Hugh Bonneville on the family tragedies that led to fresh joy

HUGH Bonneville says he is happy to have started a new chapter in his life at the age of 62, even though it was partly begun by a series of tragedies.

- BY NICOLA METHVEN

The actor, best known for his roles as the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey and Mr Brown in the Paddington movies, split from wife Lulu Williams two years ago, after 25 years of marriage and a son together.

The news was reportedly a shock to Lulu, who had supported him throughout his acting career.

Looking back over the past decade, Hugh hints that losing his mother, brother and father within a few years of each other rocked him harder than many might have realised.

He said: "In terms of my outlook on life, having lost three significant members of my family, it's made me more fatalistic." Hugh's mother, Patricia, died suddenly in 2014 not long after he discovered that she worked for MI6.

Peaceful

"The admin of the funeral and everything numbed the grief for a while. I didn't read any of the letters of commiseration or condolence we received until a year later, when I took them all with me to India.

"I was doing a film but had one weekend off, so I went on my own to this incredibly peaceful, quiet hotel in the middle of nowhere and read all the letters and absolutely let it all out.

"All the emotion. That was a very cathartic thing."