Downton Abbey stars: their surprising career paths before finding acting

The road to Downton Abbey was different for each cast member. For Hugh Bonneville , acting had seemed a "daft profession," until he joined the National Youth Theatre. Likewise, Jim Carter found himself at university studying a completely unrelated degree, and Brendan Coyle believed he'd follow in his father's footsteps and become a butcher.

Here, we reveal the stars' alternative career paths and day jobs before they were actors…

Hugh Bonneville

Hugh Bonneville had always wanted to act, but he initially saw it as a hobby. "I loved acting because it was fun, but there was absolutely no way in a million years I ever thought of it as a profession, because that's what other people did. No, I was going to do something sensible," he told The Big Issue .

"Not medicine – I fainted at the sight of a needle – but I was going to be a lawyer. That was my game plan. The National Youth Theatre completely changed my perspective."

Laura Carmichael

Laura Carmichael may have set her sights on acting, but before she was famous the star worked as a receptionist in between auditions. While attending the VIP party of Raimund Berthold in 2014, Laura revealed that she'd manned the phones for his partner, Paul.

Speaking to the Evening Standard , she recalled: "I was a secretary in the doctor's surgery, which I did before I got Downton Abbey. I had been to drama school and they were very patient with me as I ran off for auditions."

Brendan Coyle

Brendan Coyle initially thought he'd follow in his father's footsteps. "I thought I was destined to be a butcher because my father was. I used to go and watch him at work in his shops at a very young age, but I hated it," he explained to What's on Stage .

"One of the reasons I wanted to be an actor was, I naively thought, it would beat working for a living! Actually, if I could do anything else, I'd be in a band. I don't play any instruments. I'd be Bono, wouldn't I? But I don't have a great singing voice – that's why I'm an actor!"

Jim Carter

Jim Carter is considered acting royalty and rightly so, but he initially attended the University of Sussex where he studied law. During this time, he also led the school's Drama Society. Two years after enrolling, Jim eventually dropped out of university to join a fringe theatre group in Brighton, and the rest as they say is history!

Rob James-Collier

Rob James-Collier hails from Manchester, and in his early days worked as a bricklayer's labourer, as well as in a factory. During an interview with the Radio Times , he explained:

"Because you've done the horrible jobs it gives you an even grittier determination to succeed. If I had a comfort blanket, I wouldn't have been as passionate and driven. When you get there, you really do appreciate it because you know where you have been."

For Rob, his decision to become an actor had surprised his parents at first, but they were supportive nonetheless. "I'm a working-class lad. So at 25 and with no one in our family having any theatrical inclination, when I said, 'I'm going to scratch all that and become an actor', I may as well have said I was going to be a Premiership footballer for the chance I'd have.

"But my mum was always supportive as I think she always saw the spark in me. My dad gave me a speech about getting a real job in that 'deep Dad voice' but he supported me too and I stayed at their house and tried my luck."