Hugh Bonneville
Kirsty Young talks to actor Hugh Bonneville, who chooses the eight records that he would take with him to a desert island.
Kirsty Young's castaway is Hugh Bonneville.
Known around the world for his portrayal of Lord Grantham in ITV's hugely popular Downton Abbey, he made British audiences laugh with his portrayal of the hapless Ian Fletcher in the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ comedies Twenty Twelve and W1A and charmed audiences of all ages as Mr Brown in the animated film, Paddington Bear.
His immense range as an actor has ensured he's seldom been out of work since joining the National Theatre in 1987, but his thespian leanings started much earlier - writing, performing & even creating tickets for his very own dramatic productions - performed for his family at home. He was born in London to a surgeon and a former nurse and grew up with two older siblings. At junior school he refused to let a teacher put him off his passion for acting which he continued to pursue while doing a degree in Theology at Cambridge.
He chose an acting career over law, and following a brief time at drama school, his first professional role was "bashing a cymbal" in A Midsummer Night's Dream at London's Regent's Park theatre in 1986. He joined the National the following year and achieved his ambition of being a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1991. His television debut was as a conman in the ITV drama Chancer and his first appearance on the big screen was in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, directed by Kenneth Branagh. He appeared opposite George Clooney in the 2014 film The Monuments Men and was the voice of Father Christmas in the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ's adaptation of the Julia Donaldson picture book Stick Man.
Producer: Cathy Drysdale.
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Music Played
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Giacomo Puccini
O Mio Babbino Caro
Performer: Kiri Te Kanawa. Performer: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Sir John Pritchard.- A Room With A View (Original Soundtrack).
- DRG Records.
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Elmer Bernstein
The Great Escape - Main Title
Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra.- The Great Escape Soundtrack.
- BMG.
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Peter Sellers
A Hard DayΒs Night
- A Hard DayΒs Night.
- EMI.
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Pet Shop Boys
West End Girls
- Please.
- Parlophone Records.
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Annie Lennox
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
- A Christmas Cornucopia.
- Island Records.
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CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE
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Cass Elliot
Dream a Little Dream of Me
- CinΓ©ma - Les Plus Grands Hits.
- Versailles.
-
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The Four Seasons
December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)
- The Greatest Hits.
- Telstar.
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Damian Montagu
The Path Towards Tomorrow
Performer: Robert Sword. Performer: Tippett Quartet.- In a South Downs Way.
- Downtown Music.
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BOOK CHOICE
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
LUXURY ITEM
Lego with instruction booklets
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Kirsty Young |
Interviewed Guest | Hugh Bonneville |
Producer | Cathy Drysdale |
Broadcasts
- Sun 28 Feb 2016 11:15ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Fri 4 Mar 2016 09:00ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
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Desert Island Discs Archive: 2016-2018—Desert Island Discs
Guests are invited to choose the eight records they would take to a desert island.
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