We value Elizabeth McGovern’s poise, especially when it conceals something less reassuring. Too often cast as a wife or romantic interest, she is more interesting when kindness comes with conditions, as it does in King of the Hill.
Fi1m perspective
Lydia is kind to Aaron in King of the Hill (1993), but her kindness comes with terms. We felt uneasy about her help, because a boy left alone in a hotel cannot afford to misread an adult. Elizabeth McGovern’s poise is well suited to a part that makes us question how much comfort she offers. Soderbergh gives her a place among the hotel’s struggling adults without making her simply another person for us to pity.
Her early films included Ordinary People (1980) and Ragtime (1981); the latter brought notice for vulnerability as well as poise. Too many subsequent parts confined her to being the girlfriend or wife in a man’s story. Sergio Leone gave her a leading part as Deborah opposite Robert De Niro in Once Upon a Time in America (1984). We find the film absorbing and deeply sad, but wish Leone were less fond of his gangsters.
Cora Crawley in Downton Abbey (2010–2015) became a long-running role, continued through the film sequels. McGovern’s ease in period drama suits the casting. In Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025), however, the stories are too thin to offer much beyond comfort. Simon Curtis’s direction and Julian Fellowes’s writing keep everything polite, with Michelle Dockery carrying what weight there is. We would hesitate to send anyone there chiefly to discover what McGovern can do.
For a better use of her, we return to King of the Hill. Its last half hour tidies up more than it should, but the adults around Aaron are sharply distinguished. Karen Allen’s Miss Mathey sees a child rather than a problem; Lydia’s help is less straightforward. It is the sort of distinction we would like more scripts to give McGovern. For anyone who knows her chiefly as Cora, Lydia is the part we would suggest trying next.
Biography
Elizabeth McGovern is an American actress. Born on 18 July 1961 in Evanston, Illinois, she trained at the American Conservatory Theater and the Juilliard School.
She made her feature film debut in Ordinary People (1980) and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Ragtime (1981). Other film roles include Once Upon a Time in America (1984) and King of the Hill (1993). She is known for portraying Cora Crawley in the television series Downton Abbey (2010–2015) and the films Downton Abbey (2019), Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025).
McGovern has also worked in theatre and formed the band Sadie and the Hotheads. She has been married to director and producer Simon Curtis since 1992.
