Hugh Bonneville

Actor

• Born: November 10, 1963
• Birthplace: London, England

Contribution: Hugh Bonneville is a well-established English stage actor who came to prominence following his critically acclaimed performance on the ITV series Downton Abbey.

Background

Hugh Bonneville, the youngest of three children, was born in Blackheath, London, on November 10, 1963. His father was a surgeon and his mother worked as a nurse. Bonneville loved acting as a child and began taking classes at the National Youth Theatre. Bonneville later attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London for one term before transferring to Corpus Christi College at the University of Cambridge, which did not have a theater major. Bonneville actually preferred this because it made the theater program less a part of academia and more of an artistic endeavor. Bonneville graduated with a degree in theology.

Career

In 1986, Bonneville made his professional debut at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, understudying Ralph Fiennes as Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 1987, he joined the National Theatre, but Bonneville’s dream had always been to become a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He reached this goal in 1991, when he landed several high-profile roles with the company, the most notable being the character Laertes in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet with Kenneth Branagh starring in the title role. Bonneville was also involved in productions of The Alchemist and The Two Gentlemen of Verona with the Royal Shakespeare Company before being dismissed from the group without being given a reason.

The dismissal devastated Bonneville, but he quickly found work on the small screen. The parts were few and small at first. He had only two on-screen roles in 1993: a single-episode appearance on Paul Merton: The Series and a minor role in the television movie Stalag Luft. In 1994, Bonneville landed several more roles: single-episode appearances on the television shows The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Peak Practice, Mystery! Cadfael, and Between the Lines. That year he also had a minor role in the film Frankenstein, in which he once again acted alongside Branagh.

The mid-to-late 1990s were productive years for Bonneville. He found steady work in various television series including a leading role in the first season of the television drama The Vet and single-episode roles in several other television shows. In 1997, Bonneville landed a role in the critically acclaimed James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies and another in the television movie Breakout. The following year, he was cast in his first major role on screen: playing Bob Boothby in the miniseries Mosley. Aside from this, he fulfilled smaller roles in the television series Heat of the Sun and Holding the Baby and appeared in the television movie The Scold’s Bridle.

Also in 1998, Bonneville landed what would be one of the most recognizable roles of his life: the character of Bernie in the film Notting Hill, which was released in 1999 and stars Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Bonneville landed similar roles in Mansfield Park (1999) and Blow Dry (2001). Though he broke this typecast with award-winning performances in other dramatic roles, such as the young husband of Alzheimer’s-stricken writer Iris Murdoch in Iris (2001) for which he won the new talent award at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival, Bonneville continued to be popularly known as Bernie to fans until 2010, the premiere of the ITV period drama Downton Abbey.

In Downton Abbey, Bonneville played the lead character, Robert, Lord Grantham, the head of the wealthy Crawley family and the earl of Grantham. The show revolves around how he, his family, and their servants adapt to the rapidly changing world around them. Throughout the story arc of the program, Lord Grantham struggles to preserve what he believes are the proper ways of life from a world still reeling from World War I. Bonneville received tremendous praise and recognition for his portrayal of Grantham, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Downton Abbey itself has won a Golden Globe for best miniseries or motion picture made for television, a dozen Primetime Emmy Awards for various aspects of the production, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series. The series concluded after six seasons in 2015. Bonneville later reprised the role of Lord Grantham in the Downton Abbey feature film, released in 2019.

Following Downton’s colossal success, Bonneville has had minor roles on several other television series, including the science-fiction classic Doctor Who and the comedy Twenty Twelve. His performance as Ian Fletcher on Twenty Twelve earned him BAFTA nominations in 2012 and 2013 for best male performance in a comedy program; he also reprised Fletcher on the follow-up series W1A, for which he received additional BAFTA nominations in 2015 and 2016. Bonneville also made several appearances as the Pirate King in the American musical comedy show Galavant in 2015 and 2016 and served as narrator for a handful of Sofia the First cartoon episodes between 2016 and 2018.

At the same time, Bonneville continued his work on the silver screen. He joined the all-star casts of The Monuments Men (2014) and Shanghai, a pair of World War II action dramas that critics largely panned. However, he went on to find success with supporting roles in several children's films, playing a journalist in Muppets Most Wanted 2014 and Henry Brown in Paddington (2015) and Paddington 2 (2018). Bonneville also starred as Lord Mountbatten in Viceroy's House (2017), a drama about the Partition of India, and played a supporting role in the period romance Breathe (2017), both of which were well received.

Impact

Hugh Bonneville has become one of the most beloved British actors since his role on Downton Abbey propelled him to new levels of mainstream fame. As part of the show’s award-winning ensemble cast, he has helped the series achieve international acclaim.

Personal Life

Hugh Bonneville married Lulu Evans in 1988. Together, they have one son, Felix. Bonneville and his wife live in West Sussex.

Principal Works

Film

Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997

Notting Hill, 1999

Iris, 2001

Paddington, 2015

Viceroy's House, 2017

Breathe, 2017

Television

Downton Abbey, 2010–15

W1A, 2014–17

Bibliography

Graham, Jane. “Hugh Bonneville: ‘I Want to Grab Him and Say Get Real.’” Big Issue. Big Issue Foundation, 28 Dec. 2012. Web. 23 July 2013.

Greenstreet, Rosanna. “Q&A Hugh Bonneville.” Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 5 Nov. 2004. Web. 23 July 2013.

Hardy, Rebecca. “Good Lord! Hugh Bonneville Has Perfect Manners.” Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers, 18 Mar. 2011. Web. 23 July 2013.

Martin, Denise. “Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville on Knitting, Shirley MacLaine, and His Homeland Addiction.” Vulture. New York Media, 4 Jan. 2013. Web. 23 July 2013.

Townsend, Martin. “Drama behind Hugh Bonneville’s Rise.” Express. Northern and Shell Media Publications, 13 Feb. 2011. Web. 23 July 2013.