Hugh Bonneville is "embarrassed by his nomination" for best actor

Hugh Bonneville is "embarrassed by his nomination" for best actor

* drum roll, please *

Hugh Bonneville, who plays the Earl of Grantham in the hit ITV period drama, and will compete against Cranston, Mad Men star Jon Hamm, The Newsroom's Jeff Daniels, House of Cards star Kevin Spacey and fellow Brit and Homeland leading man Damian Lewis for the Best Actor award at tonight's Emmy ceremony.

Yup, our favourite homegrown TV show, Downton Abbey, has scored 12 primetime Emmy nominations -  including Bonneville's nod, best drama series, writing and directing, as well as recognition for his co-stars Dame Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery and Jim Carter. Wahay!

But after arriving at BAFTA LA's TV Tea at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills ahead of the star-studded ceremony, High revealed that he felt undeserving of the acclaim - and that he hopes Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad wins instead.

"I don't think the pressure is on me, frankly. I feel slightly embarrassed to have been nominated alongside these amazing actors and much as I love the others I hope it is Bryan Cranston's year because
that show has been phenomenal and his performance has been extraordinary.           

Hey, Walter White off Breaking Bad was invited!

"He is a great actor, as are the others, but I think it's Breaking Bad's year." Hugh, 49, added that much of the day leading up to the ceremony would be spent grooming himself for the red carpet.

He joked: "Luckily my wife gets dressed in three and a half minutes because I take four and a half hours of make up, there is a lot of sculpture going on and I can never decide which tie to wear, that takes forever.

"She's already down in the car, saying "What time do you call this?"

"I am a nightmare but I will get better over the years. It has been a lot of fun seeing old friends so when I get to the theatre I will be fast asleep."

The critically acclaimed drama Breaking Bad stars Bryan as chemistry teacher-turned-crystal meth dealer Walter White. It has a total of 13 nominations (that's a whole one more than Downton), including best drama series.

Other programmes nominated in the coveted category are Mad Men, Game of Thrones, House of Cards and Homeland.