Hawkins portrayed the mother of Asa Butterfield's character in the drama film "X+Y", which premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. In November 2014, she portrayed Mrs Brown in the critically acclaimed "Paddington". The film is based on the children's books by Michael Bond where Paddington, an anthropomorphic bear who migrates from the jungles of darkest Peru to the streets of London, is adopted by the Brown family. Hawkins reprised her role as Mrs Brown for the sequel, "Paddington 2" (2017), which has also received acclaim.