The great Shirley MacLaine will play Martha Levinson, the American mother of Elizabeth McGovern’s Lady Grantham character on the third season of “Downton Abbey,” the period drama from Britain’s ITV. Its second season airs Sunday nights on PBS until Feb. 19.
"My late grandfather directed Shirley MacLaine in ‘Gambit’ in 1966 so it is a delight for me that she will be joining us on ‘Downton Abbey’," said series executive producer Gareth Neame in a statement.
McGovern and MacLaine are the only Americans with major roles in the series.
Violet, the mother of Lady Grantham’s husband, is played by “Harry Potter” icon Maggie Smith. I’d wager Violet loathes MacLaine’s character.
MacLaine next stars with SNL vets Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”
