NEW YORK, April 6 (UPI) -- Downton Abbey alum Joanne Froggatt says her MobLand character Jan holds her own when it comes to dealing with her gangster husband Harry.
Created by Guy Ritchie, the Paramount+ show streams Sundays and follows members of the British Harrigan crime family, led by patriarch Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) and his equally ruthless wife Maeve (Helen Mirren).
Tom Hardy plays Harry, the family's fixer and the best friend of Conrad's eldest child Kevin (Paddy Considine).
It is Kevin's son Eddie (Anson Boon) whose nihilistic actions unwittingly kicks off a war with the rival Stevenson criminal organization.
"Jan is very much the person in Harry's life, who is his equal and is not intimidated by him," Froggatt, 44, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
"Harry is feared by most and he's a very powerful man. But when he comes home, him and Jan share the power."
The actress went on to say the couple, who are the parents of teen daughter Gina (Teddie Allen), have hit a bit of a rough patch when the 10-episode series opens.
"She is being a little bit disillusioned with where they are in life. She wants Harry's attention a bit more. She wants to feel like their family is more important than the Harrigans," Froggatt explained.
"So, she's kind of poking him, kind of wanting a little bit more from him emotionally," she added. "He's not necessarily able to give it. He's a pretty closed book."
Jan is fairly honest about the nefarious ways her husband supports her family's upscale lifestyle, the character's portrayer noted.
"Jan also is very complicit in what Harry does for a living, but she doesn't like to know too many details," Froggatt said. "But, as the story unfolds, and the war between the two families unfolds, Jan and Gina, their daughter, obviously, get dragged into it as well."
Jan and Gina have a close bond and share a frustration with Harry's absenteeism and preoccupation with Harrigan family matters.
"She's a teenager. She's going through those teenage emotions and Gina, like her mother and father, especially like her mother, has quite a mouth on her," Froggatt laughed.
"Jan's a good mum in the world that Jan lives in. Jan's influences are always going to be questionable because of the world they live in," she added. "Jan's a questionable influence. [Gina's] dad Harry is a questionable influence. But, with that, Jan is actually doing pretty well. She's got a spark. She's a tough kid, but she's doing well at school. So, I think Jan just wants her to do better and be better educated than she was."
Froggatt said she has always loved the gangster genre of TV and film, so MobLand was an easy "yes" for her.
"I've always wanted to be a part of one, so this is kind of a dream come true," Froggatt said.
"But I definitely wanted Jan to be something, hopefully, original," the actress added. "Jan came from my imagination and what I think I would want to see watching the show as a woman watching it."
Ritchie -- whose films include The Gentlemen, Snatch, RocknRolla and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels -- was the perfect guide for the cast through this gritty underworld.
"Guy Ritchie is almost his own brand now," Froggatt said. "You know what you're going to get. What a dream to go into this genre and have Guy Ritchie directing."
