Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery Gets Candid About Fame After the Show

Michelle Dockery is on the cover of the February 2020 issue of Tatler, out on newsstands on January 2.

Here’s what the 38-year-old Downton Abbey star had to say…

On audiences becoming invested in her: “People want to know a bit more about you, because you’re on their television screens. It’s the nature of the business. That’s something I accept now. I’ve learnt that it’s a privilege to have the power to cheer people up. When somebody asks you for a picture, answering yes is the right way to go.”

On whether she has offered Phoebe Waller-Bridge any advice on a steep rise to fame: “This is something that’s personal. I guess what I’ve learnt is to keep talking about the work. There are a lot of other things that come along with success and that would be my advice for anyone: keep your head down, make it about the job.”’

On allowing herself to slow down: “I feel grateful. I’d achieved a lot by the time I was 30. I was in one of the biggest shows in the world. It’s very rare something like that happens. I certainly wasn’t expecting it. But it’s put me in a position now where I can slow down. This business, it never really stops. You do something, you promote it, you’re on to the next job. I’m learning I need to find ways to switch off. Unwind.”

For more from Michelle, head to Tatler.com.