Marvel star Laura Haddock has opened up about her character in the upcoming Downton Abbey sequel, admitting that she became "obsessed" with building a backstory.
Laura – who Guardians of the Galaxy fans will recognise as Meredith Quill – plays Myrna Dalgleish in Downton Abbey: A New Era, the latest feature-length jaunt to Highclere Castle.
Ahead of A New Era's release this week, Laura sat down for an exclusive chat with Digital Spy about how she prepared to bring her character Myrna to life.
"I did a lot of research into the time and went down the road of silent movies," Laura explained. "And then researching what that was like for some actresses moving from silent film into talkies and how some of their careers just ended.
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"They were six, seven years into a career, some of them were in their late 20s, and then that was it – retirement."
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Admitting that some of her research was a little "sad", Laura revealed that she and director Simon Curtis tried to "hold onto the light, comedic humour" that punctuated the otherwise "tragic" situation.
"It was a really tragic time for them, so Simon Curtis and I tried to hold onto the light, comedic humour that we could pull out of that situation, but also didn't deny the fact that this woman was traumatised by what was about to happen to her."
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As for her accent, Laura said she tried to ensure it was as "authentic" as possible.
"I was obsessed with listening to archival footage of women's voices of the time who were coming from that area of the east end of London," she added.
Downton Abbey: A New Era will re-visit the Crawley family once more, as they embark on a grand adventure to the villa Dowager Countess of Grantham acquired through her mysterious past.
Downton Abbey: A New Era will be released in cinemas on April 29 in the UK and May 20 in the US. Downton Abbey The Movie is available to buy on digital, DVD and Blu-ray now.
![Downton Abbey: A New Era [DVD] [2022]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1659510494-51CjjzUrOaL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Downton Abbey: A New Era [DVD] [2022]")
![Downton Abbey: The Movie [DVD]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1622112275-51EmMhleQL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Downton Abbey: The Movie [DVD]")
![Downton Abbey - Series 1- 6 [DVD] [2015]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1565598027-51L35EzpOcL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Downton Abbey - Series 1- 6 [DVD] [2015]")
Universal Pictures/ITV/Carnival Films/WGBH-TV Downton Abbey - Series 1- 6 [DVD] [2015]
St. Martin's Griffin Downton Abbey - A Celebration: The Official Companion to All Six Seasons (World of Downton Abbey)
White Lion Publishing The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook
White Lion Publishing The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book
Freelance film & TV writer, Digital Spy
Critic and writer Jo Berry has been writing about TV and movies since she began her career at Time Out aged 18. A regular on BBC Radio, Jo has written for titles including Empire, Maxim, Radio Times, OK!, The Guardian and Grazia, is the author of books including Chick Flicks and The Parents’ Guide to Kids’ Movies.
She is also the editor of website Movies4Kids. In her career, Jo has interviewed well-known names including Beyonce, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Kiefer Sutherland, Tom Cruise and all the Avengers, spent many an hour crushed in the press areas of award show red carpets. Jo is also a self-proclaimed expert on Outlander and Brassic, and completely agrees that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
