Douglas Reith

Douglas Reith is a British actor and teacher He is best known for his role as Lord Merton in the television series Downton Abbey 20102015 as well as its two followup films Reith was born in Melton Suffolk He studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art He began acting in the late 1970s beginning with an appearance in International Velvet 1978 alongside Tatum ONeal and Christopher Plummer He worked as an announcer and presenter at BBC Radio 3 for five years before leaving to study Greats at Christ Church Oxford for four years beginning in 1989 He worked as a teacher including at Westminster School before resuming his acting career Reith joined the cast of Downton Abbey as Lord Merton in 2012 and alongside the cast was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards He reprised the role in the films Downton Abbey 2019 and Downton Abbey A New Era 2022 In 2017 Reith was cast in Tim Burtons liveaction remake Dumbo 2019 In 2019 he was cast in SAS Red Notice 2021