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  • Revealing the upstairs-downstairs way of life, Downton Abbey wowed its audience with a dynamic

  • portrayal of the Crawley family and their help.

  • But it should come as no surprise that the actors don't look like their characters 24/7.

  • Here's what the stars of Downton Abbey look like in real life.

  • Laura Carmichael

  • Middle sister Lady Edith Crawley was played by Laura Carmichael, And according to the

  • Radio Times, fans immediately pegged her as the ugly one.

  • "But I don't want to be invisible, either.

  • I've had enough of it."

  • She shared,

  • "It was really funny opening the newspaper and reading the reviews and going, 'Oh, I'm

  • playing the ugly one.'

  • I hadn't thought of that."

  • But this perception changed over the years, and Carmichael eventually became noted more

  • for her character's status rather than her lookseven off camera.

  • She said,

  • "People ask me to go horse-riding and things.

  • I have to say, 'I'm not really posh, I don't own a horse, I don't know how to do it.'"

  • Michelle Dockery

  • The actress who played Lady Mary Crawley has a similar real-life look to her character.

  • Carmichael told the Radio Times about fans' obsession with Michelle Dockery's role, saying,

  • "I've watched people talk to Michelle like she's the queenshe's Lady Mary."

  • Since the series finale, Dockery's taken on a very different role in the show Good Behavior.

  • Comparing her new character to Lady Mary, Dockery told Vanity Fair,

  • "They are very different, and I think it may shock some people, and that's all right.

  • I don't mind shocking people."

  • "You came.

  • To be honest, I wasn't completely sure you would."

  • "I'm glad to hear it.

  • I should hate to be predictable."

  • Hugh Bonneville

  • Thanks to his character, Robert Crawley, Bonneville will most likely be the Lord of Downton Abbey

  • for the rest of his life.

  • "You make it sound very serious."

  • Since the show's end, he has continued to act, but tells ET Online,

  • "I'm enjoying semi-retirement, staring at my garden...I just look for characters and

  • stories that are entertaining and quirky to fill the gap between now and the grave."

  • "Nothing's the matter.

  • What should be the matter?"

  • Joanne Froggatt

  • "I'm Anna, the head housemaid."

  • As a lady's maid, Froggatt's character Anna Bates wore little makeup.

  • The actress explained why, telling Allure,

  • "Being a lady's maid...you'd never want to be seen competing with your employers...They

  • had to dull down my hair, my face...Just foundation and a tiny bit of blush."

  • But she had glam plans post-shoot, telling the mag,

  • "When we finish the series, the first thing I do is go get my spray tan, go get my nails

  • done, because I don't get to do any of that for six months.

  • I'm quite a girlie girl myself."

  • Robert James-Collier

  • Thomas Barrow, a butler who believed he was better than his fellow company downstairs,

  • was played by Robert James-Collier

  • "Your ladyship, may I have the honor of this dance?"

  • The character and the actor may look very similar, but their outfits of the day are

  • definitely not.

  • During an interview with The Guardian, James-Collier came in wearing, "a lumberjack shirt, skinny

  • jeans and Converse."

  • The upstairs would be appalled.

  • Phyllis Logan

  • Head housekeeper Mrs. Hughes was played by actress Phyllis Logan, whose off-screen style

  • is quite a bit more modern than her on-screen look.

  • And while Mrs. Hughes was one for rules, Logan is all about breaking them.

  • She told the Washington Post,

  • "Because I came from a small town outside Glasgow, nobody from my school had ever gone

  • into the acting profession...You joined the bank or became a teacher or whatever you did."

  • Thankfully, she did what she did.

  • Otherwise she might have been stuck selling toasters or something.

  • "What in God's name is it?"

  • "An electric toaster.

  • I've given it to myself as a treat."

  • Jim Carter

  • Charles Carson was the butler at the Crawley's estate.

  • "Hello, this is Downton Abbey.

  • Carson the butler speaking."

  • And while actor Jim Carter may not wear his hair slicked back like he did on the show,

  • he's easily spotted as the fan-favorite character.

  • He told The Telegraph,

  • "I get recognized quite a lot.

  • I mean, walking over Westminster Bridge, from the south side to the north side, a Chilean

  • family who didn't speak any English, an Indian family...and a French family in the space

  • of 150 yardsthat was fairly amazing."

  • Elizabeth McGovern

  • The lady of the house, Countess Cora Crawley, was portrayed by Elizabeth McGovern.

  • And aside from the period-themed outfits, McGovern's on and off-screen looks don't differ

  • much.

  • "Mrs. Patmore, is there any aspect of the present day that you can accept without resistance?"

  • "Oh, my lady.

  • I wouldn't mind getting rid of my corset."

  • Commenting on playing an older female character, the 56-year-old actress told The Sun,

  • "I don't see myself as middle-aged...I feel exactly the same as when I was 18, except

  • with more confidence and more of a secure grounding under my feet.

  • I feel better.”

  • Sophie McShera

  • As Daisy Mason, actress Sophie McShera's transformation into her character meant skipping the makeup

  • and being told to not wash her hair.

  • She described her character to The Standard, saying,

  • "She's a complete dogsbody, the lowest of the low.

  • And I have to have all this eczema put on my hands and dirt under my nails when she's

  • been doing the fires."

  • "Oh my Lord.

  • What was this chopped egg supposed to be sprinkled on?"

  • "Was it the chicken?"

  • "It was.

  • Take it upstairs now.

  • For heaven's sake, get a move on girl!"

  • However, McShera puts a positive spin on her looks, saying,

  • "I'd hate to be really beautiful on telly and then have everyone go, 'It's all make-up

  • and lighting.'"

  • Lesley Nicol

  • Actress Lesley Nicol played the ultimate kitchen boss, Mrs. Patmore.

  • And while the cook of the house would never be found in makeup, Nicol herself shines on

  • the red carpet.

  • Though being stuck in a kitchen all day isn't glamorous living, Nicol wouldn't have it any

  • other way.

  • She told Parade,

  • "I wouldn't swap her for the world."

  • "Is there anything I can do?"

  • "No.

  • 'Cuz I've never felt more relieved in all my life!"

  • [Laughter]

  • Brendan Coyle

  • Another dead ringer for his character, Brendan Coyle will always be John Bates to fans.

  • "But be aware.

  • Nothing is over, and nothing is done with."

  • The actor has since gone on to many roles, mainly in film, including the adaptation of

  • the book Me Before You in 2016.

  • Maggie Smith

  • Dame Maggie Smith so completely became her character that she's essentially Violet Crawley

  • herself.

  • "I'm so looking forward to seeing your mother again.

  • When I'm with her, I'm reminded of the virtues of The English."

  • "But isn't she American?"

  • "Exactly."

  • But she doesn't share everything with the dowager countess.

  • While Crawley is stone-faced, Smith is warm and congenial.

  • And candid, revealing to CBS just how much she hated her character's corset.

  • "I did cheat a bit.

  • Because I promised that if I sat up, bolt upright, I would look as though I were wearing

  • corsets."

  • Lily James

  • Budding superstar Lily James saw her career take off once she landed the role of Lady

  • Rose MacClare.

  • "You mustn't be so self-conscious."

  • "A black singer with the daughter of a Marquess in a North Yorkshire town?

  • Why should we attract any attention?"

  • "Well, that's their problem.

  • It doesn't have to be ours."

  • The actress has since hit the big screen, in films like 2015's Cinderella and 2017's

  • Baby Driver.

  • And James' ability to physically disappear into her roles means she's not always instantly

  • recognizable off-screen.

  • She told The Independent,

  • "I look quite different on camera to how I look in the flesh.

  • Some people have such unique faces or such a strong look that you can't help but notice

  • them.

  • I don't think I'm really like that."

  • Dan Stevens

  • Actor Dan Stevens famously left Downton Abbey in a blaze of glory when his character, Matthew

  • Crawley, met an untimely end back in 2012.

  • "But you can't leave Downton."

  • "I can't stay.

  • Not now."

  • But even after playing the iconic role of Beast in Beauty and the Beast, the actor is

  • still being hounded by devastated Downton fans.

  • He told The Mirror,

  • "I'm still apologizing to people now.

  • The way Matthew went was out of my handsbut it was rather shocking.

  • There were some very upset people and I've had to apologize to a lot of ­people over

  • the past four years."

  • But hey.

  • What happens in Downton Abbey bloody stays in Downton Abbey.

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Revealing the upstairs-downstairs way of life, Downton Abbey wowed its audience with a dynamic

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