sexier silhouette than her usual red-carpet style and admits a good night out for her always includes dancing: “I do like to go out and dance. For me, it’s not a night out unless I’m on the dance floor. Every couple of months, I just need to dance; have one of those… dance-y nights.”

Dockery says she is happy with the quality of roles she has been offered in her career, whilst being aware that, in the past, female actors have lamented the scarcity of fully rounded female characters: “I do feel I stepped into this industry at a time when things were really beginning to change, especially for women. It’s the golden age of television, where creators have the luxury of writing ten hours as opposed to just two, so there’s room to explore a character in greater depth. It’s now becoming much more normal to start a job or to read a part and for me to have a dialogue with the creators – if there are moments where it’s felt the female character is not involved, for example – whereas I guess in the past, it would have felt like more of a fight.”

Interview highlights:

Michelle Dockery on her accent in her next role as Rosalind in The Gentlemen: “It may come as a bit of a shock to everyone when I open my mouth in the film.”

Michelle Dockery on the film being “vintage Ritchie”: “Charlie [Hunnan] is calling The Gentlemen ‘vintage Ritchie’, and I think that’s right.”

Michelle Dockery on walking more anonymously in the UK than in the US: “Yes, more so here than in America. But that’s the thing with our culture. Brits are too cool to approach you, but in America people have more confidence to come over and say something. It still takes me very much by surprise, but it goes in waves. When the Downton film came out it peaked again.”

Michelle Dockery on never knowing who will be a Downton fan: “I got into a cab a little while ago, and the driver was this big, burly Guy Ritchie type. ‘Where you going, love?’ he said. And then it went a bit quiet. And then he was like, ‘You alright?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah,’ and told him about my day. And he suddenly went, ‘Shame about your sister in season 3.’ And I just laughed out loud. People really surprise me sometimes.”

Michelle Dockery on needing to go out and dance every couple of months: “I do like to go out and dance. For me, it’s not a night out unless I’m on the dance floor. Every couple of months, I just need to dance; have one of those… dance-y nights.”

Michelle Dockery on her character of Rosalind in The Gentlemen: “I play Rosalind, who is the wife of Matthew McConaughey’s character, Mickey,” Dockery explains. “He has these marijuana farms that are growing underneath stately homes, hence the title The Gentlemen.”

Michelle Dockery on the similar east London roots of Rosalind and herself: “Rosalind runs a car dealership, which she’s inherited through her family. She’s a real tough east London girl. I grew up in Essex, and my family has a sort of east London background, so it was great to step into that world.”

Michelle Dockery on HBO’s Succession, of which Dockery is a huge fan: “I mean, this whole interview could be about Succession. It’s absolutely brilliant, the best thing on TV. Every single character is Shakespearean.”

Michelle Dockery on working with Jeremy Strong in The Gentlemen: “I loved working with Jeremy. We only had one scene together, a dinner-party scene, and I would never have seen his character the way he played it. He was a joy to watch, and worlds away from Kendall.”

Michelle Dockery on working with Guy Ritchie: “There’s one scene where I arrive at my garage, and Guy wanted to add a bit of dialogue, just off the cuff. I had to be on my toes, and I really enjoyed that. So often when I’m working, the process is very much word for word, and on this film it was malleable. It was liberating.”

Michelle Dockery on relishing collaborating with Ritchie on Rosalind’s look: “Even though Rosalind works in a garage, I get to wear the most beautiful Balmain jumpsuit, and the first scene is me walking into the garage in a pair of Louboutins, which is hilarious. Rosalind has clearly worked her way up to where she is, really enjoys the lifestyle and having money, but still wants to work. I love that about her character, that she still gets her hands dirty.”

Michelle Dockery on being happy with the quality of roles she has been offered in her career, whilst being aware that, in the past, female actors have lamented the paucity of fully rounded female characters: “I do feel I stepped into this industry at a time when things were really beginning to change, especially for women. It’s the golden age of television, where creators have the luxury of writing ten hours as opposed to just two, so there’s room to explore a character in greater depth. It’s now becoming much more normal to start a job or to read a part and for me to have a dialogue with the creators – if there are moments where it’s felt the female character is not involved, for example – whereas I guess in the past, it would have felt like more of a fight.”

Michelle Dockery on aspirations to write or direct herself: “I do think about, you know, doing other things. Right now I’m not sure exactly what, but…” she tails off, laughing. The glint in her eye suggests that she has something in the pipeline.

Michelle Dockery on enjoying being home in north London, where she lives close to her two sisters: “It’s a cozy time of year to be home. It’s great catching up with friends and family, and because I travel a lot for work, every time I come back to London I appreciate it much more. Recently a friend came over from LA and we went to the Antony Gormley exhibition. It took my breath away.”

Michelle Dockery on supporting young designers: “I love clothes but can be ignorant of certain designers. I like supporting young ones coming up.”

Michelle Dockery on her most cherished possession being a St Christopher necklace her mom gave her: “It comes everywhere with me. I’ve had it for 15 or 20 years.”

Michelle Dockery on donating her old clothes to Smart Works, a British charity of which the Duchess of Sussex is a patron, that helps unemployed women get back to work: “They’ve got all my skinny jeans.”

Michelle Dockery on what she has coming up: “There are things on the back burner, but I can’t say.”

To see the full interview, head to Porter or download the NET-A-PORTER app for iPhone, iPad and Android