The cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era is, as fans hoped, also identical to that of Downton Abbey 2019, with one notable exception. However, the Crawley family and their servants also welcome some new visitors to their great house in Yorkshire UK, meaning there are a few fresh faces on screen too. In Downton Abbey: A New Era, the Crawleys travel to the South of after Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) reveals a former flame has left her a seaside villa in his will. Meanwhile, a film production arrives to shoot a movie at Downton Abbey, which creates excitement for the servants and chaos for Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery).

Downton Abbey: A New Era also features the wedding of Tom Branson (Allen Leech) to Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton) after they were engaged in the previous Downton Abbey movie. The Crawleys' lives change forever as the family enters a new decade to face the challenges of modern life. Remarkably, the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era deftly juggles multiple storylines featuring over 30 characters. The lone holdout TV series also appear in A New Era.

Maggie Smith As Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess Of Grantham

Born: December 28, 1934

• Active Since: 1955

Actor: Maggie Smith was a screen legend who also starred in the Harry Potter franchise as Professor McGonagall. With a career that spanned nearly 70 years, she worked on a huge variety of projects. Notable roles in the recent portion of her lengthy career include The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and A Room with a View. Smith ed away in 2024.

Notable Roles:

Character: Dame Maggie Smith reprised her role for the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era as Downton Abbey staple Lady Violet. A secret from Lady Violet's scandalous past comes to light as the deathly ill Dowager Countess carries on.

It's revealed that she was given a villa in southern by the Marquis de Montmirail. Unfortunately, the current Marquis' mother wants to contest her ownership. The ending of the film sees Violet giving in to her poor health and sadly ing away.

Hugh Bonneville As Robert Crawley, Earl Of Grantham

Born: November 10, 1963

• Active Since: 1990

Actor: Hugh Bonneville has had a long career on the screen before ing the cast of Downton Abbey. Bonneville trained in theater, but got his start on the screen with television programs in the '90s.

He is no stranger to period pieces thanks to appearing in plenty of historic detective series and Jane Austen adaptations.

He is no stranger to period pieces thanks to appearing in plenty of historic detective series and Jane Austen adaptations. He's had recent roles in The Gold and Bank of Dave, but has also starred in Notting Hill, Paddington, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Notable Roles:

Character: Hugh Bonneville is a part of the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era as Robert Crawley. Lord Grantham leads the charge to investigate why an old lover left his mother, Lady Violet, a villa in the South of . The Marquis stuns Robert when he suggests that the two could be half-brothers because he was born nine months after the Dowager Countess visited. In the end, Violet assures him that he's Lord Grantham's legitimate son.

Elizabeth McGovern As Cora Crawley, Countess Of Grantham

Born: July 18, 1961

• Active Since: 1979

Actor: McGovern had one of her earliest on-screen roles in Robert Redford's Oscar-winning film Ordinary People. She has also had roles in Once Upon a Time in America and the film adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale as Moira. Her interests in entertaining go beyond the screen, however, since she also sings, plays guitar, and acts on the stage. Her latest project is a comedy film called And Mrs. McGovern is also set to reprise her role in another Downton Abbey movie in 2025.

Notable Roles:

Character: Elizabeth McGovern is a part of the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era, reprising the role of Cora Crawley. Cora s Robert on his trip to the South of . Meanwhile, Lady Grantham harbors a secret of her own. She's diagnosed with pernicious anemia, which is luckily treatable. She also helps screen actress Myrna Dalgleish develop her American accent, saving her career.

Michelle Dockery As Lady Mary Talbot

Born: December 15, 1981

• Active Since: 2005

Actor: Though Dockery is mostly known for her work on television, she has also appeared in several big screen projects and is an accomplished jazz singer. She has actually performed at clubs in London and in English music festivals. Dockery also stars in Good Behavior and Netflix's Anatomy of a Scandal. She's had roles in Amphibia and Defending Jacob, and will soon star in Please Don't Feed the Children, Here, and Boy Kills World.

Notable Roles:

Character: Michelle Dockery plays Mary Talbot in the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era. Lady Mary is now running Downton Abbey and stays behind to oversee the production of the movie being filmed in her ancestral home, despite Robert's misgivings about the project. She is propositioned by director Jack Barber, but rebuffs his advances. She also saves the film by suggesting the salvageable footage be dubbed.

Laura Carmichael As Lady Edith Pelham, Marchioness Of Hexham

Born: July 16, 1986

• Active Since: 2011

Actor: Though she has only been acting on screen since 2011, Carmichael is also an accomplished theater actor. In fact, she was preparing to take part in a tour for Shakespeare's Twelfth Night when she landed the role in the Downton Abbey series. Carmichael also starred in The Spanish Princess. She recently played Agatha Fyfle in The Secrets She Keeps and got her start in the industry playing Sal in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Henriette in Madame Bovary.

Notable Roles:

Character: Laura Carmichael reprises the role of Edith Pelham in the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era. Lady Edith is happily married to Bertie Pelham, the Marquess of Hexam, but she yearns for her old life as a writer for a magazine. She spends much of A New Era feeling constrained as a marchioness and begins working at her magazine again in the end.

Allen Leech As Tom Branson

Born: May 18, 1981

• Active Since: 2000

Actor: Allen Leech studied drama and theater while he was in school since he was interested in acting from a young age. He even studied theater while in college in Dublin when he decided to make a career out of it. In addition to his role in the Downton Abbey franchise, he also took on the role of Paul Prenter for Bohemian Rhapsody and John Cairncross for The Imitation Game. He can soon be seen in Cold Meat, You Can't Run Forever, and The Vanishing Triangle.

Notable Roles:

Character: Tom Branson is in the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era, and he's still portrayed by Allen Leech. Tom got engaged to Lucy Smith in Downton Abbey 2019, which means the Irish ex-chauffeur stands to inherit Lady Maud Bagshaw's Brumpton estate. The second film sees their wedding and Tom visits Violet's estate in the south of . In the end, he and Lucy return to Downton Abbey with their infant.

Penelope Wilton As Isobel Grey, Baroness Merton

Born: June 3, 1946

• Active Since: 1970

Actor: Penelope Wilton is a part of the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era, and has also starred in Shaun of the Dead and The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society. She and Dame Maggie Smith were both in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel together, but Wilton also starred in Match Point as Eleanor. Her most recent credits includes The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and the horror film Visitation. Over her fifty-year career, she has appeared in a huge variety of projects on the stage as well as the screen.

Notable Roles:

Character: Cousin Isobel started out married to the cousin of Robert Crawley in the series and a foil to Lady Violet. Over time, their friendship grew, she lost her husband, and she appears as a firm friend for Lady Violet in the entire franchise. In this sequel movie she is now Baroness Merton and remains at the side of her best friend, Lady Violet. She remains with her friend until Violet's death.

Tuppence Middleton As Lucy Branson

Born February 21, 1987

• Active Since: 2008

Actor: Lucy Branson returns for Downton Abbey: A New Era, and she's played in the cast by Tuppence Middleton. Middleton is also a writer and got her professional start in short films before transitioning to TV and movies. In 2010, the London Evening Standard nominated her as one of their most promising newcomers of the year.

In 2010, the London Evening Standard nominated her as one of their most promising newcomers of the year.

Tuppence Middleton has had previous roles in Jupiter Ascending, MI-5, and Possesser. She voiced Father Gomez's daemon in His Dark Materials and appeared in the live theater project The Motive and the Cue.

Notable Roles:

Character: Lucy was revealed to be Lady Maud Bagshaw's daughter in Downton Abbey 2019, and she marries Tom Branson in A New Era. She accompanies Tom, Maud, Robert, Cora, Edith, and Bertie to the Marquis estate in before returning to Downton Abbey at the end of the film.

Imelda Staunton As Lady Maud Bagshaw

Born January 9, 1956

• Active Since: 1982

Actor: Like a lot of actors working in the United Kingdom, Imelda Staunton has acted on both stage and screen during her career, including for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Imelda Staunton is likely most famous today for playing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She's also taken on the part of Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix's The Crown and plays Mrs. Umney in The Canterville Ghost and voices Bunty in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.

Notable Roles:

Character: The incomparable Imelda Staunton s the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era as Maud Bagshaw. Lady Maud's rivalry with Lady Violet is now over, and she is back in the family as her daughter Lucy marries Tom Branson. She goes to to tour Violet's villa, currently inhabited by the Marquis.

Harry Hadden-Paton As Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, Marquess Of Hexham

Born April 10, 1981

• Active Since: 2006

Actor: Harry Hadden-Paton has had a huge variety of roles in his time as a working professional. In addition to roles on the stage and the screen, he has also done a lot of voice over work for video games. He is also an accomplished writer and director, having working on multiple short films.

Downton Abbey: A New Era has an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Hadden-Paton has previously had roles in La Vie En Rose and About Time. He appeared as Martin Charteris in The Crown and voices JARVIS in the Marvel's Avengers video game. After having a bit role on The Blacklist, he also stars in Twisters.

Notable Roles:

Character: Bertie is the Marquess of Hexam and Edith's loving husband, and is played by Harry Hadden-Paton in the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era. Edith also gave birth to his son while Bertie is stepfather to Edith's daughter, Marigold. He assists in Violet's acquisition of the villa, and visits the home with the rest of the group during the events of the movie.