Dan Stevens Says ‘Downton Abbey’ Exit Was ‘Emotional Experience’

Dan Stevens and his exit from the super successful period drama Downton Abbey in a tragic car crash was a very emotional experience for him.

When the British actor decided not to sign on for Season 4, writer Julian Fellowes had to come up with a proper send off. Last year — during the last episode of Season 3 — fans were left shocked and dismayed when his character, Matthew Crawley was killed in the last scene of the “Christmas Special’, which aired on Christmas day in the UK.

Social media was abuzz with complaints and cries of foul and many attacked Dan Stevens directly for the way in which he left the show that had made him popular to TV audiences all over the world.

Before starring in Downton Abbey Dan Stevens was a relatively unknown actor, with theater credits as well as some minor television roles, mostly in period dramas.

His biggest success at that point was in a remake of Jane Austen’s Sense And Sensibility in 2008.

But with the incredible success of Downton Abbey, which reportedly took cast and crew completely by surprise, his name became more recognizable.

After the backlash following his unexpected exit, Dan Stevens apologized to fans profusely once the series was aired in the US.

Now, the 31-year-old actor admits the decision to leave was “tough”, but he is still a fan of the show and watches it on PBS.

“It was great to see them all [on TV] on Sunday, a quite emotional experience and quite strange to see [them] deal with my death,” he told ABC News, with a laugh. “But no, it was great and I’m really looking forward to seeing the rest of the series.”

Dan Stevens — who became very close to his co-stars — also says he had stayed in touch with many of them, especially Michelle Dockery, who plays his widow Lady Mary Crawley.

“We all became very close… it was quite an experience we all went through,” Stevens said. “It sort of blew up in an unexpected way and brought us pretty close together. No one else will ever quite understand what that was like so we’ll always be close.”

Dan Stevens is now living in the US and pursuing a more high-profile acting career. His latest movie, the thriller The Guest just premiered at the Sundance and another of his period dramas, Summer In February recently opened in American theaters.

“It was a special project,” he said. “It’s a true story but it was turned into a novel by an old teacher of mine who directed me in a number of school plays and became a real mentor.”

Dan Stevens, who packed up his family and moved to New York last year, with a stint on Broadway in The Heiress opposite Jessica Chastain says he will be traveling back home to get ready to shoot Night At The Museum 3 in London.