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Hopwood DePree (born February 1970) [1] is an American actor, author, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his attempts to restore Hopwood Hall in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England [2] [3]
DePree was born and grew up in Holland, Michigan, the son of Thomas DePree and Deanna, daughter of Herbert Hopwood Black (1911-2008), who was recruited to Michigan as a mechanical engineer in the early years of General Motors. Black had been raised near Hopwood, Pennsylvania and claimed descent from American Revolutionary War-era civil servant John Hopwood. [4] [5] [6] DePree's father was a politician (Republican), political advisor and the founder of a local insurance company. [7]
After graduating from Holland High School, DePree moved to Los Angeles where he attended the University of Southern California.[ citation needed ] Growing up, DePree did not like his unusual first name and chose to use the name Todd. It was only when he became an actor that he reverted to his birth name. [8]
DePree has stated in interviews that when he was a boy his grandfather used to tell him bedtime stories about Hopwood Hall but he always assumed it was a fairy tale. [9] Decades later he discovered Hopwood Hall to be a real place, and still standing. [10] Hopwood Hall was built in the 15th century, owned by the Hopwood family, passing to the Gregge (later Gregge-Hopwood, later Hopwood) family on the death of the last member of the Hopwood family resident there. [11] DePree was featured in the news when he moved from Hollywood to England to restore the hall. He had an agreement with the local council to develop Hopwood Hall and brink it back into use. He claims to have personally contributing £750,000 of his own money to further the rescue project. [12] He hoped to turn it into a community arts center. [8]
In 2017, DePree began chronicling the renovation process of Hopwood Hall Estate with videos on his YouTube channel. [5]
In November 2021, the Hopwood Foundation charity, which DePree founded, was given a grant totalling £460,000: £368,294 by Historic England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as part of the Culture Recovery Fund, supplemented by £92,073 by Rochdale Borough Council. Focus was stated to be on repair works particularly around the roof, and provision of training and resources for volunteers. [13]
In October 2024 Rochdale Council opted not to renew the agreement with Mr DePree on the basis that after seven years, a viable plan to bring the building back into use had not been produced. [14] In September 2025, Hopwood DePree filed a lawsuit against Rochdale Borough Council in the High Court of Justice over Rochdale Council’s failure to uphold their end of the Option agreement. [15]
In 2006 he founded Tictock Studios. In 2009, Tictock Studios developed a training program, targeted at below-the-line workers, to get new crew members ready for work. [16]
In 1995, DePree produced, directed, wrote and starred in Rhinoskin: The Making of a Movie Star, [17] a "mockumentary" about the struggle of young actors seeking work in Hollywood.
He produced, directed, wrote, and starred in The Last Big Attraction in 1999, which won three awards at the Newport International Film Festival [18] . DePree was one of the producers of the 2010 film Virginia [19] . DePree and Rebecca Green were the executive producers of the 2010 independent film Tug , written and directed by Abram Makowka. [20] [16]
One of his first roles was the defendant in a 1993 episode of Doogie Howser, M.D. and he played Paul Watkins in the 2004 CBS TV movie Helter Skelter, which was nominated for a primetime Emmy. [21]
He co-founded the Waterfront Film Festival held in the beach resort area of West Michigan. [22]
in 2008, DePree was appointed by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm to the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council to represent broad areas of film and motion picture making, production of television programs, and commercials, and related industries in Michigan. [23]
In early 2015 FOX news announced DePree was partnering with ArtPrize to launch ArtPrize OnScreen. [24]
In 2019, he became a Trustee of UK's Heritage Trust Network. [25]
In 2019, DePree performed a multimedia stand-up comedy show called The Yank is a Manc! My Ancestors and Me which he toured in Brighton, Manchester, London and Edinburgh. [26]
In September 2020, it was announced that DePree secured a global publishing deal with William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, and a six-figure advance for his memoir Finding Hopwood, which was developed from his comedy show. [27] This memoir, Downton Shabby: One American's Ultimate DIY Adventure Restoring His Family's English Castle, was published in hardcover in June 2022. [28]