Hopwood Depree tells us about swapping the States for a British Historic Estate, and US Comedy in the UK
Thank you for your time Hopwood – our traditional first question, where in the States are you from?
I grew up in Holland, Michigan. I moved to Los Angeles at age 18 and have lived part-time in both places ever since. So I guess I’m an LA dreamer with Midwestern roots.
You now live in the UK – what prompted the move?
One night in LA I was on my computer researching my ancestry when I stumbled across a 600-year-old manor built by ancestors called ‘Hopwood Hall’. The home was in desperate need of a rescue. I sent an email to find out more about it and their response was ‘When are you coming to England?!’ Before I knew it I was on a plane and my whole life has now become focused on saving the house. A classic example of the danger of going online while drinking wine.
What do you most like about living in the UK, and most miss about the US?
I love that in the UK everything is so old, and miss that everything in the US is so new.
How do you handle the subtle language changes in British-English versus American-English when on stage?
I am still trying to grasp the language differences which is probably why I am so confused all the time.
Why is American comedy so popular in the UK?
For centuries, the Brits have always liked laughing at the Americans.