‘Downton Abbey’ season 3: How is Hugh Bonneville being recognized now?
One of the joys about working on a show like “Downton Abbey,” or really all of British television in general, are the opportunities that it can yield to you doing multiple things at once. Since the seasons are much shorter than for many programs here in America, you can work on a solid 8-10 episodes before leaving, and you still have a chance to work on some other shows in the same year.
At the moment, it is none other than Hugh Bonneville who is truly reaping the benefits as a result of this. The actor received a nomination Monday for the British Comedy Awards for his role in “Twenty Twelve,” and it comes mere months after he was also nominated for Actor in a Drama Series at the 2012 Emmys for his portrayal of Robert Grantham. (This award was ultimately won by Damian Lewis of “Homeland.”) Were he an actor appearing on television in America, we are not quite sure that he would have the schedule possible in order to balance so much on one plate.
Based on what we are hearing now, it already looks as though 2013 is also going to be a jam-packed year of events for Bonneville once again. He has been focused for the past several months on various projects for the screen and stage, and “Downton Abbey” season 4 will officially start shooting in a matter of mere months. He is already confirmed to be reprising his role, but the jury is still out on such actors as Dan Stevens (Matthew) and Michelle Dockery (Mary).
Do you wish that American TV would have shorter seasons, just so that this sort of work across multiple genres would be more possible? If you want to check out some more scoop related to Bonneville, be sure to head on over to the link here.
DApper
December 3, 2012 @ 7:39 pm
Historically, American television actors have rarely ‘crossed over.’ It seems we have been very segregated into film and TV genres, with Broadway formerly being its own world with very few stars from big or small screens trodding the boards. As Bway has become more and more expensive and competitive to keep a show running, producers have turned to big names to draw crowds. Many a TV star has left his or her series to pursue film careers only to have them fizzle. If they succeed, they never come back (like Travolta or Tom Hanks). The ‘big’ stars that are now doing TV are the senior set for whom romantic leading parts and big paydays are starting to wane a bit. (Glen Close, Kevin Costner & Dustin Hoffman for example.) Britain’s stars have the best of all worlds, except perhaps the financial one. They are accepted by producers and audiences in so many types of roles, which is wonderful when you see the range of talent and roles they can play, and they have the time to play them. Good for them. I think the lower payouts also lead to hustling for more parts and taking more chances to earn while the iron is hot. Established American stars never seem to hustle as hard as the Brits. Maybe there are just more people competing in the different areas and fewer projects because of the enormous cost, or maybe they are more complacent. Either way, thank god for the British talent and work ethic!