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Julian Fellowes celebrates his 73rd birthday this week, so we're taking a minute to celebrate his many, many achievements. We all know him as the writer-creator of Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age, but here are 10 other strings to his very impressive bow.
1. He's an Oscar-winning screenwriter.
Fellowes won the Best Original Screenplay prize in 2001 for Gosford Park, a dark comedy about a murder at a grand English country house. The film's cast included future Downton Abbey star Dame Maggie Smith, and Fellowes has said DA was originally intended to be a Gosford Park spin-off before it took on a life of its own.

2. He's a bestselling author.
Published in 2004, Fellowes' debut novel Snobs was a big hit, so it's maybe a little strange that it's never been turned into a TV series or movie. It tells the story of a middle-class woman who marries a member of the English aristocracy but isn't welcomed very warmly by her new, super-posh peers.
3. He's also written a musical
Fellowes wrote the book for School of Rock, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage adaptation of the hit Jack Black movie. It premiered on Broadway in 2015, earning four Tony nominations including one for Fellowes, and then played in London's West End a year later.

4. He's a member of the House of Lords.
As Lord Fellowes of West Stafford (to use his formal title), he's sat in the upper House of Britain's parliament since 2011. Not all members of the House of Lords visit it regularly, but as you'll see on Fellowes' members page, he seems to swing by to vote quite often. 
5. He's also a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Dorset.
It's a ceremonial position that reflects Fellowes' standing in the community; he might be asked to officially open a county fair or induct a new vicar. As you'll see on Dorset council's website, one of Fellowes' fellow Deputy Lieutenants is none other than Doc Martin star Martin Clunes.
6. He's an occasional director, too.
To date, Fellowes has directed two movies: 2005's Separate Lies, a dark drama starring Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson, and 2009's From Time to Time, a fantasy film with Dame Maggie Smith and Dominic West. There's no doubt Fellowes always works with the best actors.

7. And he's also an actor himself.
In fact, before his writing career really took off, Fellowes was best known as an actor. You may know him as pompous Lord Kilwillie from Monarch of the Glen, a popular BBC series set in Scotland that aired in the early 2000s.
8. He even hosted his own panel show.
A very brainy panel show, of course. Titled Never Mind the Full Stops, its challenges focused on the rules, quirks, and style of the English language: something Fellowes definitely knows a thing or two about.

 9. He's written about soccer... yes, really.
Fellowes is most associated with shows about posh folk and their staff, but this doesn't mean he lacks range. In 2020, he wrote The English Game, a Netflix series about the origins of the modern-day English football (soccer) league.

10. And finally, he's a proud dad.
Fellowes is father to Peregrine, who is now in his early thirties. He told The Guardian a few years ago that being a dad had boosted his confidence and changed his outlook, saying: "Years ago, I had to take Peregrine with me to an audition for what promised to be an extremely remunerative commercial. Not one of the people there had the courtesy to acknowledge Peregrine's presence. It was a key moment and I never went up for a commercial again."
Are you a big fan of Julian Fellowes' writing?