‘Downton Abbey’s’ Hugh Bonneville: ‘I’m Happy to Keep Going ... If People Will Have Me’

​That balance of authority and decency kept the character fresh, even when he was stubborn or shortsighted. Bonneville admits he sometimes grew frustrated with Grantham, but Fellowes always asked him to “bear with me” — and by the end of each season, the arc would be complete.

Bonneville enjoys acting in a wide variety of roles. “To be able to pop out of different boxes from time to time is fun,” he says. He portrayed Lord Mountbatten in the 2017 film "Viceroy's House."

IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

​For Bonneville, it was a lesson in patience and perspective. Just as Lord Grantham learned to adapt to shifting times, Bonneville has discovered that longevity in acting means staying open and flexible, even when the path is uncertain.

​Asked what excites him at this point in his career, he doesn’t hesitate: “Working, the next job. I love the excitement of never knowing what’s coming next. It’s also the fear of it.… But I’ve been lucky enough to keep working for 38 years or so, so I’m happy to keep going for a bit more if people will have me.”

He jokes that now he mostly plays “grumpier dads,” but he relishes variety. After Downton and the gentle humor of Paddington, he surprised audiences by playing a serial killer in the 2022 Netflix thriller I Came By. “To be able to pop out of different boxes from time to time is fun.”

​That mix of steadiness and surprise is what keeps him energized. He admits he once said yes too quickly to every opportunity, but age has taught him to pause and be more selective. Even so, the appetite to keep creating hasn’t dimmed.

​Bonneville’s range is no accident. He trained in the theater, studying theology at Cambridge before joining the National Theatre and later the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he performed alongside Kenneth Branagh in Hamlet. His stage work has stretched from The School for Scandal to Shadowlands.

​On-screen, he has moved easily between drama and comedy — Notting Hill, Iris (which brought him a BAFTA nomination), The Monuments Men and, of course, the Paddington films, which earned global acclaim and box office success. But Downton Abbey was the turning point.

“The Paddington movies sprung from Downton, working with George Clooney sprung from Downton. So it opened so many doors, not just for me but for all of us,” he says.

Acting isn’t his only outlet. In 2022, he published a memoir, Playing Under the Piano, a witty look at how he got his start in a school Nativity play, and this fall he’s releasing his first children’s book, Rory Sparkes and the Elephant in the Room. It follows a boy with big dreams whose life goes sideways when the circus comes to town. Bonneville has already begun work on two more.

​“I’m not very good at sitting completely still.… Anything to do with storytelling … that’s where I’m in my happy place,” he says. Writing lets him revisit childhood memories and turn them into playful, imaginative tales.

​When he needs fresh air, he turns to the South Downs — the rolling chalk hills in southern England, dotted with farms, villages and long walking paths. It’s a favorite escape: “Walking on the South Downs in England, which is my favorite geographical place to go to … that’s where I feel most energized.”

​Bonneville’s personal life has had its own chapters. He and his former wife, whom he split with in 2023, share an adult son, Felix, who has gone into film and television himself. Bonneville rarely discusses his family publicly, but he has acknowledged how grounding it has been to raise a child alongside a demanding career. Like Lord Grantham, he understands that true legacy isn’t just about estates or accolades — it’s about the relationships that endure.

​Bonneville can still remember telling his parents, back in 1983, that he wanted to try drama school before pursuing law. “I was lucky enough to get my Equity card…. I’m still waiting for the tap on the shoulder to say, ‘You’ve had your fun, go and get a proper job.’  ” More than four decades later, that tap hasn’t come.

​For Bonneville, aging isn’t about slowing down — it’s about saying yes to new roles, new risks and new ways to tell stories. “As long as I’m telling stories with groups of people who equally enjoy telling stories to audiences … then I’m happy.”

Downton Abbey leaves behind more than costumes and sets. There are memories of families gathering in living rooms, generations laughing and crying together. Bonneville’s Lord Grantham embodied dignity, compassion, and continuity — qualities that still resonate.

​At 61, he is proving that aging doesn’t mean retreating. It means carrying the lessons forward, embracing reinvention and keeping curiosity alive. Just as Downton Abbey has found a place in the cultural imagination, he continues to find new ways to inspire. The final curtain may have fallen for the Crawleys, but for Bonneville, the story is still unfolding.