The only one of his movies Hugh Grant finds “impossible to hate”
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when it happened, but at some point, Hugh Grant, the formerly floppy-haired perma-stammering star of Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral, became an absolutely amazing actor.
While trendy people will point to his sterling comedic work in hipsters’ favourite Paddington 2, it’s in the likes of A24 horror/thriller Heretic where you’ll find evidence of just how good Grant can be. And then you find yourself starting to really think about it, and you realise that he’s basically been brilliant in everything he puts his name to.
From a highly camp baddie in Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, to a philandering boss in the Bridget Jones series, the actor completely inhabits any role he plays, usually in an amusing way, but more recently in some very convincing drama.
Of course, Grant made his name as a romantic leading man and did so incredibly effectively. His pairing with Richard Curtis defined the late 1990s and plunged him into celebrity hell, as evidenced by the paparazzi chasing him around with Liz Hurley and then his slightly sordid brush with the law and a Hollywood hooker.
Both Four Weddings and Notting Hill showcased his ability to play an upper-middle-class film hero without any issue, and indeed, he won a Bafta and Golden Globe for the former. However, perhaps the first sign of the depth Grant had in his arsenal came with 2002’s About a Boy, where he superbly captured the inherent selfishness of a 40-something single man with money living alone without any responsibilities (and his desire to keep things that way).
It bagged him a third Golden Globe nomination and was a big success, launching Nicholas Hoult’s career in the process. But perhaps, surprisingly, it marked a return for Grant to the safer world of roles like Bridget Jones, Love Actually and the fairly lamentable Two Weeks Notice alongside Sandra Bullock.
Added to that was 2007’s Music and Lyrics with Drew Barrymore, a romantic comedy about the music industry that was reasonably well received by the critics and fared well at the box office, making a healthy profit. Looking back, while not Grant’s favourite, he holds fond memories of the film.
Speaking to co-star Drew Barrymore, who said she loved her time working on the film, he replied, “I love to hate the films I’ve been in, and I do hate some of them. But Music and Lyrics, it’s impossible to hate. We’re so good in it, and so charming.”
The chemistry between Barrymore and Grant was highly discussed at the time of release, with even critics of the film giving in to the charms of the odd leading couple pairing and their infectious energy. The sweetness and vulnerability seemed reminiscent of Notting Hill and Grant’s onscreen chemistry with Julia Roberts.
Following some interesting turns thereafter, it was the 2016 film Florence Foster Jenkins that got him the most attention, paired opposite Meryl Streep in an interesting period comedy drama that many critics felt was his best and earned him several award nominations. Yet another odd onscreen pairing against a musical backdrop that both actors brought to life with equal charm and heartwarming banter.
He’s since taken on several successful film parts and TV roles, from Paddington 2 to garnering award nods as a disgraced MP in the BBC’s A Very English Scandal opposite Ben Whishaw, culminating in that terrifying performance in Heretic. Perhaps his only misstep was the needless spin-off of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the shape of 2024’s Wonka, but we’ll forgive him for that one.
