Downton Abbey guest stars
214 actors have guest-starred in Downton Abbey across 47 episodes and 6 seasons. The most-credited is Paul Copley, Mr. Mason in 15 episodes. 16 of them have also guest-starred in five or more of the other shows in this catalogue.
Who came back most
| Actor | Character | Eps |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Copley | Mr. Mason | 15 |
| Samantha Bond | Lady Rosamund Painswick | 15 |
| Jeremy Swift | Spratt | 14 |
| Douglas Reith | Richard "Dickie" Grey, Lord Merton | 13 |
| Howard Ward | Sergeant Willis | 11 |
| Andrew Scarborough | Tim Drewe | 10 |
| Brendan Patricks | Evelyn Napier | 7 |
| Daisy Lewis | Sarah Bunting | 7 |
| Emma Lowndes | Mrs Drewe | 7 |
| Fifi Hart | Sybbie Branson | 7 |
| Michael Cochrane | Reverend Travis | 7 |
| Zoe Boyle | Lavinia Swire | 7 |
| Charles Edwards | Michael Gregson | 6 |
| Jason Furnival | Craig | 6 |
| Patrick Brennan | Mr. Dawes | 6 |
| Robert Bathurst | Sir Anthony Strallan | 6 |
| Sue Johnston | Gladys Denker | 6 |
| Catherine Steadman | Mabel Lane Fox | 5 |
| Helen Sheals | Mrs Wigan, Postmistress | 5 |
| Iain Glen | Sir Richard Carlisle | 5 |
| Jonathan Coy | George Murray | 5 |
| Neil Bell | Durrant | 5 |
| Rade Serbedzija | Prince Igor Kuragin | 5 |
| Christine Lohr | Mrs. Bird | 4 |
| Christine Mackie | Daphne Bryant | 4 |
Downton Abbey guest stars by season
| Season | Guests | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 31 | Lionel Guyett, Robert Bathurst, Andrew Westfield, Brendan Patricks, Helen Sheals, Bernard Gallagher, Bill Fellows, Cathy Sara, Charlie Cox, Christine Lohr, Colin R. Campbell, Dean Williamson and 19 more |
| Season 2 | 40 | Zoe Boyle, Iain Glen, Clare Calbraith, Giles Spencer, Daniel Pirrie, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Peter Brown, Cal MacAninch, Christine Mackie, Kevin McNally, Michael Cochrane, Paul Copley and 28 more |
| Season 3 | 40 | Jason Furnival, Neil Bell, Jonathan Coy, Michael Cochrane, Robert Bathurst, Brian Woodward, Charles Edwards, Christine Lohr, Christine Mackie, Clare Higgins, Ged Simmons, Karl Haynes and 28 more |
| Season 4 | 44 | Brendan Patricks, Charles Edwards, Gary Carr, MyAnna Buring, Nigel Harman, Jeremy Swift, Samantha Bond, Andrew Alexander, Andrew Scarborough, Daisy Lewis, Deborah Wise, Joanna David and 32 more |
| Season 5 | 64 | Andrew Scarborough, Fifi Hart, Emma Lowndes, Howard Ward, Jeremy Swift, Catherine Steadman, Daisy Lewis, Douglas Reith, Rade Serbedzija, Matt Barber, Richard E. Grant, Christopher Rozycki and 52 more |
| Season 6 | 44 | Paul Copley, Douglas Reith, Howard Ward, Jeremy Swift, Patrick Brennan, Samantha Bond, Sue Johnston, Antonia Bernath, Phoebe Sparrow, Sebastian Dunn, Victoria Emslie, Harriet Walter and 32 more |
Guest stars you know from somewhere else
The hardest-working character actors in this show's guest cast, ranked by how many other shows in this catalogue they have also guest-starred in. Not the most famous names, the most prolific ones.
| Actor | In Downton Abbey | Other shows |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin McNally | Horace Bryant | 11 |
| Jonathan Coy | George Murray | 8 |
| Harriet Walter | Lady Prudence Shackleton | 8 |
| Adrian Lukis | Sir John Darnley | 8 |
| Nigel Betts | Farmer | 8 |
| Paul Copley | Mr. Mason | 7 |
| Zoe Boyle | Lavinia Swire | 7 |
| Julian Wadham | General Sir Herbert Strutt | 7 |
| Ronald Pickup | Sir Michael Reresby | 7 |
| Penny Downie | Rachel Aldridge, Lady Sinderby | 6 |
| Anna Chancellor | Lady Anstruther | 6 |
| Trevor Cooper | Mr. Glover | 6 |
| Clare Higgins | Audrey Bartlett | 5 |
| Michael Culkin | Archbishop of York | 5 |
| Patrick Kennedy | Terence Sampson | 5 |
Played more than one character
| Actor | Characters | Eps |
|---|---|---|
| James Francis Andrews | Fashion Show Spectator, Liberal Supporter, Wedding Guest | 3 |
| Helen Sheals | Mrs Wigan, Postmistress | 5 |
| Hugh O'Brien | Gentleman, Policeman | 2 |
| Roman Green | British Army Battlefield Amputee, Great War Veteran | 2 |
Shares a cast with
- Midsomer Murders — 35 shared actors
- Father Brown — 27 shared actors
- Call the Midwife — 24 shared actors
- The Crown — 21 shared actors
- Silent Witness — 20 shared actors
- Agatha Christie Poirot — 19 shared actors
- Lewis — 18 shared actors
- Doctor Who — 16 shared actors
Cast data from TVmaze, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.