Interview: Elizabeth McGovern on Her New Ava Gardner Play and Busting Out of Downton Abbey

Elizabeth McGovern has been enchanting audiences for more than 40 years with her starring roles in films such as Ordinary People and Ragtime (which earned her an Oscar nomination) and gaining worldwide fame for her role as Lady Cora Grantham on PBS’s long-running series Downton Abbey.

Working occasionally on the New York stage — she played Ophelia in Hamlet in 1992 and starred in the 2017 Broadway revival of Time and the Conways —McGovern made a huge splash in London in 2022 as both writer and star of Ava: The Secret Conversations, a bio-play about Hollywood legend Ava Gardner, based on the book of the same name by journalist Peter Evans.

That play, now directed by Tony Award nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel, has arrived at LA’s Geffen Playhouse in an all-new production, with McGovern once again in the leading role.

TheaterMania spoke to McGovern about why she chose to write the play, how she personally relates to Gardner, her recent stint as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and the good and bad parts of playing Cora on Downton Abbey.

This interview has been condensed and edited clarity.

 How did this project come about? Were you always fascinated with Ava Gardner, or did you find the book somewhere and then decide to adapt it?
I’m not sure what came first, the chicken or the egg. I have always admired Ava. As for the book, it was resting on my shelf for years. I think it was something my husband, Simon Curtis, bought me. When I finally read it, I thought it was such an interesting way to tell someone’s life. The book brought up so many interesting things for me to explore as a writer: the nature of biography, the question of who has a right to interpret how someone’s was life lived; as well as the impact the movie business had on Ava. I also liked the idea that these two people go on a journey of intimacy similar to romantic relationship. I decided it would make a good play.

What was the actual writing process of the play like for you?
Since it was not something I had done before, it took me long time to feel confident. I really started just with the dialogue from the book. I got more confident while writing the voices of her husbands [Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra] for some reason, and then I gradually gave myself over to creating the Ava/Peter relationship, Naturally, the part of Ava was easier for me, since I could draw a bit from my own life. I am about the same age Ava is in the play, and I relate to that. And I understand why Ava was trying to come to terms with where life has taken her.

You are working with a different actor, Aaron Costa Ganis, in LA. How did that work out?
When we started casting, I had this idea there would be somebody over here who was perfect to play this part. He couldn’t just be a mimic who can impersonate Frank or Mickey, but he also couldn’t be just Peter. In fact, the show is more Peter’s than Ava’s, so it’s a big responsibility. When Aaron auditioned, just a couple of days before rehearsals were supposed to start, I was starting to despair that we’d find anyone. But he was everything we were looking for. It was like a guardian angel found us.

Do you choose roles like Ava and Martha, whom you recently played in a British production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, in part because they are so different from Cora Grantham?
Yes and no. My best friend in high school was the film director Todd Haynes, and I remember us doing a scene from Virginia Woolf in high school. But, yes, I think most actors would agree you’re always looking out for new challenges because that what keeps you alive. Luckily Downton Abbey has set me up so I am not worried about making money and I can indulge myself to do what I want as an actress. Ava and Martha are women of great appetite with large personalities, and playing Cora I had to tamp my personality down for 12 years. That energy has been kicking and screaming to get out. When I did Virginia Woolf, it was so great to be purged every night of the demons inside me; in fact. I felt the most psychologically healthy I had in years. I think playing Ava again will continue to make me feel that way.

Would you like to bring this play to Broadway or anywhere in New York?
Yes. You don’t have to ask me twice. If I could spend the rest of my life making theater in the center of culture, I would be thrilled. Honestly, I think people need live theater more than ever. We have so many screens and so much content, I think too many of today’s audiences have a lack of concentration. Theater asks you to give yourself over to one story for two hours, not a story you have to devote 40 hours of your life to follow.

Wait, does that mean you’re done with Downton Abbey?
Look, you never know. But I personally feel we’ve squeezed every last drop there is out of that series.