IT HAS been 12 years since Hugh Bonneville last took up the leading role in a play and he could not be more excited to be back.

Over the past decade the charming actor has become a household name as his profile has steadily crept up before being thrown into the zeitgeist as the Earl of Grantham, Robert Crawley, in smash hit period drama Downton Abbey.

But Bonneville says still considering himself a “jobbing actor who has had a few lucky breaks” as he talks to Henry Holloway about his new role in An Enemy of the People, his upcoming performance in The Hollow Crown, the strangeness of fame and his love of the South Downs.

The Guide: What is it like to be returning to the stage after a number of years focusing on film and television?

Hugh Bonneville: I have not done a play for 12 years so the part of the brain which is exercised when you are filming is very different to the mental muscles you use when you are on stage telling a story over an evening.

I am very excited because a lot of the fun comes in the rehearsal process, as of course you do not get much time on film.

To spend some weeks going through the text, working with the other actors and exploring the play and making a complete fool of yourself and hopefully ending up with some choices the audience will engage with is the really exciting part.

Any preference between the stage and the screen?

Screen and stage are very different beasts and I love them both, I love the power and reach of film and the bigger physical landscape, but there is an equally rich landscape on stage and the canvases the actors paint is as vivid as that on film.

You have become an international name in recent years, how are you finding the fame?

I am very suspicious of the notion of stardom and I still maintain I am a jobbing actor who has had a few lucky breaks.

Stardom or that sort of stuff is a byproduct I do not have strong feelings about, I still cannot get a table at McDonalds.

I have had a very lucky run of things and Downton was the most fantastic experience and led on to me meeting Paddington bear and then working with George Clooney in the Monuments Men.

These are privileges I would not have had without doing Downton.

Going to America and the White House have all been wonderful byproducts, but the main buzz is working on good projects, and this play is one of them.

Do you ever find the travel stressful or is it all just part of it?

It is part of the rich tapestry of life. It is strange being in a different corner of the world and having someone popping up and saying they really enjoyed Downton Abbey or Paddington.

Perhaps the most enchanting one was in a layby in the middle of India where I was filming last year. I had stopped off to get a snack and suddenly a lad appeared from nowhere and said "Mr Brown". I just thought 'how on earth has Paddington reached this remote corner of Rajasthan?'

It has been 20 years since you last performed in Chichester, are you excited to be back?

I have been coming here on and off over the past 30 years and there have been some great performances.

It has become a powerhouse of theatre, with transfers to the West End and actors queuing up to come perform here, so it is in great health.

There are plenty of themes in An Enemy of the People, but for you what is its heart?

The heart of the play is the voice of individual versus the community in which that voice is heard, or not heard.

It is about the power of local politics and small-mindedness against high ideals.

It is actually also the seeds of the plot of Jaws where you have Robert Shaw’s character saying there is trouble out at sea and the community saying "shut up we do not want to effect the tourist trade".

How would you define the character of Dr Stockmann?

He has been described as an impetuous, enthusiastic, passionate man who is absolutely convinced of the right of every individual to speak their mind – particularly when it comes to the public good. Which is an admirable characteristic.

Unfortunately coupled with that is a degree of vanity, self righteousness and a downright annoying way of putting things.

Even though he makes perfectly valid points there are times he will not shut up.

You are quite good friends with Brighton-based crime writer Peter James, any ambitions to work on one of his projects?

We first met when we were discussing me working with him. We have a couple of things we are talking about at the moment when it comes to TV.

We met at the East Beach Cafe in Littlehampton we hit it off and have stayed in touch.

You have The Hollow Crown coming up in a couple of weeks, how was working on that?

I had done a lot of Shakespeare on stage but never on film and it is a brilliant adaptation with a fantastic director in Dominic Cook.

It was very muddy and cold where we filmed and I imagine that will come across on screen.

I love Shakespeare on film one of my favourite films is Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing, a glorious visual treat as well as bringing out the richness of the play.

I think judicious pruning on film means purists will say "that’s not the real Shakespeare" but I think Shakespeare would be delighted his stories were still being told in any medium.

You have been working on album called in the South Downs Way, how did that come about?

Damian Montagu, who lives in sight of the downs, played me some music a couple of years ago which was inspired by strolling in the downs.

It was part of an album he was working on so I did a couple of voice samples with some reflective thoughts on the downs.

The ideas is the first in a collection of music inspired by the great countryside we have. One of my Desert Island Discs was an exert from the album.

I live near Midhurst so walking on the downs is one of my favourite past times.

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
Chichester Festival Theatre, Oaklands Park, from Friday, April 22
Tickets from £10, visit cft.org.uk or call 01243 781312