One of the biggest movie stars in the world is going to visit Hampshire later this week for a special screening of his new movie. Hugh Bonneville is no stranger to this part of the world.
Living near Hampshire in Midhurst, West Sussex, Bonneville reportedly spent much of the last decade filming at Highclere Castle. Highclere Castle is of course the home of Downton Abbey and is located on the edge of Hampshire.
Running for six series on ITV, Downton Abbey followed the life of the Crawley family. The 58-year-old played Robert Crawley in the show. The popularity of the Bonneville series brought it back to the big screens in 2019.
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The 2019 film saw royal guests attend the Downton Abbey and introduced new characters. After its success, a movie will continue to reach our screens. Downton Abbey: A New Era will see much of the Crawley family travel to France to unravel the mystery of a villa left to the Dowager Countess – played by Dame Maggie Smith.
Bonneville was in attendance earlier this week at Leicester Square Cineworld for the premiere of Downton Abbey: A New Era. The star was photographed on the red carpet with Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael and Elizabeth McGovern.
Although he is clearly a busy man, Bonneville found the time later this week to visit a movie theater in New Hampshire. The Living Room Cinema in Liphook, East Hampshire, opened last week.
In a single amphitheater, the cinema screens a number of the latest blockbusters, as well as off-road films and children’s films. Next to the cinema opens a cafe, which is open all day. Selling cakes, pastries and coffees during the day, the coffee transforms in the evening, selling pizzas and cocktails.
In total, the cinema has only seven series, with space for just over 60 people. Largely from single chairs there are also two rows of sofas. All armchairs and sofas are custom made and made in Belfast for the cinema.
On Friday (April 30), the Paddington star will attend a special charity event at the Bonneville venue and other cast members may attend, with all proceeds going to the DEC Ukraine Appeal .
Unfortunately for Downton fans, tickets to the event have been sold out. For movie buffs, however, the place could be the place to go to meet some of your favorite movie stars.
The Living Room Cinema team has confirmed that the event is the first of many highly anticipated high-profile events in the space, with the cinema using board connections. These include founder Claire Beswick, whose film career has spanned ODEON, Vue, Curzon and BFI, former ODEON and UCI CEO Rupert Gavin, and award-winning film producer Nicole Carmen-Davis.
However, this will not be the first time the movie and TV star has visited the site. In March, Bonneville visited the site at the time to take a look at the site plans. Bonneville was photographed with founder Claire and lead contractor Steve.
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