Paddington<\/a> actor Sally Hawkins<\/a> has said starring in third film Paddington in Peru would\u2019ve \u201cbroken her heart\u201d due to the absence of the franchise\u2019s former director Paul King. <\/p>\n The 49-year-old played Mrs Brown in the live action comedies Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017) alongside Hugh Bonneville<\/a>, 61, who played her husband Mr Brown.<\/p>\n When King opted to pass on the film series\u2019 third instalment, Hawkins also waved goodbye to the project<\/a> and followed the director to Wonka, where she played the mother of Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2019s young chocolatier. <\/p>\n Speaking to The Times<\/a>, Hawkins said she feels \u201cso awful\u201d about removing herself from the cast of Paddington in Peru, but noted Bonneville \u201cdid get an upgrade\u201d in her replacement, Emily Mortimer. <\/p>\n \u201cBecause I love Paul so much, and love the way he works, it would\u2019ve broken my heart,\u201d she said of her decision to exit the film, which was instead directed by Dougal Wilson.<\/p>\n Hawkins met King at a theatre workshop at Ealing Studios, 20 years before the first Paddington film. <\/p>\n Although the actor described her experience working on Paddington as \u201ca gift\u201d, she noted she often becomes \u201cembarrassed\u201d by fans of the films approaching her in the street. <\/p>\n \u201cIt can really upset me,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause you don\u2019t know why people are smiling at you or staring at you, or being aggressive and weird to you\u2026You just want to live but it can cripple you.\u201d <\/p>\n Paddington in Peru was released in November 2024, seven years after the franchise\u2019s acclaimed second instalment. <\/p>\n Paddington in Peru follows the Peruvian bear\u2019s journey to his South American birth place, where he visits his beloved Aunt Lucy at the Home for Retired Bears.<\/p>\n The film was received less positively by critics than Paddington and Paddington 2. In a three-star review, The Independent\u2019s Clarisse Loughrey<\/a> said the bears\u2019s \u201cusual tomfoolery\u201d was \u201cunderutilised\u201d. <\/p>\n![\"Sally](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Sally-Hawkins-in-Paddington.png\")
Sally Hawkins in ‘Paddington’ (StudioCanal)<\/p>\n