After months of will-he or won't-he speculation, Dan Stevens has given the official word that he won't be appearing in Season 4 of "Downton Abbey."
Currently starring alongside Jessica Chastain in Broadway's "The Heiress," a plot twist in the Season 3 Christmas special confirmed that Stevens won't be back.
?We were always optioned for three years,? Stevens, who played the dashing Matthew Crawley and love interest to Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), told The Telegraph. ?And when that came up it was a very difficult decision. But it felt like a good time to take stock, to take a moment. From a personal point of view, I wanted a chance to do other things.
?It is a very monopolising job. So there is a strange sense of liberation at the same time as great sadness because I am very, very fond of the show and always will be.?
This isn't the first time Stevens has hinted that he might not return to the hit period drama.
"New York for me is going to be one big adventure," he told the Daily Mail of his "Heiress" role in October. "I will be taking the whole family out and we will be there for six months. I don't know if I will be returning to 'Downton.'"
Season 3 of "Downton Abbey" premieres in the U.S. on Sun., Jan. 6 at 9 p.m. EST on PBS.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/26/downton-abbey-season-4-dan-stevens_n_2364574.html
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