Hugh Bonneville, best known for playing Robert, Earl of Grantham on “Downton Abbey,” has joined the cast of Paddington Bear, The Wrap reports. He’ll play Henry Brown, the head of Paddington’s adoptive family in the Paul King film.
The classic Michael Bond series of books tells the story of a talking bear who was adopted by a London family when they find him lost at Paddington Station.
Bond published 11 “Paddington” books between 1958 and 1979. They were adapted into a popular BBC animated TV series in the 1970s.
The Warner Bros. release, set to be produced by Harry Potter producer David Heyman, will not be adapted from any specific book but will draw inspiration from the whole series with Hamish McColl providing the screenplay.
Bonneville can soon be seen on the big screen in George Clooney’s The Monuments Men, set for release December 18.
