Hugh Dancy “I've Been Able To Have My Cake And Eat It”

The British actor on living in New York, wife Claire Danes and the nostalgia of playing a quintessential Englishman in the new Downton Abbey film

- Vicki Power

IN A CAREER SPANNING two decades, Hugh Dancy, 46, has largely flown under the radar, carving out a solid career as a versatile actor who chooses weighty roles. After catching our eye as Daniel Deronda (2002) and the arm-candy of goofy heroines in movies like Ella Enchanted (2004), Dancy moved toward meatier roles like that of FBI profiler Will Graham in the cult psychological thriller Hannibal (2013-15) opposite Mads Mikkelsen, and of a charismatic spiritual leader in The Path (2016-18) with Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul.

Half of a reluctant showbiz couple—Dancy's wife is Homeland powerhouse Claire Danes—Dancy will have to start getting used to the spotlight. He's just joined two of the world's biggest franchises, landing a role in the second Downton Abbey movie, A New Era, and in the revival of the US warhorse TV drama Law & Order. Being stopped for selfies on the school run in Manhattan's West Village will soon become a daily event.

As Dancy explains his approach to accepting roles, it sounds rather unconventional. “What I tend to do is look for reasons not to do something," muses the actor, 46.

"Not in an ego kind of way, but, What is it about this that I should recognise is going to make it a bad experience? And if those things fall | away, then even if I don't quite have a handle on something, I think, OK, I should do that thing."

And I think that means you go down interesting paths, and it sometimes involves maybe not taking yourself too seriously. Then just show up and do the work and see what comes with it."