1953-07-16 Melton, Suffolk, England
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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Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale | Richard Grey | 2025-09-10 |
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Downton Abbey: A New Era | Lord Merton | 2022-04-27 |
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The War Below | Field Marshal Haig | 2021-09-10 |
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SAS: Red Notice | Sir Charles Whiteside | 2021-08-11 |
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Dumbo | Sotheby | 2019-03-27 |
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Downton Abbey | Lord Merton | 2019-09-12 |
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Les Profs 2 | Le chef de la sécurité | 2015-07-01 |
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Rush | Awards Presenter | 2013-09-02 |
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W.E. | Lord Brownlow | 2011-09-01 |
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Enid | BBC Interviewer | 2009-11-16 |
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The Queen | Lord Airlie | 2006-09-15 |
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The Queen's Sister | Horace Featherstonehaugh | 2005-11-26 |
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Bloodlines: Legacy of a Lord | 1998-01-27 | |
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An Englishman Abroad | Toby | 1983-11-29 |
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The Happy Autumn Fields | Fitzgeorge | 1980-11-21 |
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International Velvet | Howard | 1978-07-19 |
