Hugh Bonneville talks piracy and 'Doctor Who'

By Ian Cullen May 7, 2011, 3:16 GMT

The episode, which is titled ‘The Curse of the Black Spot,’ sees The Doctor and his companions Amy Pond and Rory land on a 17th Century Pirates ship, which is captained by Henry Avery. The crew are being picked off by an alien Siren (Lilly Cole) - but is she all she seems?

Tomorrow night on BBC One and later on BBC America will see talented British actor Hugh Bonneville don his cutlass to play Pirate Captain Avery.

The episode, which is titled ‘The Curse of the Black Spot,’ sees The Doctor and his companions Amy Pond and Rory land on a 17th Century Pirates ship, which is captained by Henry Avery. The crew are being picked off by an alien Siren (Lilly Cole) - but is she all she seems?

This new episode looks set to be a bit of comic relief after the somewhat darker tone set by the opening two-parter, and in a recent interview for UK Listings magazine Total TV Guide, Hugh Bonneville revealed that it was an absolute ball to work on the hit BBC series.

“I’ve never had so much fun with my boots on,” chirps the actor when asked about the episode.

Indeed, 'Doctor Who' isn’t anything like 'Downton Abbey,' which is the show that won Bonneville much critical acclaim when it aired last year. But the episode like Bonneville points out, is a lot of fun and gives the actor a different set of challenges to sink his chops into.

“There’s a nasty spooky Siren,” he explains. “She’s taking our men away when they get injured. She’s drawn to the smell of blood - even the tiniest cut - so we hide all of our swords and weapons away. We look like a bunch of wusses!”

Apparently Bonneville has been a fan of 'Doctor Who' since childhood.

“I was a Jon Pertwee boy, the show would frighten the life out of me!”

So much a fan is Bonneville that he nagged his agent to get him a role on the series.

“In the end they cast my beard!” joked the actor. “I think they saw a photo of me with it and thought, ‘Oh, we need a pirate with a beard.’”

When talking about Downton Abbey, the actor gave his view on why the series has been such a hit.

“I think the timing’s been good. It’s about an era when - rightly or wrongly - Britain felt confident about what it was as a nation. We’re not like that now. We haven’t got a flipping clue!”