Downton Abbey star opens up on working with ‘proper multi-tasker’ Guy Ritchie

Hugh Bonneville remained tight-lipped about appearing in the next series of Ritchie’s Netflix crime drama The Gentlemen

Actor Hugh Bonneville has heaped praise on Guy Ritchie, revealing that he has never worked with a director who can multi-task as well as him.

The Downton Abbey star also playfully dodged questions about a potential role in Ritchie’s Netflix crime drama The Gentlemen, which stars Theo James, saying he "can’t possibly talk" about it.

Appearing on ITV’s Jonathan Ross Show, Bonneville said: “Guy is a proper multi-tasker as a director.

“He’s the only director I’ve worked with who is literally like, the cameras are running, and Theo was in the shot and he was carving a bit of ham to give to his dog at the same time.”

Bonneville discussed the end of long-running period drama Downton Abbey, saying: “None of us thought it would last beyond the seven episodes that were originally commissioned.

Guy Ritchie’s The Gentleman was a hit on Netflix (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

“Period dramas were dead, we were told. You never know how it’s going to turn out. We ended up doing whatever it was, 52 episodes and three films over 15 years.”

He also said that audiences should not expect to see him in another Paddington film, after first appearing as Mr Brown in 2014.

He told Ross: “I think I should put this in context, I’m just too blooming old. I can’t do the splits anymore like I did in the second film. Never say never.

“If Mr Brown comes back in a bath chair, I could be available.”

Bonneville was joined by Four Lions actor Riz Ahmed on the show, who described working with Tom Cruise in his new film, Digger.

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Ahmed said: “He’s a force of nature. He’s really incredible. Like an athlete. Have you seen how fast he runs? I don’t want him chasing me.”

Discussing his new take on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet for the big screen, Ahmed said: “The reason these classics stay around is they still have something to say.

Riz Ahmed described Tom Cruise as a “force of nature” (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

“Timeless stories – love, honour, loss, duty, family. We wanted to do it with a spin, so it’s a contemporary London setting in a British Asian business family.”

He said that at school, “Shakespeare felt like the epitome of everything I was on the outside of; it feels very posh, elitist, establishment”.

But he added: “This teacher gave me Hamlet and I found how I was feeling in it. I became so passionate about it, even then. These stories are the heart of our culture, they belong to all of us.

“So I wanted to tell it in this way, that kind of just opens it up, allows more people to find themselves in it and feels very relevant and contemporary.”

Also appearing on the show were England rugby union player Ellie Kildunne and comedian Harriet Kemsley, while singer Jason Derulo performed in the studio.

The Jonathan Ross Show airs on Saturday at 9.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.