ABBEY ROAD: 'NO ACTING WAS REQUIRED WHEN I SAID FAREWELL TO MY SCREEN MUM MAGGIE'

AS HE RELEASES HIS MEMOIR, DOWNTON ABBEY STAR HUGH BONNEVILLE REFLECTS ON HIS CHILDHOOD, HIS KEY ROLES AND HIS MENTORS

- MARC BAKER

Hugh Bonneville became one of Britain's biggest stars as the Earl of Grantham in hit period drama Downton Abbey - but he has thrilled viewers in so many more roles.

The 58-year-old has played an astonishing range of characters, including soldier Donald Jeffries in The Monuments Men, Mr Brown in the Paddington films, the Pirate King in Galavant and, most recently, serial killer Hector Blake in the chilling I Came By.

So where does his creative impulse come from and what pushed him to pursue a career as an actor? Hugh says he is at a loss to explain it but his memoir, Playing Under The Piano: From Downton To Darkest Peru, lifts the lid on his childhood and reveals he had a dressing-up box that fuelled his fertile imagination.

He says, "I do dwell a lot on childhood in the book but I can't point to anything where the seed of wanting to be an actor came from. There was nothing crystal-clear. I was the youngest of three children, my brother and sister were eight years older than me.

"I was not an only child but I was an alone child quite a lot. My mates were interested in football and I was more interested in the dressing-up box. I invented brilliant characters and I had a mix of outfits to wear." Hugh is sitting down with us while taking a break during his UK book tour.

Telling us about his memoir, he laughs, "I was approached to write the book about six years ago but I thought an autobiography smacked of accuracy.

"I think a memoir allows you to be more kaleidoscopic about things and that is how my mind works, if I am being honest." Hugh reveals he began his book as his

father battled dementia and he sees it as a permanent legacy for his own son Felix and wife Lulu to enjoy. He says, "I wrote it for my son. I wanted to get some things down that have been key markers for me along the way.

I started writing about my dad, who passed away before the pandemic, and his journey through dementia.