Playing Under the Piano: 'Comedy Gold' Sunday Times

Book excerpt: Hugh Bonneville is one of Britain's best-loved actors, whose credits include Downton Abbey, W1A and the Paddington films. In this book, Hugh creates a brilliantly vivid picture of a career on stage and screen. What is it like working with Judi Dench and Julia Roberts, or playing Robert de Niro's right leg, or not being Gary Oldman, twice? A naturally gifted writer and wickedly funny storyteller, Hugh also writes with poignancy about his father's dementia and of his mother, whose life in the secret service only emerged after her death.