Stand Up Drama PATRON

Hugh Bonneville

Hugh made his professional debut at the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park, in 1986, bashing a cymbal in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His theatre work also includes seasons at Colchester, Leicester Haymarket, and Chichester. His work in London includes Habeas Corpus (Donmar), My Night With Reg (Criterion & Playhouse), Us and Them (Hampstead) and Cloaca (Old Vic). He has worked extensively with the National Theatre and was a member of the RSC from 1991-93.

In recent years Hugh has become a familiar face on television, with recent credits including Freezing, Tsunami: The Aftermath, Five Days, Diary of a Nobody, Miss Austen Regrets, Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story, Lost In Austen. He wore a big hat in Bonekickers.

Hugh made his feature film debut in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1993, directed by Kenneth Branagh. He has since appeared in a dozen films, including Mansfield Park, Asylum, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, Man To Man, and Richard Eyre’s Stage Beauty. Hugh received a BAFTA nomination for his portrayal of the young John Bayley in Iris. Hugh is perhaps best known as Bernie, the dozy stockbroker, in Richard Curtis’ Notting Hill, directed by Roger Michell. Forthcoming film releases include Hippie Hippie Shake, Shanghai, French Film, Knife Edge and From Time To Time.

Hugh co-produced Beautiful Thing at the Duke of York’s Theatre and wrote Half Time with Christopher Luscombe, which he also directed.

He is a patron of the medical charity Merlin and lives in West Sussex with his wife and son.