Over its first two seasons, Downton
Abbey has become a bona fide sensation. The show has been nothing short
of a phenomenon, a runaway success for PBS, far outpacing in ratings that other
popular period drama, Mad Men. As the world readies for the show’s third
season, so, too, do the series legion of LGBT fans. This is the season in which
that villainous gay footman-turned-valet, Thomas Barrow, experiences the tender
love that his poor, neglected heart so craves and needs. Rob James-Collier, the
actor behind the tumultuous Thomas, sat with OUT editor in chief Aaron Hicklin to discuss the upcoming season, his
early days of acting, and playing gay in Edwardian England.
Season 2
ended with Thomas in the arms of the Dowager Countess, twirling around the
dance floor at the Christmas party like a neuter content to spend his prime
escorting ladies of a certain age to the ball. Season 3, however, is where it
all changes for young Thomas. No one, of course, is more excited by this turn
of events than James-Collier, who initially secured the role of Thomas with the
understanding that it was a one-season deal. “My agent said, ‘Listen, you’ve
got the part that everyone in town wants—he’s a villain, he’s a great role, the
only bad thing is that he dies at the end of the first series,’ ” recalls
James-Collier. But Thomas clicked with the audience, and his onscreen chemistry
with his maid counterpart, O’Brien (a wonderfully surly Siobhan Finneran), was
irresistible. “I gave it 110 percent and after the first couple of episodes Liz
the producer came to me, and said, ‘We want you to stay on, will you?’ And I
was, like, ‘Fuck, yeah.’
As James-Collier and the show
moved into season 2, he has joked that his character’s sexuality became so muted
that he called up creator Julian Fellowes, and asked, “Am I still gay?” Yes, as
it turns out. In season 3, we get to see Thomas outed in a powerful sequences
of episodes that James-Collier considers the best acting of his career. “It’s
the series where we really get to grips with Thomas’s sexuality and the impact
that must have had on him, being gay in Edwardian times,” he says. “If you’re
including a gay character, there’s an onus and responsibility to at least show
what the impact of the time will be on him, and of him on that time. Thankfully
we’ve done that, and I’m so proud as an actor that I’ve been used to tell that
tale.”
A confrontation between Thomas and
the butler, Mr. Carson, proves to be a high point, and one that confers
uncommon dignity on the footman. “It’s a lovely, beautiful moment,” says
James-Collier, clearly delighted by the opportunity to redeem his character.
“If you were gay in those times, the fact that you’re even functioning, how
you’re not completely fucked up by that, is beyond me.”
In spite of Thomas’ villainous
nature on screen, James-Collier is the joker on set, and the one with the
loudest mouth. “Most actors are really shy and insular creatures,” he explains.
“I’ve just always been a dick.” He remembers his first day at acting class (he
found it by consulting Yellow Pages), and realizing that he’d liberated
himself. “We were doing these warm-up exercises, running around doing crazy
things with our voices, and, rather than feeling embarrassed or stupid, I just
felt that I’d come home,” he says.
Although not gay in real life, he
says he has empathy for misfits and outsiders, perhaps because of his own
atypical route to acting. Even now it’s clear that he can’t quite believe that
he’s earned his place as an actor. He recalls sitting opposite Maggie Smith
during the first read-through (“a proper pinch-yourself moment”) and feeling
that everything out of his mouth sounded like wooden splinters. It can’t be
easy playing the least lovable character on the show. When she arrived on set,
guest star Shirley MacLaine greeted him with the words, “It’s you—the evil one! Why are you so evil?” The
answers, apparently, are all in season 3.
Downton Abbey season 3 premieres this Sunday on
Masterpiece on PBS.
