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Douglas Reith

Acting Born Jul 16, 1953 Melton, Suffolk, England, UK 24 credits

Biography

Douglas Reith is a British actor and teacher. He is best known for his role as Lord Merton in the television series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), as well as its two follow-up 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 O'Neal 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 Burton's live-action remake Dumbo (2019). In 2019, he was cast in SAS: Red Notice (2021).

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Known for

The Crown

as Admiral Leach

Outlander

as Professor Brown

Downton Abbey

as Lord Merton

Minder

as Bellars

Agatha Raisin

as Lord Pendlebury
Film

Rush

as Awards Presenter
Film

Dumbo

as Sotheby
Film

Tokyo Godfathers

as Metellus
Film

Downton Abbey

as Lord Merton
Film

The Queen

as Lord Airlie

Full filmography

  • The Crown (2016) as Admiral Leach
  • Outlander (2014) as Professor Brown
  • Downton Abbey (2010) as Lord Merton
  • Minder (1979) as Bellars
  • Rumpole of the Bailey (1975) as Sergeant Downs
  • Playhouse (1974) as Fitzgeorge
  • Professor T (2021) as Dean
  • Agatha Raisin (2016) as Lord Pendlebury
  • Rush (2013) as Awards Presenter
  • Dumbo (2019) as Sotheby
  • Pandora (2019) as Prescott Fleming
  • Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) as Lord Merton
  • Rose and Maloney (2002) as Sir Andrew Ross
  • Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (2006) as Metellus
  • Downton Abbey (2019) as Lord Merton
  • SAS: Red Notice (2021) as Sir Charles Whiteside
  • Elizabeth I (2005) as Jude
  • Elizabeth I (2005) as Judge
  • Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) as Lord Merton
  • Fearless (2017) as Justice Angus Hill
  • W.E. (2011) as Lord Brownlow
  • The Queen (2006) as Lord Airlie
  • Cold Warrior (1984) as Ferris
  • The Prince and the Pauper (1996) as Chamberlain