NEED TO KNOW
Downton Abbey stars Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery are like father and daughter in real life, too!
On Monday, Sept. 8, Bonneville, 61, spoke exclusively to PEOPLE at the Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale New York premiere about how his longtime costar and onscreen daughter, 43. He even shared how she told him about her pregnancy news before it was publicly announced.
The actor plays the role of Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, alongside Dockery’s Lady Mary Crawley. On the red carpet at the Jazz at Lincoln Center, Bonneville recalls finding out about Dockery’s exciting news.
“[Michelle] often texts me as ‘Papa,’ and she very sweetly let me know about her bump a few weeks ago,” he shares, adding, “And I’m so thrilled for her and Jasper.”
“It’s so exciting that you know, with this show that over these 15 years, we really have been through everything together, births, marriages, deaths, divorces, and we’ve looked out for each other on screen and off,” Bonneville, himself a dad to 25-year-old son Felix, tells PEOPLE.
“So it’s a wonderful family to be part of, and it’s exciting a bit like the closing of this film. You feel there are new chapters. Well, Michelle is just starting one,” he adds.
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Dockery announced she was expecting her first baby with husband Jasper Waller-Bridge at the world premiere of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale in London last week.
The actress sported a dusty blue off-the-shoulder gown as she posed with her baby bump.
Jeff Spicer/Getty
Standing alongside her husband, whom she married in September 2023., the pair appeared in good spirits as they smiled at the camera.
During his interview with PEOPLE on Monday, Bonneville gushes about how Dockery will “always” be a daughter to him.
“Michelle and I’ve always been very close and I’ve always enjoyed our scenes together because, well, she is the sharper wit of the two, she’ll always be the daughter,” he says. “And I think back over the years to the wonderful scenes we’ve shared.”
Stephen Lovekin/Getty
He adds, “You know, I think about when she thinks she’s going to get a complete telling off from her dad and I say go off to America, you know, find a cowboy and go off and shake us all up a bit.”
“He envies her dynamism, because he’s obviously grown up into this position of having to be very, very responsible,” Bonneville explains of their characters.
“So I think for all her faults and her mistakes, Robert Crawley has really enjoyed seeing her go out there and grab the world, even though she sometimes makes mistakes and filming with Michelle’s always been a great joy and we had a couple of lovely scenes in this in this outing, which I hope our audiences will enjoy,” he says.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale premieres in theaters Friday, Sept. 12.
