Lady Mary’s Grand Finale: Michelle Dockery on Saying Goodbye to ‘Downton Abbey’ and New Film’s Alternate Ending — “It Was the Right Way to Finish”

Few can boast career longevity like the cast of Downton Abbey.

“It’s quite rare in an actor’s career to have something that you go back to — like a regular job,” says one of its stars, Michelle Dockery, famed for her performance as the unyielding and oft-mischievous Lady Mary Crawley.

Dockery is reflecting on a whopping 15 years spent with this character, the two so closely entwined that the reality of never playing her again has, admittedly, taken some time to sink in. “It’s reached it’s end now,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re soaking up this final, final one.”

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is the third film in a trilogy that spawned from the wild popularity of ITV and PBS’ six-season show set among the halls of a grand, stately home in early 20th century England.