Paul Giamatti found the slow pace of 'Downton Abbey' "very bizarre".
The American actor guest stars in the show's Christmas special as Harold Levinson and his friend and co-star Laura Carmichael says he was baffled by some of the period drama's more sedate scenes.
She told the UK's Grazia magazine: "Paul found filming 'Downton' hilarious. He couldn't get over the fact that in some of the scenes we just sit around drinking tea. He was like, 'This is great, but is this really it?' I'd be like, 'Yes, but there is a subtext, you know, so we'll do our looks and our eyebrows and then the butler pours the tea and I saw a bitty like and then we drink some more tea. There aren't any car chases or anything.' He found it very bizarre and English."
The cast say the presence of Paul and Shirley MacLaine - who reprises her role as Martha Levinson - changed the atmosphere on set for the better.
Laura added: "When Paul. and Shirley turned up for their scenes, there was a different energy in the room.
"Shirley is part of the family now. She was dancing on set and telling us her amazing stories. We were talking about Justin Timberlake one day and she said, 'Justin is a sweet boy'. Wow. Shirley MacLaine and Justin Timberlake hanging out! That's cool."
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