While Downton Abbey is practically an institution in the realm of British television, the show and its two follow-up movies did have regular America representation thanks to Elizabeth McGovern’s Cora Crawley, the Countess of Grantham. During the TV series, we also met Cora’s mother, Shirley McClaine’s Martha Levinson, and her brother, Paul Giamatti’s Harold Levinson. Since Giamatti only appeared once on Downton Abbey, I was surprised when it was announced he’ll be reprising Harold in Downton Abbey 3, one of the 2025 movie releases. Now I’m glad that he’s finally opening up about his return to the role.
Giamatti discussed his involvement in Downton Abbey 3 during an interview with EW, acknowledging that he too was surprised to be asked back considering he was a “very kind of marginal character” during the show’s run. The actor then noted that somebody “thought it was a good idea” to make him “very important” to this movie, adding:
I do something quite important in this [movie]. I was like, wow, this is random, I have a lot to do with the end of this whole series. I do something of real significance — good or bad, I'm not going to say! But, I do something that makes a big difference to how everything ends.
So rest assured from those of you who were worried Paul Giamatti would only cameo in Downton Abbey 3, because that’s not going to happen. He won’t get into specifics, but the twice Academy Award-nominated performer is assuring fans that Harold Levinson will be integral to the plot. How so? It’s anyone’s guess at this point, but I do have a couple ideas based off the time period the threequel will be set and the loss of someone from the Downton Abbey family.
Before I get into that, in case you need a refresher, Harold was introduced in “The London Season,” Downton Abbey’s Season 4 Christmas special. A participant in the Teapot Dome Scandal, he was able to escape with just a reprimand when Robert Crawley went to the United States to testify about his brother-in-law’s character in front of Congress. Harold then went to London with his mother to get out of the public spotlight for a while, despite his dislike of traveling. While there, he attended Lady Rose Aldrige’s debutante ball and became friendly with Madeleine Allsopp, the daughter of Lord Aysgarth.
That special was set in 1923 and Downton Abbey: A New Era was set in 1928, meaning Downton Abbey 3 will either be set in 1929 or sometime in the early 1930s. That leads me to my first guess about Harold Levinson: could his appearance be connected to the Wall Street Crash of 1929? Maybe the Crawley family is hit hard by the crash and Harold, whom Martha Levinson once said was as “rich as Croesus, comes to financially aid them after he was able to retain most, if not all of his fortune.
Speaking of Martha, given that Downton Abbey: A New Era ended with the death of Maggie Smith’s Violet Crawley (and Smith herself passed away last September), I can’t help but worry that we might learn that she’d died too. If that happens, then it makes sense why Harold would reunite with Cora and Robert’s family, as they’d be paying their respects to Martha. However, that doesn’t sound like something on the level of importance as what Paul Giamatti is teasing.
With Downton Abbey 3 set for release on September 12, we’re a half year away from learning exactly what he’s talking about. Along with this, Giamatti is set to play the main villain in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which will premiere on Paramount+ either in late 2025 or 2026.
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