Jim Carter serves ‘Downton Abbey’ as its beloved butler

NEW YORK – In the grand domain of splendid characters at Downton Abbey, Mr. Carson is perhaps the first among equals. Among the superb cast of “Downton Abbey,” a similarly towering figure is Jim Carter, who plays him.

After all, this is the saga of a noble estate and those who populate it during Britain’s post-Edwardian era, and Mr. Carson, as its butler, is the one who makes that house run. He bridges the gap between the upstairs elite and the servants bustling downstairs. His word, putting forward the policies and whims of the aristocratic Crawley clan, is law for those in his charge.

Bringing him to life is an actor who makes Carson’s crustiness heroic, his unwavering sense of duty lovable to the viewer.

With “Downton” returning for its sixth and final season on Sunday on PBS’ “Masterpiece,” Mr. Carson’s humanness will be exposed more than ever as his torturously arm’s-length courtship of head housekeeper Mrs. Hughes (played by Phyllis Logan) finally blossoms.

“It was the slowest-burning romance of all times,” says Carter with a laugh. “But the audience seemed to want it to happen – as did we.”

For the British-born Carter, 67, the road to “Downton” began long that when he dropped out of law studies at the University of Sussex and joined a fringe theater troupe he equates with “a door to the promised land.”

Stage, film and TV jobs followed in a career that has kept him busy and happy, enjoying the process of playing each role free from worry over how the finished product might fare with critics or the public.

“I have no ambitions in the acting world,” he explains. “I just need to get out of the house and work and be with people.”

After auditioning for Mr. Carson, he thought that piece of acting work would be nice to land, “and I came away thinking, ‘I should be very cross if I don’t get it.“’

One thing he particularly liked was how Carson’s starchiness and pomp had a humorous edge.

Julian Fellowes, who created “Downton Abbey” and wrote every episode, “knows it’s funny,” notes Carter, “when my character says things like, ‘A MAID in the DINING ROOM with a DUKE?! Over my dead body!’ And I relish playing those moments.”

But even just opening the door to the dining room and intoning, “Dinner is served, my lady,” Carter (like the actor who plays him) cuts an imposing figure. Here is a big man with a broad, expressive face and, maybe most pronounced of all, That Voice: rolling, stentorian, a treat for anyone who’s in earshot.

“I can’t sing, can’t carry a tune,” Carter says when asked about his golden throat, but allows, “my voice is strong.” And as soothing as it is authoritative: “Friends used to hand me their crying baby to hold and I’d just hum. The vibration through my chest would put it to sleep.”