Playing Under the Piano: From Downton to Darkest Peru
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Playing Under the Piano: From Downton to Darkest Peru Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Hugh Bonneville (Author, Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,007 ratings
See all formats and editions

A moving, laugh-out-loud memoir from one of today’s best-loved British actors, whose credits include Downton Abbey, Notting Hill, and Paddington.

From getting his big break as Third Shepherd in the school nativity play, to mistaking a Hollywood star for an estate agent, Hugh Bonneville 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 wickedly funny storyteller, Bonneville also writes with poignancy about his father’s dementia and of his mother, whose life in the secret service emerged only after her death. Whether telling stories of working with divas, Dames, or a bear with a penchant for marmalade, this is a richly entertaining account of his life as an actor.

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  1. Listening Length
    10 hours and 14 minutes
  2. Author
    Hugh Bonneville
  3. Narrator
    Hugh Bonneville
  4. Audible release date
    November 8, 2022
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B0BH9FB1QC
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 10 hours and 14 minutes
Author Hugh Bonneville
Narrator Hugh Bonneville
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date November 08, 2022
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B0BH9FB1QC
Best Sellers Rank #127,809 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#1,803 in Rich & Famous Biographies
#2,113 in Biographies of Celebrities & Entertainment Professionals
#4,949 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
1,007 global ratings
Very entertaining
5 Stars
Very entertaining
Not only a good actor but good writer as well. You can actually visualize the moment as if you’re there while it’s happening. Lovely work. Easy to read. Very well written.
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Top reviews from the United States

?
5.0 out of 5 stars how can you not like Hugh Bonneville?
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2023
Verified Purchase
Good read. Nice stories
I can’t move out of this screen until I write something.
Everythings a gamble. Buy it. It’s not that expensive. If you like it, great. If you don’t, well , you aren’t dead. Either way, it’s not my decision.
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Victoria
4.0 out of 5 stars Love the actor
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2023
Enjoyed his book.
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Susan Osmar
5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure trove
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2023
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Beautifully written by Hugh Bonneville. A must-read for his fans, especially the followers of Downtown Abbey. Mr. Bonneville writes in the style of the late, great David Niven. One is transported to the the British theater world of the 80’s, 90’s and beyond. Mr. Bonneville shares humorous stories of exchanges with the leading actors and actresses of stage and screen.

Want to know the name of the most controlling person in the movie industry? The revelation is great fun! Want to know the author’s real name, or his connection with MI6 (the UK equivalent of the CIA)? Eager for a Dame Maggie Smith witticism? Buy the book!!!

Well done, Mr. Bonneville. I eagerly await his next book.
4 people found this helpful
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Jiminylena
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Enjoyable.
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2023
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Very entertaining, often poignant, memoir. Full of memorable anecdotes from every stage of life, this book was a pleasure to read. I especially enjoyed the personal stories about his family, as much as the ones from Mr. Bonneville’s professional career. Thank you sir.
One person found this helpful
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TJB
5.0 out of 5 stars what a sweetheart!
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2023
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Great autobiography, so well written like your having a conversation with him! Loved it and wanted more when it was finished!
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Louise Chambers Roebke
5.0 out of 5 stars A constant smile!
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2022
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Very sweet book. I could "see" Hugh in the various situations he shared and hear his voice. I looked forward to each chapter and laughed out loud in several places.
An absolute joy to read! ThankYou Hugh!
5 people found this helpful
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Hearth
5.0 out of 5 stars Charming and generous
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2023
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What a lovely book! Hugh is affable, charming and very supportive to other artists. Great stories about his adventures in life. Very well done.
One person found this helpful
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Cammieoh
1.0 out of 5 stars Boring!
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2023
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Couldn’t even read it- soooo boring
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Rockster
5.0 out of 5 stars Acting Aristocracy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2024
Verified Purchase
Was curious to know more about Hugh Bonneville. Was not disappointed, this is an excellent book, giving an insight into the actors world. Great read!
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ALISON MARTIN
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you for the memories
Reviewed in Australia on February 2, 2023
Verified Purchase
What a delightful book, it reminded me of all the wonderful actors Hugh has encountered on his long career and I have seen in movies and TV. It enabled me to search these long forgotten actors and read all about their life. Loved Downtown Abbey and all it stood for in great British history, stoic, well mannered and humorous productions.
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Portybelle - Joanne
4.0 out of 5 stars A charming memoir, amusing and a really enjoyable read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 17, 2023
Verified Purchase
Playing Under the Piano is just what you want an actor’s memoir to be and shows an actor’s life to be just how you’d imagine it to be. It’s full of anecdotes about plays, films and tv shows Hugh Bonneville has taken part in and there’s lots of name dropping but in a way that didn’t seem show-offy. Juliet Stevenson, Celia Imrie, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Jeremy Northam, Tom Hollander, Kenneth Branagh, Robert de Niro all get a mention among so many others. Many of these actors were already well known and caused Hugh Bonneville to become as star struck as I would have been and some must have been at the start of their careers.

He really has worked with the greats of British stage and screen and it was great to get a behind the scenes glimpse at what these people are really like. It seems they are generally as lovely as you would expect. We hear about the perils of corpsing or of drying up on stage. Bonneville is honest about his successes but also about those performances that didn’t go quite so well. It was fun to read about acting superstitions, especially those surrounding ‘the Scottish play’!

The book follows his career from school plays to rep theatre, to the Royal Shakespeare Company, to Notting Hill on the big screen and his hugely successful performances on the small and big screen and Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey. Surely his biggest success though must be acting with a small but lovable bear from Darkest Peru?I

I particularly enjoyed reading about the making of Notting Hill, Downton Abbey and Paddington. The scene in Notting Hill where Bernie commiserates with Anna (Julia Roberts) about the poor pay actors get is so funny and one of my favourite parts of the film.

There are more personal aspects of Bonneville’s life in the book too as he shares stories from his childhood and about his friends and family. All these are told fondly and with great love.

Like the man himself appears to be, Playing Under the Piano is warm, entertaining and charming. Hugh Bonneville’s genuine love for his chosen profession shines from every page in a memoir which is self-deprecating, amusing and just a really enjoyable read.
One person found this helpful
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Beverley Vernon
4.0 out of 5 stars interesting read
Reviewed in Australia on December 2, 2023
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Reading about Hugh Bonneville and his life and acting journey was quite enjoyable. I didn’t realise how much other acting he had done apart from Downton Abbey.
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C. Harrison
5.0 out of 5 stars Hugh Bonneville
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 18, 2024
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A very good read, very funny in places
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