'Downton Abbey' casts first recurring black character
Credit: The Hollywood Reporter
Gary Carr (Death In Paradise) has been cast as the first black, recurring character on Downton Abbey, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Carr will play a "charming and charismatic" young jazz singer. He joins a cast that includes fellow newbies Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Tom Cullen, Julian Ovenden, Nigel Harman, Joanna David and Dame Harriet Walter, each of whom are expected to have significant roles in the period drama's fourth season.
In an interview back in November, series creator Julian Fellowes said that it would be “rather nice to open [the show] up ethnically a bit,” responding to criticism over the lack of ethnic diversity among the cast. Meanwhile, Carnival Films managing director Gareth Neame said that "[Carr's character] addition will bring interesting twists to the drama which we can’t wait for viewers to see in [season four]."
In addition to an eight-episode fourth season, Downton Abbey will return for a feature-length Christmas special. Hopefully, it goes a bit better than last year's Christmas special.
