‘Downton Abbey’ season 5: Can someone make this Anjelica Huston appearance happen?

It’s really not that often that you run into a show that has actors desperately wanting to make an appearance on it, but “Downton Abbey” is one of those shows for a number of reasons. Not only is it a character-rich period drama with lavish costumes, but it’s also filmed as cinematically as possible, and with only eight episodes a season, the perception here is that you can come on, shoot an episode or two, and then be a part of around a quarter of a season. This is not a show that churns out an episode in just a few days; they take their time to ensure that the material that they have is great.

So who is the latest actor you can throw into the list of interested parties? It’s none other than Anjelica Huston! Speaking in a new interview with USA Today, the actress, who was recently a part of “Smash” over on NBC, made it clear just how badly she would love to dive into the world of this show:

“I love ‘Downton. I was raised in Ireland and England so I could pop into a part. Somebody like the Countess Markievicz [an Irish rebel], who they mentioned last season. Maybe I could make a guest appearance.”

The idea of “Downton Abbey” casting someone of Huston’s caliber is not a complete shock to this series, especially when you consider the roster of people who have already been a part of the show already. Shirley MacLaine is returning, for example, for the upcoming Christmas special, and we will also be seeing an appearance from none other than Paul Giamatti for the first time. We know that the show would not be that opposed to really getting some more stars on the show, but they just want to ensure that they have a real role for them to play. Not only that, but they don’t want the guest stars to ever become a distraction.

What do you think about the idea of Huston on “Downton Abbey”: Could it work? Share some of your thoughts below, and click here to read a few more details about the upcoming holiday special via Allen Leech.

Photo: ITV