Elizabeth McGovern husband: How Downton Abbey star 'learned' to work with director husband

Downton Abbey is back in cinemas after a long wait for fans, with Cora Crawley (played by Elizabeth McGovern) returning to the fold. Cora, or the Countess of Grantham, is the American heiress who helped to save Downton Abbey. But for Elizabeth, working with her husband and director Simon Curtis, has taken some getting used to over the years.

How Elizabeth McGovern ‘learned’ to work with her husband Simon Curtis

In an interview with Larry King, Elizabeth revealed she has some projects planned for her and her husband, renowned director Simon Curtis.

When asked about how the pair work together, she said: “It’s challenging – we are going to do it again.

“We have a couple of projects we’ve been developing together and I feel whenever we’ve worked together the product has been wonderful – but we’ve kind of had to learn how to do it.

“It’s a really interesting thing – you don’t expect the challenge you encounter.”

As Larry quizzed her, Elizabeth revealed it all comes down to politeness – and how you would act in a movie where you did not know the director, compared to working with a director to whom you are married.

She continued: “When you work with people you generally are relatively polite to them – but when you’re with your husband I don’t feel the need to be so polite. 

“So I feel that when we’re working together that’s actually a disadvantage – if we do it again we’ve learned how to do it.“

Elizabeth was also asked about the Downton Abbey film, which is out in cinemas now.

She said it came together from the “perseverance” of Downton Abbey producers, who wanted to make sure it was “something the fans would enjoy.”

Elizabeth said: “They [the producers] had always felt there was hunger for the characters in this story which would go beyond the series and I think it was quite a feat to pull everybody together – I don’t know if I could have done it.”

She added how the crew’s intention in making the film was for the fans – and many have certainly been crossing their fingers in the hope director Michael Engler has done his job well.

Who is Elizabeth McGovern’s husband?

Simon Curtis is a director, well-known for his Oscar-nominated film My Week with Marilyn.

He also directed Woman in Gold, starring Dame Helen Mirren, and recent A.A. Milned biopic Goodbye Christopher Robin, starring Domhnall Gleeson.

He is also known for his TV work, where he directed the 1999 miniseries of David Copperfield, starring Maggie Smith and Imelda Staunton, as well as Cranford, the series based on Elizabeth Gaskell novellas and starring Judi Dench and Dame Eileen Atkins.

The couple have collaborated in one of his feature films as Elizabeth appeared in Woman in Gold, playing Judge Florence-Marie Cooper.

Simon did not direct the Downton Abbey movie, leaving that task to Michael Engler.

Downton Abbey is in cinemas now