Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey. That guy you barely recognize now.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 7:27am

It's bad enough that fame is fleeting, and Dan chose to leave a huge hit series at the height of its popularity.

But then to undergo a 30 lb. weight loss and dye your hair?

He just wants to make sure nobody knows who he is. I understand why other actors, far more famous and recognizable, go through a makeover for a film role, but this just seems like he's hoping for some witness protection program.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 8:05am

Can we just talk about those shoes in the last pic? O_o

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 8:28am

Those shoes are gross! Matthew's crawlies!

He really doesn't want anybody to look at his face or recognize him.

"Let's make sure my shoes pull all the focus!"

[Addison D.]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 8:33am

Oh my.

His stylist has some 'splainin' to do...

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 8:59am

Best12, when I first noticed the fairly extreme weight loss several months ago I immediately thought he might have an eating disorder. I read, however, that he had lost weight for a role. Is that not the case?

And while we are on the subject, has anyone else noticed that, that at least at he beginning of this season of Downton, Allen Leech (Tom Branson) was looking heavy.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 9:16am

Yes, Dan lost the weight for a film role. I implied that (comparing it to other stars who have done that recently) but I guess I didn't make it clear in my original post, but you are correct. That's why he dropped the 30 lbs. and dyed his hair. But Matthew McConnaughy and Tom Hanks and Jared Leto and Matt Damon had extensive film credits first before they decided to "look unrecognizable" for a character. When you're first establishing yourself, I don't think it's a good idea to go incognito with audiences.

Yes, I agree that Tom Branson (Allen Leech) has put on some weight. So has Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier).

The ladies seem to be looking lovely at Downton, but a few of the men need to avoid the crafts services table for a while.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 9:26am

His film got a lot of good buzz at Sundance. Maybe all he really cared about was doing good and challenging work and not really much about fame.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 9:47am

sorry best12, I read your first post too quickly.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 9:57am

The Fifth Estate completely tanked, and Lady Sybil's movie Winter's Tale is doing the same.

The only Downton cast member to have a hit film since the show began is Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary) with Non-Stop. And she didn't quit Downton Abbey to do it.

Updated On: 3/2/14 at 09:57 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 10:10am

Actors often think it is they themselves the audience applauds, when it is, in fact, the character we love.

He may never have another role again in which he is so popular.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 10:25am

I liked Matthew but anyone could've played that role. I wouldn't say Matthew made that role.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 11:02am

"I liked Matthew but anyone could've played that role. I wouldn't say Matthew made that role."

I agree. Plus, the character was not really going anywhere. He would have been Mary's lapdog for the rest of the series. The character just wasn't very interesting.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 11:33am

I wouldn't take anything away from his performance on Downton Abbey. The fact that others may have been able to do it justice doesn't diminish his own work. He was very good, an asset to the program, and contributed to its initial success.

I actually thought they were getting into an interesting dynamic scenario with Matthew (Dan Stevens), Tom Branson and Lord Grantham each running different aspects of Downton, and also offering different viewpoints of how to do it, from conservative to liberal.

When they killed Matthew off and allowed Lady Mary to inherit her husband's estate, she took over his role of the "new point of view," locking horns with her own father on the running of Downton. So it broadened and expanded her character. I was worried they were running out of things for Lady Mary to do, not Matthew. So she came out all the better for the change.

Updated On: 3/2/14 at 11:33 AM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 1:26pm

Didn't Guy Pearce lose a great deal of weight - and look very unhealthy - for Memento? That was fairly early on in his career, which, granted hasn't been megastar tracked, but I don't think it caused any lasting damage.

We may want to add to the Downton star big screen bombs Hugh in Monuments Men.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 1:38pm

The shoes are horrific.

Otherwise... he doesn't look all that different to me? Dan will be fine. I admit I had to re-read parts of The Line of Beauty for a class last year and now have him more identified in my mind with that role than as a Crawley anyway, so always expect him to have '80s hair http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWeWwJt2bms

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 3:51pm

I didn't mean to imply that his career is over and done with.

Not by any means. Just that he's taken a big dive since leaving Downton Abbey for "greener pastures." And I question some of the career decisions he's making, from his choices to his appearance.

But he could easily bounce back into the limelight again. He has several projects lined up, some leads, some featured roles. Who knows?

I just wish he had parlayed that incredibly lucky break a little better. He ran for the hills, just as things were getting really good. I wish he had seen the value in sticking it out a little longer. Downton Abbey fell (for me) in quality a bit, but it's ratings this past (fourth) season were the strongest ever. They did just fine without him, at least if you're just going by the numbers. Creatively, I missed him on the show.

But "we soldier on," as Maggie Smith might say.

And while his goal may not be "fame," the fame allows actors the freedom to try riskier projects, less profile and less money. But establishing oneself first is the key. He quit just as things were heating up.

By the way, the reason he left ... AND Lady Sybil ... AND O'Brien ... is because the whole cast was under three-year contracts initially (assuming the show was a hit, which it was). So this was the first opportunity they had to bow out gracefully before signing another contract. So three major cast members decided to leave after Season Three.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 3:55pm

a few of the men need to avoid the crafts services table for a while.

Couldn't disagree more, at least in Branson's case. The extra few lbs have made him all the more appealing (at least to me) - and to justify it further, doesn't it make sense for his character too? He moved from lower class to upper, and as his life became more comfortable, it would be only natural.

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 4:11pm

When I first say this pic of him...I got excited...sexually (heheh)...


http://thephillyq.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/line-of-beauty-1.jpeg








Updated On: 3/2/14 at 04:11 PM

[HorseTears]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 6:06pm

Re: Branson and Thomas -- love the extra weight on both of them. They fill out real nice, you hear?

As for Stevens, only time will tell if he made the right decision, but I imagine that in addition to calculations about career moves, he probably got sick of Julian Fellowes' sloppy writing and a character that seemed to be going nowhere. It's ridiculous that one man should be writing a show that big. Who does Fellowes think he is, Nic Pizzolatto? He simply can't keep the quality up and needs to add a small writing staff to support him, but given the show's continuing success, that seems unlikely.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 6:12pm

I just think the double-standard for weight gain between these "heartthrob" men and women is ... interesting.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 6:26pm

That's absolutely true. Though, to be fair, I think it depends upon the individual actor. Some people look good with a bit of extra weight on them and for some people it actually obscures their natural features. For others, the same is true about thinning down. But, yes, of course, in general there always has been that double standard.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 6:52pm

I don't think anybody is saying they've gained so much weight they aren't right for the roles anymore. Or that they aren't attractive.

Just that the've both gained weight, and it's noticeable.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 8:56pm

The camera adds 15 pounds.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 9:55pm

Dan looked perfect in The Heiress. He was slimmed down and very handsome. A woman asked him about the weight loss at the stage door and he said, "theres working actor weight in the UK and a very different standard here in the US." He said that you cant have weight in your face if you want to read for leading man roles. The drastic weight loss was for a role. He doesnt typically look like that.

[wonkit]

Posted: 3/2/14 at 11:05pm

He went from attractive to quite ordinary looking, in my opinion.