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Playing Under the Piano: From Downton to Darkest Peru

Playing Under the Piano: From Downton to Darkest Peru

by Hugh Bonneville

Other Press ·2022 ·384 pages
Near the Top
Near the Top
I Index
59/99
Top of the Pile

88/99

Critics' Rating Index

Maybe Someday

30/99

Readers' Rating Index

n/a

Scholars' Citation Index

77/99

Volume of Reviews

74/99

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About This Book

A The Times (UK) and Sunday Times Best Book of the Year 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 a real 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 account of his life as an actor is richly entertaining.


Reviews

"The book includes delightful tales."

Carolyn M. Mulac· Library Journal Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"On the cover, Oldman hails this book as 'Beautiful."

Lynn Barber· The Telegraph (UK) Read review ↗ Near the Top

"As a genre, actors' memoirs are usually to be treated with utmost suspicion; I find most of them gruesome ..."

Rachel Cooke· The Guardian Read review ↗ Near the Top

"There's no mean-spirited gossip in this memoir, just plenty of humorous self-deprecation and some laugh-out-loud anecdotes ..."

Alice Cary· BookPage Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"He also provides genuine insights into the actor's craft as well as moving sections detailing his aging father's diminishing mental capacities."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Winning and becomingly modest ..."

Louis Bayard· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"And what a professional memoir ..."

Christina Patterson· The Times (UK) Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

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