Hugh Bonneville: why Paddington in Peru is precisely the tonic we all need right now

And a timely one too, Hugh believes.

“The arrival of Paddington back onto our screens is a welcome tonic at, let's face it, a noisy time in our world where we have all sorts of conflicts. And so to have an innocent story of a bear trying to do right by people and to be kind and polite is a pretty healthy dose of medicine.”

Just as the first Paddington did in 2014 and Paddington 2 did in 2017, the third film once again – in very different locations – captures the essence of the lovable bear that Michael Bond first created all those years ago. Crucial too is the sense of family – even if we do have a different Mrs Brown this time round, Sally Hawkins stepping down and Emily Mortimer stepping in. Many other members of the cast return. There is a lovely continuity amid the sense of the years passing.

As Hugh recalls: “What really brought it home to me was the fact that when we started Sam Joslin (who plays Jonathan Brown, son of the house) had to be chaperoned everywhere and escorted off the set and we had to stop at a certain time. In the third movie he took me to the pub!

“We have stayed in touch on and off ever since and despite the fact that we now have a different Mrs Brown everything fitted together completely. Sally was taking some time off generally and it was not the right time for her but she gave Emily her blessing. Emily was nervous on day one of rehearsals but we all felt absolutely right as a family and we very much bonded.

“The first film was about Paddington finding his way in a foreign land where he is a fish out of water or rather a bear out of the jungle. And now in this film it is all rather the reverse with the Browns out of their comfort zones going back to Paddington’s roots.”

Paddington returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now lives at the Home for Retired Bears. The Brown family are in tow, and a thrilling adventure unfolds when a mystery sends them on an unexpected journey.

But once again a key question, in keeping with Paddington 1 and 2, is how do you define home. Is it where you are from or is it where you have ended up.”

Hugh was delighted to return to the character of Mr Brown: “We have had a lot of fun in all three of the movies seeing how far we can push Mr Brown out of his comfort zone. In the interim he has got a new punchy American boss who has implied that rather than calculating risk he has got to embrace it rather than just analysing it.”

Key to the pleasure has always been feeling part of it all for Hugh and the cast: “Rosie Alison, the producer, has got around her an incredible creative team and we have always felt that we are involved in the process, not just actors for hire. We're always made to feel like we are properly contributing and our new director was happy to discover the fun and games that he could have with Mr Brown!”

The making of the film involved eight weeks in the Amazon, both Colombia and Peru, so as Hugh says every vista is genuine… even if not every member of the cast and crew got to go there in person: “Let's just say many members of the cast and crew got to go to South America... and many didn't!”

Hugh was speaking just after the world premiere in Leicester Square which he thoroughly enjoyed: “The first time you watch it you're thinking ‘Oh, they used that scene rather than this scene’ and ‘Oh, they've cut that bit’ but I have actually seen it a couple of times now and to see it fully grained and with the proper music and with the bear properly was fantastic.”

Hugh particularly enjoyed Paddington 2: “I found that the film got the spirit of what Michael Bond created brilliantly, but really I think the whole thing captures the essence of Paddington, this bear who only wants to do right by other people, who always sees the best in other people.”

As Hugh says, the whole point is that there is no malice in Paddington, no self-interest, just a bear who is trying to understand the world a little better and trying to make it a better place. In that sense, Paddington is almost a “totem of goodness.”

And while maybe it’s difficult generally to make goodness interesting, the point with Paddington is that there is a crucial vulnerability to him: “And when you have that vulnerability, you cherish the goodness even more. He is such a lost innocent. He is an orphan and you want to look after him. You feel responsible for him because he is an innocent in a tough world. Mr and Mrs Brown have seen the world but Paddington hasn't. But none of Paddington's inquisitiveness is selfish. It is always motivated by a genuine sense of inquiry and wanting to see the best in everyone.”

And for Hugh, this is where the Paddington adventure stops: “I think Mr Brown has had his time.”

The next step for Mr Brown would naturally be a retirement home for bears or indeed for Mr Browns: “So I think that's it for me. It has been a wonderful trilogy and I'm extremely proud of each of the films in their different ways.”