‘Downton Abbey,’ season five: The earl offers an early look Nick Briggs/Carnival Film & Television Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville with Joanna David (c.) and Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary Until the massive success of “Downton Abbey,” Hugh Bonneville, who plays Robert Crawley, was best known to American audiences as the bumbling Bernie in “Notting Hill” or Iris Murdoch’s young husband in “Iris.” But now he’s the earl of Grantham in the hit Brit series on PBS. Asked to explain the show’s massive global success, the 51-year-old actor said: “I think it’s one of those very rare things where writing, casting, production values and timing all arrive at the same moment. Also, no one can quite define (the show). It’s not a soap, but it is a soap. It’s not a social historical document, yet it does touch into history.” He also gave Confidenti@l a sneak preview of the fifth season, which premieres on Jan. 4. “We’re in 1924 now,” he said. “The embers of romance from Violet’s past emerge, which I think will touch the hearts of a lot of people. As Lady Mary says, ‘So Granny does have a past.’ For Robert and Cora, there are tensions over the horizon in the form of a dashing art historian [...] newsnyork/downton-abbey-season-five-the-earl-offers-an-early-look/
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 11:15:11 +0000