Hugh Bonneville on Downtown Abbey’s secret to success | BBC News
The characters that you’ve played um and that you’ve particularly become well known for in America I guess it was I mean it was downt Abby so let’s talk about that that kind of catapulted you I I and some friends spent every Sunday night for about four series of down and
Abby having dinner together watching and our kids there was s of six kids and we would go from house to house we always liked it when we went to our Italian friends the food was better and we would sit and watch downt to Abby and almost everyone I knew was having a similar
Experience and I remember the first time I met you was at the state department I went to you and said Hugh do you realize how big it is here it was just when it was exploding you said I don’t know why it’s just a posh
Soap which it is um and I mean that it’s a compliment to it um Julian fellows uh was a big fan of Coronation Street which is you know one of the longest running soaps uh in the world I think um hugely popular still in Britain and he was a
Big fan of the West Wing and uh scenes that or or rather shows that have tremendous Pace to them and uh and short scenes often usually um and that was one of the characteristics of dtown that it had this this sort of break neck Pace to
It or rather if you got bored of one character there was another one coming along in about 25 seconds so it did have that soap element and certainly for most of this of the show you could say that it was about for example you know tension not violence romance not sex you
Could sit down with your granny you know and with your grandchild and watch it and and that sent of um crossing the generations was something that really I think uh took you know why the show took off that it was became a family experience as you say the other movie I
Guess that I knew you for first and that I think Americans did as well was Notting Hill talking of some rather bumbling um British characters but I have to say I love Bernie and for me he stole the movie I mean Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant but it was there was you had
These short scenes um where you you took the film away was that film for you a kind of breakout moment as well we talked about Danton Abby but I imagine that Notting Hill and what you did with that role Notting Hill was a wonderful experience I have to say
It was my first sort of decent part in a film it all of us had much bigger parts and they ended up on The Cutting Room floor um in order to put the money on the screen Hugh and Julia understandably but uh we had a beautiful it was a
Beautifully written script and really fun to do and with nice people and we had a laugh um and I was in a in a you know a big budget movie for the first time and so what’s not to like I I learned a lot on that film for instance
You know if you’re going to do a dining room scene um be careful what you eat on the wide shop because you’ve got to eat it on every other angle and we doing with you know as you may recall there’s a who’s going to eat the brownie the
Last Brownie and um oh at the end of the dinner party at the end of the dinner party there’s a whole brownie sequence and I like a mug at 8:00 a.m. ate two brownies on the wide shop and and um and so there every there about eight other
Angles you know that day and I ended up having to eat these bloody brownies and I swear to God I went out for dinner that night at a friend’s house and they served brownies and I sort of virtually threw up um uh so I learned I learned
That trick of the trade don’t eat unless you have to what was it like working with a kind of real celeb the first time you I Julia Roberts was Mega still is Mega but was Mega when you worked with her yeah yeah was that it kind of
Daunting scary did you have normal human reactions or well it’s quite funny the days when whatever well I can remember we we rehe we were rehearsing in this freezing cold Church Hall in Notting Hill literally with a sort of gas heater here and we all huddled around and it’s the days
When there was a lot more smoking going on so we’d all be puffing away and Roger Michelle the director and uh uh you know with with with ashr this is before Julia arrived so we had two or three days I think before she arrived and then literally on the day she arrived
Everyone stopped smoking suddenly there was no and she came in I remember her coming in and saying you know high and she was wearing you know jeans and a t-shirt thought a a she’s stunning you know of course she’s got this amazing Radiance about her but also she’s just
Completely normal she’s one of us and she first thing she said was anyone have a cigarette so out came five packets of silk cup um uh so well that’s sort of what the film’s about isn’t it really in a way Notting Hill it’s about that notion of you know normality and
Celebrity and and the and the the trappings that come with it good and bad to do with being in the public eye um you know it’s it’s a tricky one and and you’ve now been in the public ey I mean it must be that was kind of like like
You say about the trappings of do you have moments where you think oh God I just want to be anonymous and yeah I do walk around yeah all all I ever wanted was to be frankly all I ever wanted was to be on stage I I never thought I’d be
On telly or indeed in a film or or or be in the public eye in that way um so it’s it’s a strange it is a strange thing um it’s a strange thing when you’re in a restaurant and you know you’re aware that someone’s taking pictures of you
And you think well you know can I just finish my meal and you know um uh people always say um I’m sorry I don’t normally do this you think well there’s two lies straight away You’re Not Sorry and you do do this and I am in the middle of a
Meal and can I you know can I just finish my meal and then we’ll have a picture outside or something like that so I think the world of the of the camera phone and all that is has changed things a lot have you ever thought of playing an
American can I hear you no go no I’m too self-conscious now I’ve got prop do it no I can’t no I can’t I bet you can no I can with a bit of study but I’m no I’m too self-conscious now um but we did do
Once on um I think it was Steven cber we were doing uh three of us went on three three of us from D went on and he gave us the script and we had to do it and do the characters in American accents which was quite funny so reading Robert as an
American actually I can’t yeah I can’t do it my kids do in are both British and American and when they’re with their American friends they only speak American and when they’re with us they speak British and they can’t switch so if they were with us they couldn’t speak American that’s interesting that’s very
They don’t know how to it’s a language that belongs is an accent that belongs to certain circumstances in their life so I can see why you can’t suddenly turn it on no I should be able to even though you did a very good Romeo no I’m not
Falling for it I’m not Romeo in America yeah right through y window braak he did it a bit like some of your characters and I’m thinking I guess of Bernie particularly in Notting Hill you’re one of the most self-deprecating people I know in real life and on on screen
But so I’m sort of almost not sure if I can ask this question but what is it that makes you such a good actor uh I’m a good listener acting is about listening I think um and there’s a Michael Kane story and he he does he there’s a lovely thing on
YouTube which which I recommend every young actor to watch it’s a a master class he did probably 30 years ago now and in it he talks about when he was on on stage at the Royal Court theater in London you know in his early career and
Um and he had you know no lines or whatever uh he was I he was playing a policeman or something standing at the back of the stage all the interview took place with the you know the copper and the and the and the bad guy and the at
One point the director said to him during rehearsals he said what are you what are you doing Michael he said well I’m not doing anything I’ve got anything to say and he said no you’ve got loads to say you’ve got the world of stuff you could talk about but you choose not to
So that that you in other words keep it alive you know keep the thoughts alive even if you have got a smallish part and actually Julian fellows brought that up at the readr of the very first episode of Downtown Abbey he said go and watch Gosford Park and look at Sophie Thompson
She hasn’t got a lot of lines but she’s absolutely present in every single scene and you and you and you absolutely are inside the head of that character uh which was a very good note so it’s about being present it’s about being and and as I say listening and reacting um it’s
Not just about how many lines you’ve got
The BBC’s Katty Kay speaks to actor Hugh Bonneville, best known for his iconic roles in Downton Abbey, Notting Hill, and Paddington.
He talks about the surprising popularity of Downton Abbey, his role in Notting Hill and what he’s learned from working alongside other great actors.
You’re watching Influential with Katty Kay.
New episodes every week on BBC News and the BBC News YouTube channel.
Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1rbfUog
For more news, analysis and features visit: www.bbc.com/news
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37 comments
سألتتك 💔بالله الجَليلُ الْجَبَّارَ ان تنقذَنَا قَبْلُ أَن نَفوَتْ مِّنْ شِدِتْ الجوع : قال عز وجل [[مَا أفَاءَ اللهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَىٰ فَلِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُول وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتُمَى وَالْمَسْكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنكُمْ وَمَا عَاتَيْكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَنكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ ]] انَيَ انْتُحْيَكِ اني ذخلَةٍ عَلَى الله ثمَّ عليكِ انَيَ فَيَ وَجهك اني اختكِ اني اتْرَجَاكِ اتْوَسِلُ الْيَكِ انَقَذَنَا لُوَجه الله. يَشِهِدِ اللهُ يَحْيَ انَ مَنْ الْصَبَاحُ حُثا الانَ يَحْرَمُ علينا الاكل غير الماء ) اخواني اني اقسم بالله العلي العظيم على كتاب الله انني بنت يتيمه من اليمن ومعي اخوان صغار اقسم بالله على كتاب آلَلَهّ ان اخوتي ماعاد يقدرو ينطقو بكلمة من شدت الجوع وصاحب البيت يريد الإجار او بيخرجنا إلى الشارع و اني اسالك بالله وانشدك بمحمد رسول الله يا اخي لوانت مسلم وتحب الخير واتساعدني ولو ب 500 ريال يمني ان تتواصل معي او تراسلني وتساب على هذا الرقم 00967717821239 وتطلب اسم بطاقتي وترسلي ولا تتاخر وايعوضك الله بكل خير فيااخي انت رجال إذا شفت اسرتك جاوعين تعمل المستحيل من اجل تامن لهم الاكب ولكن انابنت عيني بصيره ويدي قصيره ليس لي اب مثلك يسمح دمعتي ويحميني من الذل والاهانة😭 مع واخواني سغار شوف كيف حالتهم وساعدنا وانقذنا قبل أن يطردونا في الشارع نتبهدل او نموت من الجوع انا اقسم بالله الذي رفع سبع سموات بلا عمدوبسط الارض ومهداني لااكذب عليك بحرف من هذا الرساله واني ماطلبتك إلى من ضيق ومن قسوت الضروف والحال الذي احنافيه وانا واسرتي نسالك بالله لولك مقدره على مساعدتنا لاتتاخر علينا هاذارقمي وتساب 00967717821239علينا جزاك الله خير الجزاء_↑==}↑😢==, ٫ 😭💔💔🥺😢😢😢😢😢,,,,,,,,,,,,##+@#+#+@@
سألتتك 💔بالله الجَليلُ الْجَبَّارَ ان تنقذَنَا قَبْلُ أَن نَفوَتْ مِّنْ شِدِتْ الجوع : قال عز وجل [[مَا أفَاءَ اللهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَىٰ فَلِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُول وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتُمَى وَالْمَسْكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنكُمْ وَمَا عَاتَيْكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَنكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ ]] انَيَ انْتُحْيَكِ اني ذخلَةٍ عَلَى الله ثمَّ عليكِ انَيَ فَيَ وَجهك اني اختكِ اني اتْرَجَاكِ اتْوَسِلُ الْيَكِ انَقَذَنَا لُوَجه الله. يَشِهِدِ اللهُ يَحْيَ انَ مَنْ الْصَبَاحُ حُثا الانَ يَحْرَمُ علينا الاكل غير الماء ) اخواني اني اقسم بالله العلي العظيم على كتاب الله انني بنت يتيمه من اليمن ومعي اخوان صغار اقسم بالله على كتاب آلَلَهّ ان اخوتي ماعاد يقدرو ينطقو بكلمة من شدت الجوع وصاحب البيت يريد الإجار او بيخرجنا إلى الشارع و اني اسالك بالله وانشدك بمحمد رسول الله يا اخي لوانت مسلم وتحب الخير واتساعدني ولو ب 500 ريال يمني ان تتواصل معي او تراسلني وتساب على هذا الرقم 00967717821239 وتطلب اسم بطاقتي وترسلي ولا تتاخر وايعوضك الله بكل خير فيااخي انت رجال إذا شفت اسرتك جاوعين تعمل المستحيل من اجل تامن لهم الاكب ولكن انابنت عيني بصيره ويدي قصيره ليس لي اب مثلك يسمح دمعتي ويحميني من الذل والاهانة😭 مع واخواني سغار شوف كيف حالتهم وساعدنا وانقذنا قبل أن يطردونا في الشارع نتبهدل او نموت من الجوع انا اقسم بالله الذي رفع سبع سموات بلا عمدوبسط الارض ومهداني لااكذب عليك بحرف من هذا الرساله واني ماطلبتك إلى من ضيق ومن قسوت الضروف والحال الذي احنافيه وانا واسرتي نسالك بالله لولك مقدره على مساعدتنا لاتتاخر علينا هاذارقمي وتساب 00967717821239علينا جزاك الله خير الجزاء_↑==}↑😢==, ٫ 😭💔💔🥺😢😢😢😢😢,,,,,,,,,,,,##@@@@@@
Thanks for useful and valuable video I hope you all have a happy new year! 🎉🎉🎉
I very much enjoyed his role in “the last viceroy “
I love Downtown Abbey. My favorite show
Please inform your embassy as soon as possible or any other institute for helping me here in Pakistani punjab
Downton not Downtown!
Good afternoon in Ghana Africa
you people can live in your fantasy land… however… i choose to stay within reality… to be… or… not to be… is the greatest lesson in life…
A full 90 per cent of the Earth's precious topsoil is likely to be at risk by 2050, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO. In a bid to protect soil globally and help farmers, the FAO warned on Wednesday that the equivalent of one soccer pitch of earth erodes, every five seconds.Jul 27, 2022..
Is the Earth really overpopulated? Yes, for two main reasons. First, people are rapidly displacing wildlife species across the globe, initiating a mass extinction event. Second, we are degrading ecosystems that provide essential, irreplaceable environmental services that future generations will need to live decent lives.
Welche Eigenschaften sind für dich in einer Freundschaft wichtig?👅
I hope there’s a 3rd film
WHERE ARE THE EPSTEIN CLIENT LIST STORIES
MAINSTREAM MEDIA IN PANIC MODE 😂😂😂😂😂
I actually finished Downton Abbey on netflix just yesterday which was awesome as it was new year's day. I literally was sooo engrossed in this series. I felt like it was real lol. I feel sad that the series has ended. Definitely one of the best I've ever watched in my life. Kudos to the professionals behind this… love love love it!!!
The MOST wooden acting by far
huge bonerville lol
Ο ΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ ΜΈΣΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΤΟΥΡΚΊΑ ΤΟ 2022 ΦΥΣΙΚΟΤΑΤΑ ΈΠΡΕΠΕ ΛΑΓΚΑΡΝΤ
Downtown? Seriously?
Free Julian Assange
Yep… Not a word from Western media about a very important event of a global dimension: Today BRICS has officially increased by five states: Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Ethiopia. Previously, it included only Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
Let the series be available on YouTube.
From uganda…
The problem is with your gay scenes otherwise it was a nice production
He’s like a weird genetic mash-up of Paul Burrell + Miles Jupp + Michael Sheen.
DOWNTON!!!! sheesh BBC
I spoke with a Katty at my business a week ago or so – and she truly was catty and arrogant. 🙄 no respect.
where there is bbc there is no secret
Woow 👇
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Gaza Strip (week 12)
22k dead – 10k missing – 5k arrested
2.1 million displaced (91%) – 60k injured
50k predicted disease & famine deaths by 2024
You are in trend!🔥
This is by the way dear viewer a 'distraction story' from the actual news that was pulled by the BBC at the last second.
Hundreds of nigerian chritsians killed and the BBC don't care one bit. F the BBC
"Quick reminder that there is no upper limit to diversity. You'll just be endlessly told things are too White until you wake up one day to something between Mogadishu and Karachi".
~ Andrew Joyce
F u bbc…u are chor…return what u people looted …making u a not 3rd but 4th world country
It’s Downton….not Downtown
Why the bbc not taking about the African riots in London?
Good old Downtown Abbey
the great tribulation is near us and the rapture is near. the signs are showing. believe in Jesus christ, for he has die and split his blood for you, buried for three days, an on the third day rose from the dead in glorified body. repent now or face the 7 year tribulation god judgment and wraith. spread the message. For if you stay down here don’t get the mark of the beast, sat no and let the evil one chop your head in the name of Jesus Christ. There be 21 wariths during this time…..
Are non leftist comments not permitted…
Downtown Abbey sounds more like a Petula Clark song.
Downtown 😂😂😂 Abbey