
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 (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).
Acting
- 2021Professor TDean30 ep.
- 2019PandoraPrescott Fleming1 ep.
- 2017FearlessJustice Angus Hill6 ep.
- 2016Agatha RaisinLord Pendlebury1 ep.
- 2010Downton AbbeyLord Merton8 ep.
- 2006Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an EmpireMetellus1 ep.
- 2005Elizabeth IJudge2 ep.
- 2002Rose and MaloneySir Andrew Ross1 ep.
- 1996The Prince and the PauperChamberlain6 ep.
- 1984Cold WarriorFerris1 ep.
- 1976RentaghostAuctioneer1 ep.
Guest appearances
- 2020The CrownAdmiral Leach1 ep.
- 2019PandoraPrescott Fleming1 ep.
- 2017OutlanderProfessor Brown1 ep.
- 2016Agatha RaisinLord Pendlebury1 ep.
- 2012Downton AbbeyLord Merton11 ep.
- 2006Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an EmpireMetellus1 ep.
- 2005Rose and MaloneySir Andrew Ross1 ep.
- 1984Cold WarriorFerris1 ep.
- 1982RentaghostAuctioneer1 ep.
- 1980PlayhouseFitzgeorge1 ep.
- 1980MinderBellars1 ep.
- 1979Rumpole of the BaileySergeant Downs1 ep.