Dan Stevens has revealed he teased Benedict Cumberbatch for describing 'Downton Abbey' as "atrocious."
The 30-year-old actor - whose character Matthew Crawley was killed off in the 2012 Christmas special of the hit ITV period drama - stars alongside Benedict in 'The Fifth Estate', a drama about Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, and he says he constantly reminded Benedict of the comment he made to make him feel bad.
Dan - who is good friends with the 'Sherlock' star - said: "I teased him about it all the time. It was a terribly easy way to make him feel bad. But, of course, there are no hard feelings between us and it was great getting to work with him. I think it was the usual crossed wires thing but a quote like that is too good for various outlets to ignore."
The English actor believes 'Downton Abbey' has been such a huge success in the US - where it has attracted 24 million viewers - because Americans are fascinated by the "Old World" and the old class system of Britain.
He said: "A lot of people try to discern what made 'Downton' so popular. There's a very strong Anglophile streak there, and a fascination with the Old World and the way things used to work. Some Americans harbour a desire for those years; others are very thankful that the world has moved on."
Tagged in Julian Assange Benedict Cumberbatch Dan Stevens