Michelle Dockery On Why Her New Role Is So Different To Downton

Michelle Dockery rose to fame with the fabulous ITV period drama Downton Abbey – and we loved her for her role as Lady Mary in the series.

But her next role couldn’t be more different to the country houses and rolling English countryside of Downton, as she steps into a role in new Western drama Godless, which will premiere on Netflix.

Godless will centre around the story of Frank Griffin, a criminal who seeks to terrorise the Wild West. And Michelle comes in, as the lady hiding Frank’s greatest enemy, Roy Goode, in her ranch in the quiet town of La Belle, which is mysteriously made up of just women.

During a photoshoot with Vogue magazine, the actress, who will be playing Alice Fletcher, admitted how stark a contrast her new series will be to the ITV drama.

(Michelle’s Vogue photoshoot, © Mary McCartney for Vogue)

She said, “The first thing we all did when we arrived was to go on cowboy camp.”

The actress then went on to compare the two shoes, saying how she got to do things on Godless that she never had a chance to take part in on Downton. “I remember when I shot a gun – the adrenaline was crazy. On Downton Abbey we had the shooting parties, but the women just stood back and wore a nice outfit and assisted the men.

(Michelle in Downton Abbey as Lady Mary)

And, as the characters are mostly women, Michelle spoke about what a pleasure it was to work with mostly an all-female cast – including Audrey Moore and Merritt Wever. “People are calling it a feminist western. It was a joy to work with so many women.”

The photoshoot also sees Michelle making a nod to her past in period
drama, dressed in typical Western style clothes, but completing the look
with a corset that’s sure to take her back to her Downton days.

Jack O’Connell, star of Skins and Angelina Jolie film Unbroken, will also take part as Roy Goode, while Jeff Daniels will play the villainous Frank Griffin. Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who found fame as the adorable Sam in Love Actually, will also be in the series, playing a character called Whitey Winn.

There is no official air date for the series yet, but it will be shown on Netflix in 2017.