Playing Under the Piano
From Downton to Darkest Peru
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Playing Under the Piano
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Narrated by:
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Hugh Bonneville
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By:
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Hugh Bonneville
About this listen
This exclusive recording includes 6 extended chapters that are unique to the audiobook.
Hugh Bonneville is one of Britain's most accomplished actors, whose credits include Downton Abbey, W1A and the Paddington films.
Hugh Bonneville is one of Britain's most accomplished actors, familiar to audiences worldwide for his roles in Notting Hill, the Paddington films and Downton Abbey. From getting his big break as Third Shepherd in the school nativity play, to mistaking a Hollywood star for an estate agent, Hugh 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, Hugh also writes with poignancy about his father's dementia and of his mother, whose life in the secret service only emerged 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.
©2022 Hugh Bonneville (P)2022 Hachette Audio UKListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Utterly charming." (Jack Whitehall)
"Deliciously naughty." (Celia Imrie)
"A gorgeous book." (Richard Curtis)
What listeners say about Playing Under the Piano
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A Scott
- 16-10-22
Tears and laughter
Thank you Hugh for letting us into your life, which definitely started long before Downton!!!
A brilliant book that shows how Hugh grew up and became the man that he is today. I laughed a lot. I also cried a far bit. It doesn't matter how famous a person has become, this book shows that they still have to deal with the same things that "the ordinary" person has to.
Please can Hugh be the narrator for more books.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-11-22
Excellent in all aspects
I think this will resonate with many people for so many different reasons. Thanks for sharing your life with us.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. M. Turton
- 06-01-23
Storytelling at its best!
Superbly written and superbly read. Not all books are successfully read by the author but this one is a fantastic listen. Hugh is a wonderful storyteller and even though there were fascinating celebrity anecdotes, his mother’s secret and his father’s gliding in to land were the most memorable parts of the book for me and will stay with me. I hope there will be further volumes!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Francesca
- 27-01-23
Absolutely wonderful
I wouldn’t of been called a fan, I obviously know who he is and liked the roles he’s played so I’m not sure what made me buy the book, but I’m so very glad I did. What a delightfully funny and yet emotional book, utterly loved it!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Squeaky Joe
- 14-01-23
Hilarious and heart-breaking.
British actor Hugh Bonneville is a familiar face to audiences all over the word for his roles in Notting Hill, the Paddington films and Downton Abbey. Charting his rise to stardom from nativity play to the heights of Hollywood, he recounts the highs, lows and day-to-day life of being an actor, as well as the heart-breaking reality of dealing with his father’s dementia.
One of the things I really liked about this book is the actor’s willingness to bare all about his years in the business, whether working with the likes of Dame Judi and Robert Niro, to ranting at his agent about the lack of decent roles. The audiobook is read by the man himself and as you’d expect, he does it brilliantly. Listening to his antics and heartaches, I went through a range of emotions from laughing hysterically to crying my eyes out. He also does some marvellous impressions of his fellow actors and his account of working with Dame Maggie Smith prompted me to (finally) get around to watching Downton Abbey, which, of course, I loved.
By turns, a highly entertaining, hilarious and heart-breaking book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- lawrence nicholas hart
- 15-06-23
An enjoyable read but
It is hard not be captivated by the dulcet tones of the lead actor from Paddington Bear and Downton Abbey and this autobiography with 45 chapters ( all quite short ) includes some wonderful anecdotes
Two small reservations :-
1- I would like to have heard more about his personal life but I do understand that perhaps there are some things that must remain private . Either that or perhaps he took the view that it’s just not very interesting . And the chapter about his brother was very touching
2- There was no sequence to the chapters . The book flew all over the place both in terms of time and place
But these small reservations aside I would recommend this listen to anyone
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nicpik
- 14-06-23
Very enjoyable.
Whilst some of it became a little boring with some of the details, what Hugh eventually lead around to was always interesting, informative and often emotional. I shall watch particularly Notting Hill and Downton with a different viewpoint 😜
The end was extremely moving.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- bblady
- 23-04-23
Loved it
Laughter, tears, drama and backstage gossip. A wonderful history of a national treasure. Simply brilliant.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wesley David Seth Taylor
- 26-08-23
Hugh should write a novel.
Very well written, structured and delivered audio book. It's clear Hugh is an educated man, thus the thesis on Ethiopia, deep down he knows which group to please. Being born to privileged didn't help his brother, but then his brother didn't take the risk. It was nice hearing about what happens behind the scenes and Hugh fashioned some admiration from me with his failed LA adventure. Most people don't recover from that.
To me it was lame how star struck he was by other celebrities and the Obamas. Whilst the gesture of cookies or a written note is nice I'm sceptical it was even them. If it was then I'm concerned about the kids of unprivileged and under-represented people that don't get that attention. However Hughes own words relay what impact that gesture had on him. If he was truly smart he would be aware how calculating politicians are. Whilst they please one group they exploit another. I worry where attention is focused by our leadership nowadays.
Overall huge taught me that acting has a huge scale. Starting out at a theatre where you get paid nothing to being absurdly rich given the digital form of the silver screen. I hope I can teach Hugh something. Electrical engineers enabled the ability to replicate the arts, which transitioned the village bard into world stars. With ai I forewarn. What we giveth we shall taketh.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Val R. Clifton
- 15-08-24
Worthy Listen
I thoroughly enjoyed Hugh Bonneville's autobiography. The narrative is entertaining and often amusing. The anecdotes were plentiful and witty. The narration was fast-paced and clearly enunciated.
My personal preference would have been for Hugh to narrate this more slowly, caressing and honouring each word as he does in the last ten minutes of his story. Notwithstanding, this is one of my favourite autobiographies, and I have read many.
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