In news that should surprise absolutely no one, the Downton Abbey movie is insanely luxurious to look at — Mary and Edith’s intricately beaded gowns! The lavish dinners! The elaborate ballroom dancing! But actually filming the latter scene wasn’t as glamorous as it might appear, according to the cast.
In our exclusive, behind-the-scenes featurette from the film — which arrives on digital on Nov. 26 and on Blu-ray and DVD on Dec. 17 — Elizabeth McGovern (Cora Crawley), Hugh Bonneville (Robert Crawley), Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith), Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary), and Allen Leech (Tom) sat down to discuss all the pain and hijinks that went into filming that “rather splendid” dance sequence.
“I kept saying to Hugh as we danced, ‘Don’t show them the pain!’ Our feet kept crashing into each other,” McGovern said of her scene partner. “Cora was also barking out instructions, which you won’t be able to see in the movie.”
The cast went on to discuss how much they’re like their characters — “I’m so much nicer than Mary!” Dockery joked — as well as how both the film and original TV series has been able to capture the hearts of fans of all ages. Watch the exclusive clip above!