Washington, April 7 -- Actor Paul Giamatti has spoken about the emotional experience of reprising his role in 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' following Maggie Smith's passing.

As per Deadline, in a recent interview, the actor reflected on how the film honours Smith's legacy, and said, "It was not the same without her, but it felt very much like in her honor in some way. Everybody was still acting in her spirit."

Giamatti, who initially appeared in the show's Season 4 Christmas special, was surprised to be asked back for the film.

He teased that his character, Harold Levinson, has a significant role in the movie, and said, "The interesting thing for me was that they even asked me at all because I was like, 'I don't have an important c...