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At 32, Grant claimed to be on the brink of giving up the acting profession but was surprised by the script of ''
Gone from the screen for two years, Grant next re-teamed with Paul Weitz (filmmaker), Paul Weitz (''About a Boy'') for the black comedy ''American Dreamz'' (2006). Grant starred as the acerbic host of an ''American Idol''-like reality show where, according to Caryn James of ''The New York Times'', "nothing is real ... except the black hole at the centre of the host's heart, as Mr. Grant takes Mr. Cowell's villainous act to its limit". ''American Dreamz'' failed financially but Grant was generously praised. He played his self-aggrandising character, an amalgam of Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest, with smarmy self-loathing. ''The Boston Globe'' proposed that this "just may be the great comic role that has always eluded Hugh Grant", and critic Carina Chocano said, "He is twice as enjoyable as the preening bad guy as he was as the bumbling good guy."
In 2007, he starred opposite Drew Barrymore in a parody of pop culture and the music industry called '' Music and Lyrics''. The Associated Press described it as "a weird little hybrid of a romantic comedy that's simultaneously too fluffy and not whimsical enough". Though he neither listens to music nor owns any CDs, Grant learned to sing, play the piano, dance (a few mannered steps) and studied the mannerisms of prominent musicians to prepare for his role as a has-been pop singer, based loosely on Andrew Ridgeley, member of 1980s pop duo Wham!. The film, with its revenues totalling $145 million, allowed him to mock disposable pop stardom and fleeting celebrity through its washed-up lead character. According to the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', "Grant strikes precisely the right note with regard to Alex's career: He's too intelligent not to be a little embarrassed, but he's far too brazen to feel anything like shame."
In 2009, he starred opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in the Marc Lawrence (filmmaker), Marc Lawrence's romantic comedy ''Did You Hear About the Morgans?'', which was a critical failure and box office disappointment.
Grant was featured in the Wachowskis' and Tom Tykwer's epic science fiction film ''
At the Movies: For Hugh Grant, Natural Does It, New York Times
(17 May 2002) In a career spanning more than 35 years, Grant has repeatedly claimed that acting was not his true calling, but rather a career that developed by happenstance. However, in 2020, after moving on to more character roles, he has stated that he "enjoys acting now".
On 27 June 1995, Grant was arrested in Los Angeles, California, in a police vice unit, vice operation near Sunset Boulevard for receiving fellatio, oral sex in a public place from Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, Hollywood prostitute Estella Marie Thompson, Divine Brown. He pleaded nolo contendre, no contest and was fined $1,180, placed on two years' summary probation, and was ordered to complete an AIDS education program by Judge Robert J. Sandoval.
The arrest occurred about two weeks before the release of his first major studio film, ''Nine Months'', which he was scheduled to promote on several American television shows. ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' had him booked for the same week. In the much-watched interview (which saw Leno overtake David Letterman in the ratings), Grant did not make excuses for the incident after Leno asked him, "What the hell were you thinking?" Grant answered, "I think you know in life what's a good thing to do and what's a bad thing, and I did a bad thing. And there you have it."
On ''Larry King Live'', he declined host Larry King's repeated invitations to probe his psyche, saying that psychoanalysis was "more of an American syndrome" and he himself was "a bit old fashioned". He told the host: "I don't have excuses." CNN reported that "Many are also applauding Grant for his refreshing honesty in a culture that has become fed up with overuse of the word 'abuse,' but Grant did not resort to an excuse." Radio host Scott Shannon said, "He went ahead and faced the music and handled it with tongue [in] cheek."
In April 2007, he was arrested on allegations of assault made by Paparazzi, paparazzo Ian Whittaker. Grant made no official statement and did not comment on the incident. Charges were dropped on 1 June 2007 by the Crown Prosecution Service on the grounds of "insufficient evidence".
In 1987, while playing Lord Byron in the Spanish production ''Remando Al Viento'' (1988), Grant met actress Elizabeth Hurley, who was cast in a supporting role as Byron's former lover Claire Clairmont. He began dating Hurley during filming and their relationship was subsequently the subject of much media attention. While dating Hurley, Grant gained international notoriety for soliciting the services of a prostitute, Divine Brown, in 1995. They separated in May 2000, but Grant is godfather to Hurley’s son Damian Hurley, Damian, born in 2002.
Grant has five children with two women. In September 2011, he had a daughter, Tabitha, with Tinglan Hong, who was sometimes misreported in the press as a receptionist at a Chinese restaurant in London. His daughter's Chinese name is Jing Xi (驚喜), meaning "happy surprise". Grant and Hong had a "fleeting affair", according to his publicist. He has said that Hong has been "badly treated" by the media; the press intrusion prevented him from attending the birth of his daughter, with Hong obtaining an injunction to allow him to visit them in peace.
In September 2012, Grant had his second child, a son, with Swedish television producer Anna Eberstein. Hong and Grant reunited briefly and she gave birth to Grant's third child, a son named Felix, in December of that same year.
In December 2015, he and Eberstein had their second child, a girl. Their third child, another girl, was born in March 2018, and they married on 25 May 2018.
, ''Express & Star'' (4 May 2015). In an email sent by former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown, Grant wrote: "I am not a Lib Dem, a Tory, a Labourite or anything in particular but I recognise political guts." In the 2015 election, he endorsed two Labour candidates: Tom Watson (Labour politician), Tom Watson and his former agent, Michael Foster (agent), Michael Foster. During the 2019 United Kingdom general election, 2019 UK general election Grant campaigned for tactical voting to stop a Conservative majority and Brexit. He was seen canvassing with Liberal Democrats candidates, Labour candidates, and independent Dominic Grieve.
As a young boy, he played rugby union on his school's first XV team at centre and also played association football, football. He is a fan of Fulham F.C., Fulham and is also a supporter of Scottish football club Rangers F.C., Rangers. He continued to play in a Sunday-morning football league in south-west London after college and remains an "impassioned Fulham supporter". His other interests include tennis and snooker.
In 2011, the
apologised after Grant made an offhand joke about homosexuality and rugby when he was invited into the commentary box during coverage of an England national rugby union team, England v Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland game at Twickenham Stadium. Talking about playing rugby during his school days, Grant said: "I discovered it hurt less if you tackled hard than if you tackled like a queen".
Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic
miniseries ''character actor
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
. Among his numerous accolades, he has received a British Academy Film Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
, a Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, Volpi Cup
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
, and an Honorary César
The César Award is France's national film award. Recipients are selected by the members of the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma. The following are the recipients of the Honorary César award since 1976.
Recipients
1970s
1980s
199 ...
. , his films had grossed a total of nearly US$3 billion worldwide. In 2022 ''Time Out'' magazine listed Grant as one of Britain's Greatest Actors of all time.
Grant first received attention for his early roles in acclaimed costume dramas such as Merchant-Ivory
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their ...
's ''Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
'' (1987), for which he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor
The Volpi Cup for Best Actor ( it, Coppa Volpi per la migliore interpretazione maschile) is the principal award given to actors at the Venice Film Festival and is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the Venice Film ...
, and ''The Remains of the Day
''The Remains of the Day'' is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The protagonist, Stevens, is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a stately home near Oxford, ...
'' (1993), as well as ''Sense and Sensibility
''Sense and Sensibility'' is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously; ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might have been. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (age 19) a ...
'' (1995) and ''Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
'' (1995). Grant then reached global stardom as a leading man
A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...
in Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...
's romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film ''Four Weddings and a Funeral
''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...
'' (1994), whereupon he received the Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He starred in the romantic comedies ''Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...
'' (1999), ''Bridget Jones's Diary
''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding. A co-production of the United Kingdom, United States and France, it is based on Fielding's 1 ...
'' (2001), '' About a Boy'' (2002), ''Two Weeks Notice
''Two Weeks Notice'' is a 2002 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence and starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. Although critical response was mixed, the film was successful at the box office.
Plot
Lucy Kelso ...
'' (2002), ''Love Actually
''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proje ...
'' (2003), and '' Music and Lyrics'' (2007).
Grant began to take against-type parts, starting with multiple roles in The Wachowskis
Lana Wachowski (born June 21, 1965, formerly known as Larry Wachowski) and Lilly Wachowski (born December 29, 1967, formerly known as Andy Wachowski) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans ...
' epic science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
film ''Cloud Atlas
A cloud atlas is a pictorial key (or an atlas) to the nomenclature of clouds. Early cloud atlases were an important element in the training of meteorologists and in weather forecasting, and the author of a 1923 atlas stated that "increasing use ...
'' (2012). He then received critical acclaim for his roles in both ''Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. ...
'' (2016), and ''Paddington 2
''Paddington 2'' is a 2017 live-action animated comedy film directed by Paul King and written by King and Simon Farnaby. Based on the stories of Paddington Bear, created by Michael Bond (to whom the film is also dedicated, Bond having died th ...
'' (2017) for which he received a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor
Best Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performan ...
nominations for each. He then starred in the television projects, the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...A Very English Scandal
''A Very English Scandal'' is a true crime non-fiction novel by John Preston. It was first published on 5 May 2016 by Viking Press and by Other Press in the United States. The novel details the 1970s Thorpe affair in Britain, in which former L ...
'' (2018), and HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
miniseries ''The Undoing
''The Undoing'' is a 2020 American Mystery fiction, mystery psychological thriller television miniseries based on the 2014 novel ''You Should Have Known'' by Jean Hanff Korelitz. It was written and produced by David E. Kelley and directed by S ...
'' (2020) earning Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nominations for both as well. During this time he has starred in the action films ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who wo ...
'' (2015) and '' The Gentlemen'' (2019).
Hallmarks of his comic skills include a nonchalant touch of sarcasm
Sarcasm is the caustic use of words, often in a humorous way, to mock someone or something. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although it is not necessarily ironic. Most noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly distinguished by the inflection ...
and characteristic physical mannerisms. He has been outspoken about his antipathy towards the profession of acting, his disdain towards the culture of celebrity, and his hostility towards the media. He emerged as a prominent critic of the conduct of Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
's News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
during the News International phone hacking scandal
The News International phone hacking scandal was a controversy involving the now-defunct ''News of the World'' and other British newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police b ...
.
Early life
Family
Grant was born on 9 September 1960 inHammersmith, London
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
It ...
, the second son of Fynvola Susan MacLean (née Wickham) and Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
James Murray Grant. His grandfather, Colonel James Murray Grant, DSO, was decorated for bravery and leadership at Saint-Valery-en-Caux
Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Caux'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France.
The addition of an acute accent on the "e" (Valéry) is incorrect.
Geography
The town is locat ...
during World War II. Genealogist Antony Adolph has described Grant's family history as "a colourful Anglo-Scot
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people o ...
tish tapestry of warriors, empire-builders, and aristocracy." His ancestors include Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...
; William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan
William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan (1690 – 16 April 1746) was a Scottish peer and Jacobite, who died at the Battle of Culloden.
Pardoned for his part in the 1715 Rising, he raised a troop of cavalry for Prince Charles in 1745 a ...
; James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
; John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl
John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl, KT (2 May 16316 May 1703) was a leading Scottish royalist and defender of the Stuarts during the English Civil War of the 1640s, until after the rise to power of William and Mary in 1689. He succeeded as 2n ...
; Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham
Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, PC (23 December 162018 December 1682), Lord Chancellor of England, was descended from the old family of Finch, many of whose members had attained high legal eminence, and was the eldest son of Sir Heneage ...
; Sir Evan Nepean
Sir Evan Nepean, 1st Baronet, PC FRS (9 July 1752 – 2 October 1822)Sparrow (n.d.) was a British politician and colonial administrator. He was the first of the Nepean Baronets.
Family
Nepean was born at St. Stephens near Saltash, Cornwall, ...
; and a sister of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval
Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...
.
Grant's father was an officer in the Seaforth Highlanders
The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...
for eight years in Malaya and Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. He ran a carpet firm, and pursued hobbies such as golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
and watercolor painting
Watercolor (American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the U ...
; he raised his family in Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
, West London, and the Grants lived next to Arlington Park Mansions on Sutton Lane. In September 2006, a collection of Capt. Grant's paintings was hosted by the John Martin Gallery in a charity exhibition, organised by his son, called "James Grant: 30 Years of Watercolours". His mother worked as a schoolteacher and taught Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, French, and music for more than 30 years in the state school
State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...
s of West London. She died at the age of 67 of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
.
On ''Inside the Actors Studio
''Inside the Actors Studio'' is an American talk show that airs on Ovation. The series premiered in 1994 on Bravo where it aired for 22 seasons and was hosted by James Lipton from its premiere until 2018. It is taped at the Michael Schimmel C ...
'' in 2002, Grant credited his mother with "any acting genes that emight have". Both his parents were children of military families, but despite his parents' backgrounds, he has stated that his family was not always affluent while growing up. He spent many of his childhood summers shooting and fishing with his grandfather in Scotland. Grant has an older brother, James "Jamie" Grant, a New York-based investment banker.
Education
Grant started his education at Hogarth Primary School inChiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
, then moved to St Peter's Primary School in Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
...
, followed by Wetherby School
Wetherby School is a group of independent schools for boys aged two to eighteen in Notting Hill, London, owned and operated by the Alpha Plus Education Group. Its prep school is a member of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools. ...
, an independent preparatory school in Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...
. From 1969 to 1978, he attended Latymer Upper School
(Slowly Therefore Surely)
, established =
, closed =
, sister_school = Godolphin and Latymer School
, type = Public schoolIndependent day school
, head_label = H ...
in Hammersmith, at the time a direct grant grammar school
A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...
. He was educated on a scholarship and played 1st XV rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
, cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, and football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. He also represented Latymer Upper on the quiz show '' Top of the Form'', an academic competition between two teams of four secondary school students each.
In 1979, he won the Galsworthy scholarship to New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
. He studied English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
and graduated with second-class honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
. Viewing acting as nothing more than a creative outlet, he joined the Oxford University Dramatic Society
The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England. Not all student productions at Oxford University a ...
and was Fabian in a production of ''Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
''. He also starred in his first film, '' Privileged'' (1982), produced by the Oxford University Film Foundation.
He received an offer from the Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...
, University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, to pursue a PhD in art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
, but decided not to take the offer because he failed to secure a grant.
Career
1982–1986: First film; stage and comedy work
After making his debut in the Oxford-financed film '' Privileged'' (1982), Grant dabbled in a variety of jobs, such as working as an assistant groundsman atFulham Football Club
Fulham Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, London, which compete in the . They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spent at Loftus Road whilst Craven Cottage un ...
, tutoring, writing comedy sketches for TV shows and working for Talkback Productions
Talkback is a British television production company established in 1981 by comedy duo Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones.
History
Talkback was sold to Pearson Television in 2000. The company merged with Thames Television in 2003 and the combined en ...
to write and produce radio commercials for products such as Mighty White bread and Red Stripe lager. At a screening of ''Privileged'' at BAFTA in London, he was approached by a talent agent offering to represent him. Still intending to begin his MPhil at the Courtauld Institute, Grant declined, but then later reconsidered, thinking that acting for a year would be a good way to save some money for his studies.
Soon afterwards he was offered a supporting role in '' The Bounty'' (1984) starring Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...
and Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...
, but was prevented from playing the role because he didn't yet have an Equity
Equity may refer to:
Finance, accounting and ownership
* Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them
** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business
** Home equity, the dif ...
card, which could only be earned through acting in regional theatre. To obtain his Equity card, he joined the Nottingham Playhouse and lived for a year at Park Terrace in The Park Estate
The Park Estate is a private residential housing estate to the west of Nottingham city centre, England. It is noted for its Victorian architecture, although many of the houses have been altered, extended or converted into flats. The estate uses ...
in Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
. Richard Digby Day directed him in small roles at the Nottingham Playhouse in ''Lady Windermere's Fan
''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London.
The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband i ...
'', an avant-garde production of ''Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' and ''Coriolanus
''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ye ...
''.
Bored with small acting parts, Grant created a sketch-comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and i ...
group called The Jockeys of Norfolk, a name taken from Shakespeare's ''Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
'', with friends Chris Lang
Chris Lang (born 1961) is a British screenwriter, producer and actor. Lang has written for many British television series but is best known as the writer, creator and executive producer of ''Unforgotten''.
Career Actor
He trained at RADA, g ...
and Andy Taylor. The group toured London's pub comedy circuit with stops at ''The George IV'' in Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
, ''Canal Cafe Theatre'' in Little Venice
Little Venice is a district in West London, England, around the junction of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, the Regent's Canal, and the entrance to Paddington Basin. The junction forms a triangular shape basin. Many of the buildi ...
and ''The King's Head'' in Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
. The Jockeys of Norfolk proved a hit at the 1985 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
after their sketch on the Nativity, told as an Ealing comedy
The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the ...
, gained them a spot on Russell Harty
Frederic Russell Harty (5 September 1934 – 8 June 1988) was an English television presenter of arts programmes and chat shows.
Early life
Harty was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, the son of greengrocer Fred Harty, who ran a fruit-and-veget ...
's BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
TV show ''Harty Goes to...''. In 1986 he played Eric Birling in a production of ''An Inspector Calls
''An Inspector Calls'' is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in the Soviet Union in 1945 and at the New Theatre in London the following year. It is one of Priestley's best-known works for the stage and is c ...
'' at the Royal Exchange Theatre
The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...
in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, directed by Richard Wilson, giving a performance that Grevel Lindop
Grevel Charles Garrett Lindop (born 6 October 1948) is an English poet, academic and literary critic.
Life
Lindop was born in Liverpool to solicitor John Neale Lindop, LL.M. and Winifred (née Garrett), and educated at Liverpool College, then W ...
, writing in the ''Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'', described as "outstanding".
1985–1993: ''Maurice'' and other projects
In 1985 and 1986, Grant had minor roles in eight television productions, including TV films, historical miniseries and single episodes of series. His first leading film role came inMerchant-Ivory
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their ...
's Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
drama film ''Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
'' (1987), adapted from E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
's novel. He and co-star James Wilby
James Jonathon Wilby (born 20 February 1958) is an English actor.
Early life and education
Wilby was born in Rangoon, Burma to a corporate executive father. He was educated at Terrington Hall School, North Yorkshire and Sedbergh School in Cu ...
shared the Volpi Cup
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
for their portrayals of lovers Clive Durham and Maurice Hall, respectively.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he balanced small roles on television with film work, which included playing Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Baron Delamere in the BAFTA Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...
-nominated '' White Mischief'' (1987) and a supporting role in ''The Dawning
''The Dawning'' is a 1988 British drama film based on Jennifer Johnston's novel, '' The Old Jest'', which depicts the Irish War of Independence through the eyes of the Anglo-Irish landlord class. It stars Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Grant, Jean Simmon ...
'' (1988) opposite Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...
and Jean Simmons.
In 1988 he had a leading role in Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...
's horror film, ''The Lair of the White Worm
''The Lair of the White Worm'' is a horror novel by the Irish writer Bram Stoker. It was first published by Rider and Son of London in 1911 – the year before Stoker's death – with colour illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. The story is bas ...
''. He was Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
in a Goya Award
The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain.
The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...
-winning Spanish production called ''Remando al viento
''Rowing with the Wind'' a.k.a. ''Remando al viento'' (Spanish title) is a 1988 Spanish film written and directed by Gonzalo Suárez. The film won seven Goya Awards. It concerns the English writer Mary Shelley and her circle.
Plot
In the summer ...
'' (1988) and portrayed legendary champagne merchant Charles Heidsieck
Charles Camille Heidsieck (1822–1893) was a French Champagne merchant who founded the Champagne firm '' Charles Heidsieck'' in 1851. He is credited with popularizing Champagne in the United States and was known as "Champagne Charlie" during his ...
in the television film '' Champagne Charlie'' (1989). In 1990 he had a small role in the sport/crime drama ''The Big Man
''The Big Man'' (US title: ''Crossing the Line'') is a 1990 feature film. It stars Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley and Billy Connolly. The film's score was composed by Ennio Morricone. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by William M ...
'', opposite Liam Neeson
William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...
, in which Grant assumed a Scottish accent; the film explores the life of a Scottish miner (Neeson) who becomes unemployed during a union strike. In 1991 he played Julie Andrews
Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...
' gay son in the ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
made-for-television film ''Our Sons
''Our Sons'' is a 1991 American made-for-television drama film starring Julie Andrews and Ann-Margret as two mothers of gay sons, one of whom is dying of AIDS. It was inspired by Micki Dickoff's 1987 documentary, ''Too Little, Too Late'', about ...
''. In 1991 he also starred as Frederic Chopin Frederic may refer to:
Places United States
* Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County
* Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County
** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community
Other uses
* Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...
in ''Impromptu
An impromptu (, , loosely meaning "offhand") is a free-form musical composition with the character of an ''ex tempore'' improvisation as if prompted by the spirit of the moment, usually for a solo instrument, such as piano. According to ''Allgeme ...
'', opposite Judy Davis
Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...
as his lover George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, bein ...
.
In 1992 he appeared in Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...
's film '' Bitter Moon'', portraying a fastidious and proper British tourist who is married but finds himself enticed by the sexual hedonism of a seductive French woman and her embittered, paraplegic American husband. The film was called an "anti-romantic opus of sexual obsession and cruelty" by ''The Washington Post''. In 1993 he had a supporting role in the Merchant-Ivory
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their ...
drama ''The Remains of the Day
''The Remains of the Day'' is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The protagonist, Stevens, is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a stately home near Oxford, ...
''.
Grant later jokingly called many of the productions of his early career " Europuddings, where you would have a French script, a Spanish director and English actors. The script would usually be written by a foreigner, badly translated into English. And then they'd get English actors in, because they thought that was the way to sell it to America."
1993–1999: ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and stardom
At 32, Grant claimed to be on the brink of giving up the acting profession but was surprised by the script of ''Four Weddings and a Funeral
''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...
'' (1994). "If you read as many bad scripts as I did, you'd know how grateful you are when you come across one where the guy actually is funny," he later recalled. Released in 1994 with Grant as the protagonist, ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' became the highest-grossing British film to date with a worldwide box office in excess of $244 million, making him an overnight international star. His entry in ''The Trouble with Men: Masculinities in European and Hollywood Cinema'' states:
The film was nominated for two Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s and, among numerous awards won by its cast and crew, it earned Grant a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. It also temporarily typecast him as the lead character, Charles, a bohemian and debonair bachelor. Grant saw it as an inside joke that the star, due to the parts he played, was assumed to have the personality of the screenwriter (Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...
), who is known for writing about himself and his own life. Grant later expressed:
In July 1994, he signed a two-year production deal with Castle Rock Entertainment and, by October, he became founder and director of the UK-based Simian Films Limited. He appointed his then-girlfriend, Elizabeth Hurley, as the head of development to look for prospective projects. Simian Films produced two Grant vehicles in the 1990s and lost a bid to produce '' About a Boy'' to Robert De Niro's TriBeCa Productions. The company closed its US office in 2002 and Grant resigned as director in December 2005.
Before the release of ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'', Grant had reunited with its director Mike Newell (director), Mike Newell for the tragicomedy ''An Awfully Big Adventure'' (1995), which was labelled a "determinedly off-beat film" by ''The New York Times''. He portrayed the supercilious director of a repertory company in post-World War II Liverpool. Critic Roger Ebert wrote, "It shows that he has range as an actor" but the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' disapproved on grounds that the film "plays like a vanity production for Grant". Janet Maslin, praising Grant as "superb" and "a dashing cad under any circumstances", commented, "For him this film represents the road not taken. Made before ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' was released, it captures Mr. Grant as the clever, versatile character actor he was then becoming, rather than the international dreamboat he is today." His next role was as a cartographer in 1917 Wales in ''The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain'' (1995).
Grant's first studio-financed Cinema of the United States, Hollywood project was opposite Julianne Moore in Chris Columbus (filmmaker), Chris Columbus's comedy ''Nine Months'' (1995). Though a hit at the box office, it was almost universally panned by critics. ''The Washington Post'' called it a "grotesquely pandering caper" and singled out Grant's performance, as a child psychiatry, child psychiatrist reacting unfavourably to his girlfriend's unexpected pregnancy, for his "insufferable muggings". Grant himself has been highly critical of his performance in ''Nine Months'', stating in a 2016 interview:
Next in 1995, he starred as Emma Thompson's suitor in her Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning adaptation of Jane Austen's ''Sense and Sensibility
''Sense and Sensibility'' is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously; ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might have been. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (age 19) a ...
'', directed by Ang Lee. In 1995 he also performed in ''Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
''; Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote that Grant is "having a fine and liberating time playing a supercilious court portrait painter", and Kevin Thomas (film critic), Kevin Thomas of ''Los Angeles Times'' said he has "some delicious moments" in the film.
He made his debut as a film producer with the 1996 thriller ''Extreme Measures''. Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel each gave the film three out of four stars, with Siskel writing "Hugh Grant's work in ''Extreme Measures'' is a refreshing standout."
After a three-year hiatus, in 1999 he paired with Julia Roberts in ''Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...
'', which was written by Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...
and produced by much of the same team that was responsible for ''Four Weddings and a Funeral''. This new Working Title Films, Working Title production displaced ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' as the biggest British hit in the history of cinema, with earnings equalling $363 million worldwide. As it became exemplary of modern romantic comedies in mainstream culture, the film was also received well by critics. CNN reviewer Paul Clinton said, "''Notting Hill'' stands alone as another funny and heartwarming story about love against all odds." Reactions to his Golden Globe-nominated performance were varied, with Salon.com's Stephanie Zacharek criticising that, "Grant's performance stands as an emblem of what's wrong with ''Notting Hill''. What's maddening about Grant is that he just never cuts the crap. He's become one of those actors who's all shambling self-caricature, from his twinkly crow's feet to the time-lapsed half century it takes him to actually get one of his lines out." The film provided both its stars a chance to satirise the woes of international notoriety, most noted of which was Grant's turn as a faux-journalist who sits through a dull press junket with what ''The New York Times'' called "a delightfully funny deadpan".
Grant also released his second production output, a fish-out-of-water mob comedy ''Mickey Blue Eyes'', that year. It was dismissed by critics, performed modestly at the box office and garnered its actor-producer mixed reviews for his starring role. Roger Ebert thought, "Hugh Grant is wrong for the role [and] strikes one wrong note and then another", whereas Kenneth Turan, writing in the ''Los Angeles Times'', said, "If he'd been on the Titanic, fewer lives would have been lost. If he'd accompanied Robert Falcon Scott, Robert Scott to the South Pole, the explorer would have lived to be 100. That's how good Hugh Grant is at rescuing doomed ventures."
2000–2009: Continued romantic comedy roles
While promoting Woody Allen's ''Small Time Crooks'' (2000) on NBC's ''Today (American TV program), The Today Show'' in 2000, Grant told host Matt Lauer, "It's my millennium of bastards". ''Small Time Crooks'' starred Grant, in the words of film critic Andrew Sarris, as "a petty, petulant, faux-Pygmalion art dealer, David, [who] is one of the sleaziest and most unsympathetic characters Mr. Allen has ever created". In a role devoid of his comic attributes, ''The New York Times'' wrote: "Mr. Grant deftly imbues his character with exactly a perfect blend of charm and nasty calculation." In 2000, Grant also joined the supervisory board of Intermedia (production company), IM Internationalmedia AG, the powerful Munich-based film and media company. In 2001, his turn as a charming but womanising book publisher Daniel Cleaver in ''Bridget Jones's Diary
''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding. A co-production of the United Kingdom, United States and France, it is based on Fielding's 1 ...
'' was proclaimed by ''Variety'' to be "as sly an overthrow of a star's polished posh – and nice – poster image as any comic turn in memory". The film, adapted from Helen Fielding's novel of the same name, was an international hit, earning $281 million worldwide. He was, according to ''The Washington Post'', fitting as "a cruel, manipulative cad, hiding behind the male god's countenance that he knows all too well".
In 2002, Grant's "immaculate comic performance" (BBC) as the trust-funded womaniser, Will Freeman, in the film adaptation of Nick Hornby's best-selling novel ''About a Boy (novel), About a Boy'' received raves from critics. Almost universally praised, with an Academy Award-nominated screenplay, '' About a Boy'' (2002) was determined by ''The Washington Post'' to be "that rare romantic comedy that dares to choose messiness over closure, prickly independence over fetishised coupledom, and honesty over typical Hollywood endings". ''Rolling Stone'' wrote, "The acid comedy of Grant's performance carries the film [and he] gives this pleasing heartbreaker the touch of gravity it needs", while Roger Ebert observed that "the Cary Grant department is understaffed, and Hugh Grant shows here that he is more than a star, he is a resource". Released a day after the blockbuster ''Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'', ''About a Boy'' was a more modest box office grosser than other successful Grant films, making all of $129 million globally. The film earned Grant his third Golden-Globe nomination, while the London Film Critics Circle named Grant its Best British Actor and ''GQ (magazine), GQ'' honoured him as one of the magazine's men of the year 2002. "His performance can only be described as revelatory", wrote critic Ann Hornaday, adding that "Grant lends the shoals layer upon layer of desire, terror, ambivalence and self-awareness." ''The New York Observer'' concluded: "[The film] gets most of its laughs from the evolved expertise of Hugh Grant in playing characters that audiences enjoy seeing taken down a peg or two as a punishment for philandering and womanising and simply being too handsome for words-and with an English accent besides. In the end, the film comes over as a messy delight, thanks to the skill, generosity and good-sport, punching-bag panache of Mr. Grant's performance." ''About a Boy'' also marked a notable change in his boyish look. Now 41, he had lost weight and also abandoned his trademark floppy hair. ''Entertainment Weeklys Owen Gleiberman took note of Grant's maturation in his review, saying he looked noticeably older and that it "looked good on him". He added that Grant's "pillowy cheeks are flatter and a bit drawn, and the eyes that used to peer with 'love me' cuteness now betray a shark's casual cunning. Everything about him is leaner and spikier (including his hair, which has been shorn and moussed into a Eurochic bed-head mess), but it's not just his surface that's more virile; the nervousness is gone, too. Hugh Grant has grown up, holding on to his lightness and witty cynicism but losing the stuttering sherry-club mannerisms that were once his signature. In doing so, he has blossomed into the rare actor who can play a silver-tongued sleaze with a hidden inner decency."
He was paired with Sandra Bullock in Warner Bros.'s ''Two Weeks Notice
''Two Weeks Notice'' is a 2002 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence and starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. Although critical response was mixed, the film was successful at the box office.
Plot
Lucy Kelso ...
'' (2002), which made $199 million internationally but received poor reviews. ''The Village Voice'' concluded that Grant's creation of a spoiled billionaire fronting a real estate business was "little more than a Britishism machine".
''Two Weeks Notice'' was followed by the 2003 ensemble comedy, ''Love Actually
''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proje ...
'', headlined by Grant as the British Prime Minister. A Christmas release by Working Title Films, the film was promoted as "the ultimate romantic comedy" and accumulated $246 million at the international box office. It marked the directorial debut of Richard Curtis, who told ''The New York Times'' that Grant adamantly tempered the characterisation of the role to make his character more authoritative and less haplessly charming than earlier Curtis incarnations. Roger Ebert claimed that "Grant has flowered into an absolutely splendid romantic comedian" and has "so much self-confidence that he plays the British prime minister as if he took the role to be a good sport". Film critic Rex Reed, on the contrary, called his performance "an oversexed bachelor spin on Tony Blair" as the star "flirted with himself in the paroxysm of self-love that has become his acting style".
In 2004, he reprised his role as Daniel Cleaver for a small part in ''Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (film), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'', which, like its predecessor, made more than $262 million commercially.
Gone from the screen for two years, Grant next re-teamed with Paul Weitz (filmmaker), Paul Weitz (''About a Boy'') for the black comedy ''American Dreamz'' (2006). Grant starred as the acerbic host of an ''American Idol''-like reality show where, according to Caryn James of ''The New York Times'', "nothing is real ... except the black hole at the centre of the host's heart, as Mr. Grant takes Mr. Cowell's villainous act to its limit". ''American Dreamz'' failed financially but Grant was generously praised. He played his self-aggrandising character, an amalgam of Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest, with smarmy self-loathing. ''The Boston Globe'' proposed that this "just may be the great comic role that has always eluded Hugh Grant", and critic Carina Chocano said, "He is twice as enjoyable as the preening bad guy as he was as the bumbling good guy."
In 2007, he starred opposite Drew Barrymore in a parody of pop culture and the music industry called '' Music and Lyrics''. The Associated Press described it as "a weird little hybrid of a romantic comedy that's simultaneously too fluffy and not whimsical enough". Though he neither listens to music nor owns any CDs, Grant learned to sing, play the piano, dance (a few mannered steps) and studied the mannerisms of prominent musicians to prepare for his role as a has-been pop singer, based loosely on Andrew Ridgeley, member of 1980s pop duo Wham!. The film, with its revenues totalling $145 million, allowed him to mock disposable pop stardom and fleeting celebrity through its washed-up lead character. According to the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', "Grant strikes precisely the right note with regard to Alex's career: He's too intelligent not to be a little embarrassed, but he's far too brazen to feel anything like shame."
In 2009, he starred opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in the Marc Lawrence (filmmaker), Marc Lawrence's romantic comedy ''Did You Hear About the Morgans?'', which was a critical failure and box office disappointment.
2012–2015: Mid-career experimentation
Grant was featured in the Wachowskis' and Tom Tykwer's epic science fiction film ''Cloud Atlas
A cloud atlas is a pictorial key (or an atlas) to the nomenclature of clouds. Early cloud atlases were an important element in the training of meteorologists and in weather forecasting, and the author of a 1923 atlas stated that "increasing use ...
'' in 2012, playing six different dark characters. In the same year, Grant lent his voice to the Aardman stop motion animation ''The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!''. He reunited with Lawrence again for a dramedy film ''The Rewrite'' (2014), starring opposite Marisa Tomei. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews, while Grant's performance was praised by many critics; director Quentin Tarantino has stated that the film is one of his favourites of the year and called Grant a "perfect leading man".
In 2015, he had a supporting role as Alexander Waverly in Guy Ritchie's crime thriller ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who wo ...
''; ''Entertainment Weekly'' described his performance as "the only bit of fun" in the film, and Glenn Kenny of Rogerebert.com gave the film a mixed review but stated that "while it can't be said that Hugh Grant saves the movie, his return to prominence in the last half-hour, after a plot-seeding-walk-on earlier in the movie, peps things up considerably".
2016–present: Mature career renaissance
In 2016, Grant played St. Clair Bayfield, partner of Florence Foster Jenkins, the title character, in the film ''Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. ...
'', directed by Stephen Frears and starring Meryl Streep. His performance drew raves from film critics as "career-best" (''Screen International''), "one of his best performances in years" (Indiewire), "best work of his career" (''Variety (magazine), Variety'') where he "goes deeper, darker and riskier" (''Rolling Stone''). Rafer Guzman of ''Newsday'' said "Surely the 55-year-old actor has just sealed his first-ever Oscar nomination." Carrie Rickey of ''Yahoo! Movies'' commented that Grant "deserves the Globe, an Oscar nomination, and the recognition — finally — that he is unique and irreplaceable among modern actors". He was nominated for his first individual Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Screen Actors Guild Award and also earned nominations for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, BAFTA, a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Critics' Choice Award, a Satellite Awards, Satellite Award and a European Film Award for Best Actor, European Film Award. Several critics put his work among the best acting performances of the year. Most award pundits predicted Grant would receive his first Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination for his performance, but he was not nominated.
His next appearance was as Phoenix Buchanan, a villain in the family film ''Paddington 2
''Paddington 2'' is a 2017 live-action animated comedy film directed by Paul King and written by King and Simon Farnaby. Based on the stories of Paddington Bear, created by Michael Bond (to whom the film is also dedicated, Bond having died th ...
'', which was a commercial and critical success. ''The Guardian'' described his performance as "scene-stealing", while ''IGN'' commented "Grant continues to make an astonishing comeback in his career, once again by playing into his expert comedic abilities as Phoenix Buchanan, who dons each of his ridiculous disguises with a kind of egotistical obliviousness that Grant is perfect at pulling off." Grant went on to win London Film Critics' Circle Award for Supporting Actor of the Year and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance. Grant's performance was ranked as the 22nd greatest movie performance of the decade by IndieWire in 2019.
In 2018, Grant returned to television screens after 25 years, as Jeremy Thorpe in the BBC One miniseries ''A Very English Scandal
''A Very English Scandal'' is a true crime non-fiction novel by John Preston. It was first published on 5 May 2016 by Viking Press and by Other Press in the United States. The novel details the 1970s Thorpe affair in Britain, in which former L ...
'', which marked his second collaboration with director Stephen Frears. The miniseries, and in particular Grant, were widely and highly praised. ''Digital Spys review stated that "There's always been a bit of the devil in Grant's best turns, and in Thorpe, a man with a fully-realised dark side, he's found his richest part in years". The ''New Statesman'' wrote, "Hugh Grant is Thorpe, and everything about his performance is exactly so. It's the role of Grant's life, and he performs it even more brilliantly than he did Phoenix Buchanan in ''Paddington 2''." ''The Sunday Times'' stated, "It's become tediously predictable to praise this drama but, as Thorpe, Hugh Grant really has proved he's getting better as he's getting older". ''The Guardian'' called him "utterly captivating", and ''The Boston Globe'' wrote, "Grant is a revelation". ''The New Yorker'' stated, "Hugh Grant gives a brilliant performance as Thorpe, whose arrogance, charm, and profoundly evasive nature he captures with subtlety. A quarter century after Grant established himself as everyone's crush with his romantic-comedy début, in ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' ... the actor, who is now in his late fifties, has turned out to have a gift for conveying what happens to an individual when charm curdles into something considerably darker." For his performance, Grant was nominated for several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, Primetime Emmy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, British Academy Television Award.
In 2019, Grant played another against-type role, in Guy Ritchie's '' The Gentlemen'', his second collaboration with the director following ''The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'' Grant plays Fletcher, a seedy and unscrupulous private investigator, which he called "a fun bit of casting" referring to his Hacked Off campaigning. He has stated he based his character on tabloid reporters who "used to be my enemies and now they're my friends". Even though the film received mostly mixed reviews, Grant's performance was praised. Stephen Dalton of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' called Grant "a beating comic heart" of the film, adding that "he weighs up every wry line with relish, and Ritchie makes strong use of his deadpan comic talents." Joe Morgenstern of ''Wall Street Journal'' also highly praised his work, writing, "[I]n a word, Mr. Grant is sensational. In two more words, he's absolutely hilarious; it's some of the best work he's done on screen."
In 2020, Grant starred in HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
miniseries ''The Undoing
''The Undoing'' is a 2020 American Mystery fiction, mystery psychological thriller television miniseries based on the 2014 novel ''You Should Have Known'' by Jean Hanff Korelitz. It was written and produced by David E. Kelley and directed by S ...
'', opposite Nicole Kidman and Donald Sutherland. The miniseries was premiered on 25 October 2020 to mixed reviews, though Grant's performance was widely acclaimed. Film critic Caryn James said Grant has the "richest part" and added, "He sharply defines Jonathan as a slippery character, and walks the line expertly to keep us off guard. How much should we trust Jonathan? When he starts confessing some secrets, is all or any of it true? With this role and that in the recent ''A Very English Scandal'', Grant has become expert at bringing his charm to darker characters." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com was less impressed with the series but called Grant's performance as the "series-best". Grant received a Screen Actor Guild Award, Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
and Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for his performance.
Grant reunited with Guy Ritchie for the action ''Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre'' alongside Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza with a released date yet to be announced. He is also set to star in the fantasy adventure film ''Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves'' and the Jerry Seinfeld comedy film ''Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story''.
Screen persona
Grant began his career as acharacter actor
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
but became predominantly a comedy (especially a romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
) actor from his rise to stardom in mid-1990s until the 2010s. He said he moved away from romantic comedies after the failure of ''Did You Hear About the Morgans?'' (2009). In a 2020 interview with ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', he said: "I got old and ugly and I'm not appropriate for romantic comedy films anymore, which has been a great blessing". Even though his recent credits include political dramas like ''A Very English Scandal'' and crime films like ''The Gentlemen'', Grant is still often associated with his Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...
-scripted romantic comedy films. In the British press, it is common to compare young romantic comedy actors to him.
Remarking upon his romantic comedy star era, some film critics, such as Roger Ebert, have defended the limited variety of his performances, while some others have dismissed Grant as a "wikt:one-trick pony, one-trick pony". Eric Fellner, co-owner of Working Title Films and a longtime collaborator, said, "His range hasn't been fully tested, but each performance is unique." Many of Grant's films of the 1990s followed a similar plot that captured an optimistic bachelor experiencing a series of embarrassing incidents to find true love, often with an American woman. In earlier films, he was adept at plugging into the stereotype of a repressed Englishman for humorous effects, allowing him to gently satirise his characters as he summed them up and played against the type simultaneously. These performances were sometimes deemed excessive, in the words of ''The Washington Post''s Rita Kempley, due to Grant's "comic overreactions—the Overacting, mugging, the stuttering, the fluttering eyelids". She added: "He's got more tics than Benny Hill." His penchant for conveying his characters' feelings with mannerisms, rather than direct emotions, has been one of the foremost objections raised against his acting style. Stephen Hunter of ''The Washington Post'' once stated that, to be effective as a comic performer, Grant must get "his Shuckin' and jivin', jiving and shucking under control". Film historian David Thomson (film critic), David Thomson opined in ''The New Biographical Dictionary of Film'' that the actor equated merely "itchy mannerisms" with screen acting.
Grant's screen persona in his films of the 2000s gradually developed into a cynical, self-loathing cad. Claudia Puig of ''USA Today'' celebrated this transformation with the observation that finally "gone [were] the self-conscious 'Aren't I adorable' mannerisms that seemed endearing at the start of his film career but have grown cloying in more recent movies". According to Carina Chocano, amongst film critics, the two tropes most commonly associated with Grant are that he reinvented his screen persona in ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' and ''About a Boy'' and dreads the possibility of becoming a parody of himself.
Nonetheless, Grant has occasionally acted in dramas. He played a sleazy, snide community theatre director with a penchant for young actors in the drama film ''An Awfully Big Adventure'', which received critical praise, and for "a very quiet, dignified" performance as Frédéric Chopin in James Lapine's biopic film ''Impromptu
An impromptu (, , loosely meaning "offhand") is a free-form musical composition with the character of an ''ex tempore'' improvisation as if prompted by the spirit of the moment, usually for a solo instrument, such as piano. According to ''Allgeme ...
''. In 2012, he played six "incredibly evil" characters in the epic drama film ''Cloud Atlas
A cloud atlas is a pictorial key (or an atlas) to the nomenclature of clouds. Early cloud atlases were an important element in the training of meteorologists and in weather forecasting, and the author of a 1923 atlas stated that "increasing use ...
'', an experience he has talked about positively, saying:
After ''Cloud Atlas'', Grant has never starred in a romantic comedy film with an exception of the dramedy ''The Rewrite'' (2014), where "romantic comedy is only a small part of it." Grant is known as a meticulous performer who approaches his roles like a character actor
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
, working hard to make his acting appear spontaneous.Dave KehrAt the Movies: For Hugh Grant, Natural Does It, New York Times
(17 May 2002) In a career spanning more than 35 years, Grant has repeatedly claimed that acting was not his true calling, but rather a career that developed by happenstance. However, in 2020, after moving on to more character roles, he has stated that he "enjoys acting now".
Personality
Grant has expressed boredom with playing the celebrity in the press and is known in the media for his guarded privacy. On probing of his personal life, he has remained steadfast in "offering a dead bat to any question he feels is not general enough". He has described himself as a reluctant actor, has called being a successful actor a mistake and has repeatedly talked of his hope that film stardom would just be "a phase" in his life, lasting no more than ten years. A 2007 ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' profile referred to him as a man with a "professionally misanthropic mystique". He has expressed distaste for focus groups, market research, and emphasis on opening weekend box-office numbers, saying: "It's so destructive to the filmmaking process. What was wrong with the way they used to release films, more slowly, let them build?" The director Mike Newell (director), Mike Newell has said: "There is at least as much of Hugh that is charismatic, intellectual, and whose tongue is maybe too clever for its own good as there is of him that's gorgeous and kind of woolly and flubsy." Filmmaker Paul Weitz said that Grant is funny and that "he perceives flaws in himself and other people, and then he cares about their humanity nonetheless". British newspapers regularly refer to him as :wikt:grumpy, "grumpy". Grant is a self-confessed "committed and passionate" perfectionist on a film set. The American film critic Dave Kehr has written that Grant "is known in the film industry as a meticulous performer who takes his time to prepare a role – someone who works hard to make it look easy – though that isn't a trait he admires in himself". He is noted by co-workers for demanding endless takes until he achieves the desired shot according to his own standard. He dropped his agent in 2006, ending a 10-year relationship with Creative Artists Agency, CAA. He has proclaimed in interviews that he does not listen to external views on his career: "They've known for years that I have total control. I've never taken any advice on anything."In the media
Libel lawsuits
In 1996, Grant won substantial damages from News UK#History, News (UK) Ltd over what his lawyers called a "highly defamatory" article published in January 1995. The company's newspaper, ''Today (UK newspaper), Today'', which ceased publication the following November, had falsely claimed that Grant verbally abused a young extra with a "foul-mouthed tongue lashing" on the set of ''The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain''. On 27 April 2007, he accepted undisclosed damages from Associated Newspapers Ltd, Associated Newspapers over claims made about his relationships with his former girlfriends in three separate tabloid articles, which were published in the ''Daily Mail'' and ''The Mail on Sunday'' on 18, 21 and 24 February. His lawyer stated that all of the articles' "allegations and factual assertions are false". Grant said, in a written statement, that he took the action because: "I was tired of the ''Daily Mail'' and ''Mail on Sunday'' papers publishing almost entirely fictional articles about my private life for their own financial gain." He went on to take the opportunity to stress, "I'm also hoping that this statement in court might remind people that the so-called 'close friends' or 'close sources' on which these stories claim to be based almost never exist."Legal issues
On 27 June 1995, Grant was arrested in Los Angeles, California, in a police vice unit, vice operation near Sunset Boulevard for receiving fellatio, oral sex in a public place from Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, Hollywood prostitute Estella Marie Thompson, Divine Brown. He pleaded nolo contendre, no contest and was fined $1,180, placed on two years' summary probation, and was ordered to complete an AIDS education program by Judge Robert J. Sandoval.
The arrest occurred about two weeks before the release of his first major studio film, ''Nine Months'', which he was scheduled to promote on several American television shows. ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' had him booked for the same week. In the much-watched interview (which saw Leno overtake David Letterman in the ratings), Grant did not make excuses for the incident after Leno asked him, "What the hell were you thinking?" Grant answered, "I think you know in life what's a good thing to do and what's a bad thing, and I did a bad thing. And there you have it."
On ''Larry King Live'', he declined host Larry King's repeated invitations to probe his psyche, saying that psychoanalysis was "more of an American syndrome" and he himself was "a bit old fashioned". He told the host: "I don't have excuses." CNN reported that "Many are also applauding Grant for his refreshing honesty in a culture that has become fed up with overuse of the word 'abuse,' but Grant did not resort to an excuse." Radio host Scott Shannon said, "He went ahead and faced the music and handled it with tongue [in] cheek."
In April 2007, he was arrested on allegations of assault made by Paparazzi, paparazzo Ian Whittaker. Grant made no official statement and did not comment on the incident. Charges were dropped on 1 June 2007 by the Crown Prosecution Service on the grounds of "insufficient evidence".
Phone hacking exposé
In April 2011, Grant published an article in the ''New Statesman'' titled "The Bugger, Bugged" about a conversation (following an earlier encounter) with Paul McMullan (journalist), Paul McMullan, a former journalist and paparazzo for ''News of the World''. In unguarded comments which were secretly taped by Grant, McMullan alleged that editors at the ''Daily Mail'' and ''News of the World'', particularly Andy Coulson, had ordered journalists to engage in illegal phone tapping and had done so with the full knowledge of senior British politicians. McMullan also said that every British Prime Minister from Margaret Thatcher onwards had cultivated a close relationship withRupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
and his senior executives. He stressed the friendship between David Cameron and Rebekah Brooks (née Wade), agreeing when asked that both of them must have been aware of illegal phone tapping, and asserting that Cameron's inaction could be explained by self-interest: "Cameron is very much in debt to Rebekah Wade for helping him not quite win the election ... So that was my submission to parliament – that Cameron's either a liar or an idiot."
When asked by Grant whether Cameron had encouraged the Metropolitan Police to "drag their feet" on investigating illegal phone tapping by Murdoch's journalists, McMullan agreed this had happened, and stated that police themselves had taken bribes from tabloid journalists: "20 percent of the Met has taken backhanders from tabloid hacks. So why would they want to open up that can of worms?... And what's wrong with that, anyway? It doesn't hurt anyone particularly."
Grant's article attracted considerable interest, due to both the revelatory content of the taped conversation, and the novelty of his "turning the tables" on a tabloid journalist.
While the allegations regarding the ''News of the World'' continued to receive coverage in the broadsheets and similar media (Grant appeared, for example, on BBC Radio 4) it was only with the revelation that the voicemail of Murder of Milly Dowler, murdered Milly Dowler had been hacked, and evidence for her murder enquiry had been deleted, that the coverage turned from media interest to widespread public (and eventually political) outrage. Grant became something of a spokesman against Murdoch's News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
, culminating in his appearance on BBC television's ''Question Time (TV programme), Question Time'' in July 2011. Grant later said: "It's been fascinating to have a little excursion into another world. I really needed that and also to be dealing with real life instead of creating synthetic life, which is what I've been doing for the last 25 years."
On 5 February 2018, Mirror Group Newspapers apologised for its actions towards Grant and other public figures, calling the affair "morally wrong". This came after Grant accepted a six-figure sum to settle a High Court action. He donated the payout to the press campaign group ''Hacked Off''.
Personal life
Relationships
In 1987, while playing Lord Byron in the Spanish production ''Remando Al Viento'' (1988), Grant met actress Elizabeth Hurley, who was cast in a supporting role as Byron's former lover Claire Clairmont. He began dating Hurley during filming and their relationship was subsequently the subject of much media attention. While dating Hurley, Grant gained international notoriety for soliciting the services of a prostitute, Divine Brown, in 1995. They separated in May 2000, but Grant is godfather to Hurley’s son Damian Hurley, Damian, born in 2002.
Grant has five children with two women. In September 2011, he had a daughter, Tabitha, with Tinglan Hong, who was sometimes misreported in the press as a receptionist at a Chinese restaurant in London. His daughter's Chinese name is Jing Xi (驚喜), meaning "happy surprise". Grant and Hong had a "fleeting affair", according to his publicist. He has said that Hong has been "badly treated" by the media; the press intrusion prevented him from attending the birth of his daughter, with Hong obtaining an injunction to allow him to visit them in peace.
In September 2012, Grant had his second child, a son, with Swedish television producer Anna Eberstein. Hong and Grant reunited briefly and she gave birth to Grant's third child, a son named Felix, in December of that same year.
In December 2015, he and Eberstein had their second child, a girl. Their third child, another girl, was born in March 2018, and they married on 25 May 2018.
Political views
In 2011, Grant appeared at the Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats' conference on the News International phone hacking scandal, News International phone-hacking scandal, where he briefly met then-party leader Nick Clegg. Grant said that he was attending the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative and Labour Party (UK), Labour conferences as well, but told Lib Dem activists that "You, more than any of the other parties, have a good bill of health. You have never been in bed with these scumbags." In the 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015 UK general election, Grant expressed support for Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander and later hosted a dinner for the Liberal Democrats, in which he met the winner of a draw of donors to the Liberal Democrats.Tom Watson should be Prime Minister, says Hugh Grant, ''Express & Star'' (4 May 2015). In an email sent by former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown, Grant wrote: "I am not a Lib Dem, a Tory, a Labourite or anything in particular but I recognise political guts." In the 2015 election, he endorsed two Labour candidates: Tom Watson (Labour politician), Tom Watson and his former agent, Michael Foster (agent), Michael Foster. During the 2019 United Kingdom general election, 2019 UK general election Grant campaigned for tactical voting to stop a Conservative majority and Brexit. He was seen canvassing with Liberal Democrats candidates, Labour candidates, and independent Dominic Grieve.
Sports
As a young boy, he played rugby union on his school's first XV team at centre and also played association football, football. He is a fan of Fulham F.C., Fulham and is also a supporter of Scottish football club Rangers F.C., Rangers. He continued to play in a Sunday-morning football league in south-west London after college and remains an "impassioned Fulham supporter". His other interests include tennis and snooker.
In 2011, the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Relationships with co-stars
After production on ''Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
'' ended, Grant's co-star, Robert Downey Jr., revealed that he and Grant did not get along during filming. Downey said: "I kinda think he's a jerk. Don't know, I just think he is. My personal experience with him is I think he's this kind of self-important, kind of, like, boring flash-in-the-pan asshole Brit." In 2018, Grant confirmed the on-set tension he and Downey had had, stating: "He [Downey] hated me. He took one look at me and wanted to kill me. I was so hurt." As a result of Grant's confirmation of their decades-long feud, Downey went to Twitter to make amends with Grant, to which Grant agreed.
In addition to the confirmation, Grant also said that he and Drew Barrymore did not get along during production of ''Music & Lyrics''. "Well, Drew, I think did hate me a bit. But I admired her. We just were very different human beings," Grant said. "She was very L.A. and I was an old grumpy Londoner. The funny thing is, although it was fractionally tense on the set of that film, I think the chemistry is rather good between us. Sometimes tension makes a good crackle." Barrymore had also been one out of three leading ladies Grant listed whom he did not get along with, the others being Julianne Moore and Rachel Weisz. However, on a ''Graham Norton Show'' appearance, Grant told Graham Norton he did not know why he mentioned Weisz and he was probably "going for a 'comedy triple'". He is also on good terms with Barrymore and appeared on ''The Drew Barrymore Show''.
Grant has praised many other female co-stars, including Sandra Bullock, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Emma Thompson, and Meryl Streep, who co-starred with him in ''Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. ...
'' and was "a genius" according to Grant. He referred to his ''Bridget Jones's Diary
''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding. A co-production of the United Kingdom, United States and France, it is based on Fielding's 1 ...
'' co-star Renée Zellweger as "delightful." In 2020 he admitted he had always liked ''The Undoing'' co-star Nicole Kidman, saying she was a "silly Aussie girl."
Philanthropy
Grant is a patron of the DIPEx Charity, which operates the website Healthtalkonline. He is also patron of the Fynvola Foundation, named after his late mother; it supports the Lady Dane Farmhouse, a home in Faversham for adults with learning disabilities. Since his mother's death in 2001, Grant has worked as a fundraiser and ambassador for Marie Curie Cancer Care, promoting the charity's annual Great Daffodil Appeal on several occasions. He is also a patron of Pancreatic Cancer Action.(press release), Pancreatic Cancer Action (7 November 2013).
Filmography
Awards and honours
References
External links
* * * * * * , and iNYT Movies
Hugh Grant
interview on BBC Radio 4 ''Desert Island Discs'', 21 April 1995
Hugh Grant
interview at Museum of the Moving Image (New York City), Museum of the Moving Image about
Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Hugh
1960 births
Living people
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Alumni of New College, Oxford
Audiobook narrators
Best Actor BAFTA Award winners
Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
César Honorary Award recipients
English film producers
English male film actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
English people of Scottish descent
People associated with the News International phone hacking scandal
People educated at Latymer Upper School
People from Chiswick
People from Hammersmith
Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners