View source for Hugh Grant

{{pp|small=yes}}
{{short description|British actor (born 1960)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Hugh Grant
| image              = Hugh Grant in 2014.jpg
| caption            = Grant in 2014
| birth_name         = Hugh John Mungo Grant
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1960|9|9}}
| birth_place        = [[Hammersmith]], [[London]], England
| occupation         = Actor
| years_active       = 1982–present
| spouse(s)          = {{marriage|Anna Elisabet Eberstein|2018}}
| partner(s)         = [[Elizabeth Hurley]] (1987–2000)
| children           = 5
| relatives          = [[Rick Cosnett]] (third cousin)<ref>{{cite web |last=Hernandez |first=Greg |title=Wednesday Morning Man: Rick Cosnett! |url=http://greginhollywood.com/wednesday-morning-man-rick-cosnett-95691 |publisher=greginhollywood.com |date=29 June 2014 |access-date=1 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205170607/http://greginhollywood.com/wednesday-morning-man-rick-cosnett-95691. |archive-date=5 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| alma_mater         = [[New College, Oxford]]
| works              = [[Hugh Grant filmography|Full list]]
}}

'''Hugh John Mungo Grant'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Turner |first=Mimi |date=21 November 2011 |title=Hugh Grant Accuses 'The Mail on Sunday' of Phone Hacking |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hugh-grant-accuses-mail-sunday-264410/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205092803/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hugh-grant-accuses-mail-sunday-264410/ |archive-date=5 December 2022 |access-date=13 January 2024 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="SAG-AFTRA Foundation" /> (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as a charming and vulnerable romantic [[leading man]], and has since transitioned into a [[character actor]].<ref name="prince charming"/> He has received [[List of awards and nominations received by Hugh Grant|several accolades]] including a [[British Academy Film Award]] and a [[Golden Globe Award]] as well as nominations for two [[Primetime Emmy Awards]]. He received an [[Honorary César]] in 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2006/02/26/French-Cesar-Awards-handed-out/42741140990995/ |title= French Cesar Awards handed out |website= UPI |accessdate= 25 June 2024}}</ref> In 2022, [[Time Out (magazine)|''Time Out'' magazine]] listed Grant as one of Britain's 50 greatest actors of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.timeout.com/film/50-great-british-actors-the-list |title= 50 Great British actors: the list |website = Time Out |date= 2 August 2022 |access-date= 6 December 2022}}</ref> {{As of|2025}}, his films have grossed over US$4&nbsp;[[billion]] worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/person/57420401-Hugh-Grant#tab=summary |title=Hugh Grant |website=The Numbers |access-date=11 April 2025}}</ref>

Grant made his feature film acting debut in ''[[Privileged (film)|Privileged]]'' (1982), followed by the romantic drama ''[[Maurice (1987 film)|Maurice]]'' (1987) for which he gained acclaim as well as the [[Volpi Cup for Best Actor]]. He then acted in a string of successful period dramas such as ''[[The Remains of the Day (film)|The Remains of the Day]]'' (1993), ''[[Sense and Sensibility (1995 film)|Sense and Sensibility]]'' (1995) and ''[[Restoration (1995 film)|Restoration]]'' (1995). Grant emerged as a star with [[Richard Curtis]]'s romantic comedy ''[[Four Weddings and a Funeral]]'' (1994),<ref name="alter ego">{{cite news |title=Scribe's alter ego evolves on celluloid |author=Sharon Knolle and Liza Foreman |page=A8 |work=Variety |date=16 December 2002}}</ref> for which he won the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Golden Globe]] and [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|BAFTA Award for Best Actor]]. He starred in further romantic comedies such as ''[[Notting Hill (film)|Notting Hill]]'' (1999), ''[[Bridget Jones's Diary]]'' (2001) and its [[Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason|2004]] and [[Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy|2025 sequels]], ''[[About a Boy (film)|About a Boy]]'' (2002), ''[[Two Weeks Notice]]'' (2002), ''[[Love Actually]]'' (2003) and ''[[Music and Lyrics]]'' (2007).

Grant began to take [[Typecasting#Playing against type|against-type]] parts earning nominations for two [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|BAFTA Awards for Best Supporting Actor]] for his roles as [[St. Clair Bayfield]] in ''[[Florence Foster Jenkins (film)|Florence Foster Jenkins]]'' (2016) and a haughty actor in ''[[Paddington 2]]'' (2017). He has also acted in the science fiction film ''[[Cloud Atlas (film)|Cloud Atlas]]'' (2012), several [[Guy Ritchie]] action films including ''[[The Gentlemen (2019 film)|The Gentlemen]]'' (2019), the musical fantasy ''[[Wonka (film)|Wonka]]'' (2023), and the horror film ''[[Heretic (film)|Heretic]]'' (2024), which earned him another BAFTA nomination. He earned two nominations for a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor]] for his roles as [[Jeremy Thorpe]] in the [[BBC]] miniseries ''[[A Very English Scandal (TV series)|A Very English Scandal]]'' (2018) and a man accused of murder in the [[HBO]] miniseries ''[[The Undoing]]'' (2020).

Grant has been outspoken about his antipathy towards the profession of acting, his disdain towards the culture of celebrity, and his hostility towards the media.<ref name="reluctant romeo">{{cite news |first=Eve |last=MacSweeney |url=https://archive.vogue.com/article/2007/2/reluctant-romeo |title=Reluctant Romeo |work=Vogue |pages=232–237 |issn=0042-8000 |date=1 February 2007 |access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Eloise |last=Parker |title=Why Grant's so grumpy |work=[[Liverpool Daily Post|Daily Post]] |page=13 |date=3 February 2007}}</ref> He emerged as a prominent critic of the conduct of [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News Corporation]] during the [[News International phone hacking scandal]].<ref name="NewStatesman">{{cite news |title=The bugger, bugged |author=Hugh Grant |newspaper=[[New Statesman]] |date=12 April 2011 |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/newspapers/2011/04/phone-yeah-cameron-murdoch}}</ref><ref name="Guardian-2011-04-16">{{cite news |title=From Stephen Fry to Hugh Grant: The rise of the celebrity activist |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=16 April 2011 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/apr/16/celebrity-activists-hugh-grant |first1=Leo |last1=Benedictus |first2=Josie |last2=Long}}</ref><ref name="guardian-2011-07-08">{{cite news |title=Hugh Grant's best role yet – scourge of News International |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=8 July 2011 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jul/08/hugh-grant-news-international-rupert-murdoch |first=Peter |last=Bradshaw}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Grant was born on 9 September 1960 in [[Hammersmith Hospital]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 December 2019 |title=Hugh Grant: A Life on Screen is a lesson in self-deprecation from Britain's most charming rogue – review |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/hugh-grant-life-on-screen-review-four-weddings-sandra-bullock-andie-macdowell-a9255111.html |access-date=25 December 2023 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> the second son of Fynvola Susan MacLean (1933–2001) and [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] James Murray Grant (born 1929).{{cn|date=June 2025}} His grandfather, Colonel James Murray Grant, [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]], was decorated for bravery and leadership at [[Saint-Valery-en-Caux]] during World War II.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cobain|first=Ian|title=Survivors of 'sacrificed' division still feel bitter|work=[[The Daily Telegraph#The Sunday Telegraph|The Sunday Telegraph]]|date = 4 June 2000|url=http://home.clara.net/clinchy/51st.htm}}</ref> Genealogist Anthony Adolph has described Grant's family history as "a colourful [[Anglo-Scot]]tish tapestry of warriors, empire-builders, and aristocracy."<ref name="adolph">{{Cite news |last=Gilchrist |first=Jim |date=17 August 2005 |title=Stars dig up surprises with their ancestors |work=The Scotsman |url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle-2-15039/stars-dig-up-surprises-with-their-ancestors-1-729532 |url-status=dead |access-date=2 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902191835/https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle-2-15039/stars-dig-up-surprises-with-their-ancestors-1-729532 |archive-date=2 September 2019}}</ref> His ancestors include [[Walter Raleigh|Sir Walter Raleigh]];<ref>Walter Raleigh King (2019) ''Sunk Down among the People: The Story of the Descendants of Sir Walter Raleigh'' Kindle Direct Publishing. ASIN: B081SKM5HD</ref> [[William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan]]; [[James Stewart (missionary)|James Stewart]];<ref name="adolph"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Grants of Glenmoriston|publisher=ElectricScotland.com|url=http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/dtog/grant2.html|access-date=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629081321/http://www.ancestry24.co.za/Content/Website/Profiles/HughGrant.aspx|url=http://www.ancestry24.co.za/Content/Website/Profiles/HughGrant.aspx |title=Hugh Grant – Actually – from the Cape !!! |archive-date=29 June 2009 |website=[[Ancestry24]]}}</ref> [[John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl]]; [[Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham]]; [[Evan Nepean|Sir Evan Nepean]]; and a sister of Prime Minister [[Spencer Perceval]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Hodgson|first= Richard|title=Ancestors of a 21st century British family|website=[[RootsWeb]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814022231/http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=ancestorsearch&id=I371|url=http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=ancestorsearch&id=I371|archive-date=14 August 2017}}</ref>

Grant's father was an officer in the [[Seaforth Highlanders]] for eight years in [[Peninsular Malaysia|Malaya]] and [[West Germany|Germany]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ritchie|first=John|title='Upstage Guy? I should be so lucky|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=24 January 2001|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2001/01/24/tlritc24.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011210018/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2F2001%2F01%2F24%2Ftlritc24.xml|archive-date=11 October 2007|access-date=6 February 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> He ran a carpet business and pursued hobbies such as [[golf]] and [[watercolour painting]]; he raised his family in [[Chiswick]], West London, where the Grants lived next to Arlington Park Mansions on Sutton Lane.<ref name="early life in pictures">{{Cite news|last=Nikkhah|first=Roya|title= Hugh Grant's (early) life in pictures|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=9 October 2006|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1528474/Hugh-Grant%27s-%28early%29-life-in-pictures.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081206192613/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1528474/Hugh-Grant%27s-%28early%29-life-in-pictures.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= 6 December 2008|access-date=10 September 2007}}</ref><ref name="ITAS">{{cite episode|title=Inside the Actors Studio: Hugh Grant|series=Inside the Actors Studio|series-link=Inside the Actors Studio|credits=Presenter: [[James Lipton]]|network=[[Bravo (US TV channel)|Bravo]]|air-date=12 May 2002|season=8|number=813}}</ref> 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&nbsp;Years of Watercolours".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jmlondon.com/pages/artistexhibitions/26311.html|publisher=jmlondon.com|title=James Grant – 30 Years of Watercolours|access-date=18 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714203658/http://www.jmlondon.com/pages/artistexhibitions/26311.html|archive-date=14 July 2007}}</ref> Hugh's mother worked as a schoolteacher and taught [[Latin]], [[French language|French]], and music for more than 30&nbsp;years in the [[state school]]s of west London.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Richard Boullemier|title=Chris bids farewell|work=Richmond & Twickenham Times|date=21 July 2007|url=http://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/1561135.0/|access-date=11 September 2007}}</ref> She died at 67 of [[pancreatic cancer]].<ref>{{Cite news|author=WENN|title=Hugh Loses His Mother|publisher=cinema.com|date=13 July 2001|url= http://www.cinema.com/news/item/4604/hugh-loses-his-mother.phtml|access-date=11 September 2007}}</ref>

On ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]'' in 2002, Grant credited his mother with "any acting genes that [he] might have." Both his parents were children of military families,<ref name="grants views">{{cite news|title=Grant's Views|page=A2|work=Variety|date=16 December 2002}}</ref> but despite that background, he has said, his family was not always affluent as he grew up.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Zaslow|first=Jeffrey|title=Charming sex symbol? Handsome bumbler? Male chauvinist?|work=[[USA Weekend]]|date=23 May 1999|url=http://www.usaweekend.com/99_issues/990523/990523talk.html|archive-url= https://archive.today/20130205072721/http://www.usaweekend.com/99_issues/990523/990523talk.html|archive-date=5 February 2013}}</ref> He spent many of his childhood summers<ref name="ITAS" /> hunting and fishing with his grandfather in Scotland.<ref name="early life in pictures"/> Grant has an older brother, James "Jamie" Grant, a New York-based investment banker.<ref name="early life in pictures"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Blackburn |first1=Virginia |title=Brothers in the shadows |url=https://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/318216/Brothers-in-the-shadows |access-date=26 January 2020 |work=[[Daily Express]] |date=5 May 2012}}</ref>

Grant started his education at Hogarth Primary School in [[Chiswick]], then moved to St Peter's Primary School in [[Hammersmith]], followed by [[Wetherby School]], an independent [[preparatory school (United Kingdom)|preparatory school]] in [[Notting Hill]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Hale|first1=Thomas|date=25 January 2019|title=A business model fit to educate royalty|url=https://www.ft.com/content/82414a81-ddf8-3337-8293-2d793a10d85c |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/82414a81-ddf8-3337-8293-2d793a10d85c |archive-date=10 December 2022|newspaper=Financial Times|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.londonpreprep.com/schools/boys/wetherby-school/|title=Wetherby Pre-preparatory school Notting Hill, profile, admissions and reviews &#124; London's Top Schools|date=19 August 2011|website=London's Top Schools – London private school admissions and news}}</ref> From 1969 to 1978, he attended [[Latymer Upper School]] in Hammersmith,<ref name="thetimes1">{{cite news|author=Sian Griffiths |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/latymer-upper-school-forces-out-seven-over-drugs-c29wgvsnl |title=Latymer Upper School forces out seven over drugs &#124; News |publisher=The Sunday Times |access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref> at the time a [[direct grant grammar school]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latymerfoundation.org/the-foundation/history|title=A history of free places|work=The Latymer Foundation|access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref> He was educated on a scholarship and played 1st XV [[Rugby football|rugby]], [[cricket]], and [[Association football|football]].<ref name="sports profile"/><ref>{{Cite news|title=Hugh Grant amongst past pupils bidding farewell to Chris Hammond|publisher=ChiswickW4.com|date=11 July 2007|url=http://chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=info&spage=common/conschools95.htm|access-date=11 September 2007}}</ref> He also represented Latymer Upper on the quiz show ''[[Top of the Form (quiz show)|Top of the Form]]'', an academic competition between two teams of four secondary school students each.<ref name="ITAS" />

In 1979, he won the Galsworthy scholarship to [[New College, Oxford]], where he studied [[English literature]] and graduated with a [[second-class honours|2.1 grade]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/06/08/hugh-grant-enjoys-boozy-night-oxford-university-rugby-players/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/06/08/hugh-grant-enjoys-boozy-night-oxford-university-rugby-players/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Hugh Grant enjoys boozy night with Oxford University rugby players, downing alcohol from a shoe as students cheer him on |quote=Grant won the Galsworthy scholarship to read English Literature at New College, and graduated with a 2.1 honours |last1=Turner |first1=Camilla |date=8 June 2017 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=11 May 2019 |last2=Diver |first2=Tony |issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Then viewing acting as nothing more than a creative outlet,<ref>{{cite news |title=A not so rosy Hugh reveals his flaws |last=Johnston |first=Damon |work=[[Sunday Telegraph]] |date=9 June 2002 |page=99}}</ref> he joined the [[Oxford University Dramatic Society]] and played Fabian in a production of ''[[Twelfth Night]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Where are they now: Hugh Grant |url=https://cherwell.org/2012/11/05/where-are-they-now-hugh-grant/ |access-date=3 February 2020 |work=[[Cherwell (newspaper)|Cherwell]] |date=5 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hugh Grant |work=[[Inside the Actors Studio]] |date=12 May 2002 |quote=''Twelfth Night''. I was a very dull Fabian, who has some of the worst jokes not only in Shakespeare but in dramatic history.}}</ref> He also starred in his first film, ''[[Privileged (1982 film)|Privileged]]'' (1982), produced by the [[Oxford University Film Foundation]].<ref name=":0" /> He turned down an offer from the [[Courtauld Institute of Art]], [[University of London]], to pursue a PhD in [[art history]] because he failed to secure a grant.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hugh Grant |work=[[Inside the Actors Studio]] |date=12 May 2002 |quote=I was offered to do the doctorate in the history of art at the Courtauld Institute in London ..., but to get a grant you did need the [[British undergraduate degree classification#First-class honours|first]], and I didn't get that first ....}}</ref>

==Career==
{{Main|Hugh Grant filmography}}

===1982–1986: Early roles and breakthrough===
[[File:James Ivory (1991.09).jpg|thumb|right|170px|Grant gained acclaim for his role in the [[James Ivory]] directed film ''[[Maurice (1987 film)|Maurice]]'' (1987).]]
After making his debut in the Oxford-financed film ''[[Privileged (1982 film)|Privileged]]'' (1982), Grant dabbled in a variety of jobs, such as working as an assistant groundsman at [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham Football Club]],<ref>{{cite news|author=[[British Council]]|title=Hugh Grant Fulham FC (England)|publisher=ClubFootball-Fan Channel|url=http://www.wanguoqunxing.com/cms4/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=50|date=11 September 2005|access-date=10 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103005112/http://www.wanguoqunxing.com/cms4/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=50|archive-date=3 January 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> tutoring, writing comedy sketches for TV shows<ref>{{cite episode|series=Canada AM|network=CTV Television, Inc.|title=British Filmmaker Divides Time Between Producing and Acting|credits=Presenters: Valerie Pringle and Dan Matheson|air-date=6 September 1999}}</ref> and working for [[Talkback Productions]] to write and produce radio commercials for products such as Mighty White bread and Red Stripe lager.<ref>{{Cite news|author=WENN|title=Hugh Grant Wistful For Radio Days|publisher=[[IMDb]]|date=10 May 2002|url=https://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2002-05-10#celeb8|access-date=11 September 2007|archive-date=13 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060913002412/http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2002-05-10#celeb8|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name="SAG-AFTRA Foundation">{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3lUJt4KmJw&t=1340s| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211116/y3lUJt4KmJw| archive-date=16 November 2021 | url-status=live|title=Conversations with Hugh Grant|author=SAG-AFTRA Foundation|publisher=YouTube.com|date=19 August 2016|access-date=27 June 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Soon afterwards he was offered a supporting role in ''[[The Bounty (1984 film)|The Bounty]]'' (1984) starring [[Mel Gibson]] and [[Anthony Hopkins]], but was prevented from playing the role because he did not yet have an [[Equity (UK)|Equity]] card, which could only be earned through acting in regional theatre.<ref name="SAG-AFTRA Foundation"/> To obtain his Equity card, he joined the [[Nottingham Playhouse]] and lived for a year at Park Terrace in [[The Park Estate]] in [[Nottingham]].<ref name="Hugh Grant festival">{{cite news|last=Arnold|first=Gary|title='Charming, witty guy' puts his mark on summer films|work=The Washington Times|page=D3|date=14 May 1995}}</ref> [[Richard Digby Day]] directed him in small roles at the Nottingham Playhouse in ''[[Lady Windermere's Fan]]'', an avant-garde production of ''[[Hamlet]]'', and ''[[Coriolanus (play)|Coriolanus]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hugh Grant pines for a live crowd|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/film-and-tv/hugh-grant-pines-for-a-live-crowd-1194707|work=Manchester Evening News|date=22 November 2016}}</ref><ref>Smith, Madeline C.; Eaton, Richard (eds). ''Eugene O'Neill Production Personnel: A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Directors, Producers, and Scenic and Costume Designers in Stage and Screen Presentations of the Plays''. McFarland & Company, 2005. p. 80.</ref>

Bored with small acting parts, Grant created a [[sketch comedy|sketch-comedy]] group called The Jockeys of Norfolk, a name taken from Shakespeare's ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'', with friends [[Chris Lang]] and Andy Taylor. The group toured London's pub comedy circuit with stops at ''The George IV'' in [[Chiswick]], ''Canal Cafe Theatre'' in [[Maida Vale|Little Venice]] and ''The King's Head'' in [[Islington]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tressider|first1=Jody|title=Hugh Grant: The Unauthorised Biography|date=2012|publisher=Random House}}</ref> The Jockeys of Norfolk proved a hit at the 1985 [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Hugh Grant honoured with BFI Fellowship|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-press-release-hugh-grant-bfi-fellowship-2016-02-23.pdf|access-date=26 June 2018|work=[[British Film Institute]]|date=23 February 2016|format=press release}}</ref> after their sketch on the [[Nativity of Jesus|Nativity]], told as an [[Ealing Studios|Ealing comedy]], gained them a spot on [[Russell Harty]]'s [[BBC Two|BBC2]] TV show ''Harty Goes to{{nbsp}}...''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Interview: Hugh Grant, actor|url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/film/interview-hugh-grant-actor-1-2181530|access-date=26 June 2018|work=[[The Scotsman]]|date=20 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hall|first1=Julian|title=The Rough Guide to British Cult Comedy|url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetobrit00hall|url-access=registration|date=2006|publisher=[[Rough Guides]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetobrit00hall/page/116 116]|isbn=9781843536185}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Andy|title=Jockeys of Norfolk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006050422/http://www.andyjt.co.uk/jockeysofnorfolk.html|archive-date=6 October 2009|url=http://www.andyjt.co.uk/jockeysofnorfolk.html|website=AndyJT.co.uk}}</ref> In 1986 he played [[An Inspector Calls#Eric Birling|Eric Birling]] in a production of ''[[An Inspector Calls]]'' at the [[Royal Exchange, Manchester|Royal Exchange Theatre]] in [[Manchester]], directed by [[Richard Wilson (Scottish actor)|Richard Wilson]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Royal Exchange: Timeline|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-news/royal-exchange-timeline-1042941|access-date=23 July 2018|work=[[Manchester Evening News]]|date=15 February 2007}}</ref> giving a performance that [[Grevel Lindop]], writing in the ''[[Times Literary Supplement]]'', described as "outstanding".<ref>[[Grevel Lindop|Lindop, Grevel]]. [https://archive.org/stream/TheTimesLiterarySupplement1986UKEnglish/Apr%2011%201986%2C%20The%20Times%20Literary%20Supplement%2C%20%234332%2C%20UK%20%28en%29#page/n11/mode/1up "A modern morality: J. B. PRIESTLEY, ''An Inspector Calls''; Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester"]. ''[[Times Literary Supplement]]''. 11 April 1986. p. 394.</ref> 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 in [[Merchant Ivory Productions|Merchant-Ivory]]'s [[Edwardian period|Edwardian]] drama film ''[[Maurice (1987 film)|Maurice]]'' (1987), adapted from [[E. M. Forster]]'s novel.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/may/19/maurice-film-period-drama-merchant-ivory|title=Maurice at 30: the gay period drama the world wasn't ready for|last=Lodge|first=Guy|date=19 May 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=21 January 2018}}</ref> He and co-star [[James Wilby]] shared the [[Volpi Cup]] for Best Actor at the [[Venice Film Festival]] for their portrayals of lovers Clive Durham and Maurice Hall, respectively.<ref>*[https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000681/1987/1/ Venice Film Festival 1987 Awards] on IMDb</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=''Maurice'' |url=https://www.merchantivory.com/film/maurice |website=MerchantIvory.com |access-date=4 February 2020}}</ref>

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]]-nominated ''[[White Mischief (film)|White Mischief]]'' (1987)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fanworld.co/en/14-great-facts-about-hugh-grant/|title=14 Great Facts About Hugh Grant {{!}} Fan World|date=16 February 2016|website=fanworld.co|access-date=21 January 2018|archive-date=21 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121184340/http://fanworld.co/en/14-great-facts-about-hugh-grant/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.boomsbeat.com/articles/21875/20150804/50-facts-hugh-grant.htm|title=50 Facts About Hugh Grant|date=4 August 2015|work=BOOMSbeat|access-date=21 January 2018}}</ref> and a supporting role in ''[[The Dawning]]'' (1988) opposite [[Anthony Hopkins]] and [[Jean Simmons]]. In 1988 he had a leading role in [[Ken Russell]]'s horror film, ''[[The Lair of the White Worm (film)|The Lair of the White Worm]]''. He was [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Lord Byron]] in a [[Goya Award]]-winning Spanish production called ''[[Remando al viento]]'' (1988) and portrayed legendary champagne merchant [[Charles Heidsieck]] in the television film ''[[Champagne Charlie (miniseries)|Champagne Charlie]]'' (1989). In 1990 he had a small role in the sport/crime drama ''[[The Big Man]]'', opposite [[Liam Neeson]], 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]]' gay son in the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] made-for-television film ''[[Our Sons]]''.

In 1991 he also starred as [[Frederic Chopin]] in ''[[Impromptu (1991 film)|Impromptu]]'', opposite [[Judy Davis]] as his lover [[George Sand]]. In 1992 he appeared in [[Roman Polanski]]'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''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Brown|first=Joe|title=''Bitter Moon''|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=15 April 1994}}</ref>  In 1993 he had a supporting role in the [[Merchant Ivory Productions|Merchant-Ivory]] drama ''[[The Remains of the Day (film)|The Remains of the Day]]''. Grant later jokingly called many of the productions of his early career  "[[:wikt:Europudding|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."<ref name="runaway bachelor"/>

===1994–1999: ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and stardom===
[[File:Hugh Grant Cannes.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Grant at the [[1997 Cannes Film Festival]]]]
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]]'' (1994).<ref name="prince charming"/> "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.<ref name="alter ego"/> 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&nbsp;million,<ref name="box office">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=hughgrant.htm|website=Box Office Mojo|title=Hugh Grant|access-date=11 September 2007}}</ref> making him an overnight international star. His entry in ''The Trouble with Men: Masculinities in European and Hollywood Cinema'' states "''Four Weddings'' made him a truly international star whose image was endlessly promoted in tabloid newspaper articles, television chat shows and magazine profiles, especially in mass circulation women's magazines. Grant was careful to play up to the affable and self-deprecating English gent. His interviewers commented frequently on his romantic attractiveness, a modern matinée idol, blue eyed, very good looking in a classically English way, with his floppy hair and charming smile, his impeccable manners leavened by the occasional expletive".<ref name="Grant profile">{{cite book |title=The Trouble with Men: Masculinities in European and Hollywood Cinema |date=2004 |publisher=Wallflower Press |page=80}}</ref>

The film was nominated for two [[Academy Award]]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]]), who is known for writing about himself and his own life.<ref name="runaway bachelor"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Faces of the week: Richard Curtis|last=Jones|first=Chris|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4606743.stm|work=[[BBC]]|date=3 June 2005|access-date=11 September 2007}}</ref> Grant later expressed "Although I owe whatever success I've had to ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'', it did become frustrating after a bit that people made two assumptions: One was that I was that character – when in fact nothing could be further from the truth, as I'm sure Richard would tell you – and the other frustrating thing was that they thought that's all I could do. I suppose, because those films happened to be successful, no one, perhaps understandably, ... bothered to rent all the other films I'd done".<ref name="prince charming">{{cite news|first=Sharon|last=Knolle|title=Prince Charming|page=A1|work=Variety|date=16 December 2002}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grant inks two-year deal at Castle Rock|last=Marx|first=Andy|work=Variety|date=8 July 1994}}</ref> 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 (film)|About a Boy]]'' to [[Robert De Niro]]'s [[TriBeCa Productions]].<ref>{{cite episode|title=Hugh Grant discusses his new film 'About a Boy'|series=[[The Early Show]]|network=[[CBS]]|credits=Presenter: Jane Clayson|air-date=16 May 2002}}</ref> The company closed its US office in 2002 and Grant resigned as director in December 2005.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hugh Grant and ex- may close movie company|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7194114_ITM|publisher=[[United Press International|UPI]]|date=19 November 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230120034/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7194114_ITM|archive-date=30 December 2007}}</ref> 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]]''.<ref name="aaba nyt"/> 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"<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ebert|first=Robert|author-link=Roger Ebert|title=Movie Reviews:An Awfully Big Adventure|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=25 September 1995|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950922/REVIEWS/509220301/1023|archive-date=23 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070923013748/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950922/REVIEWS/509220301/1023|url-status=dead}}</ref> but the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' disapproved on grounds that the film "plays like a vanity production for Grant".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Guthmann|first=Edwards|title=This Grant 'Adventure' An Awfully Chilly One|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=21 July 1995|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1995/07/21/DD64380.DTL}}</ref> [[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."<ref name="aaba nyt">{{Cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin|title=Film Review:A Look at Hugh Grant Before His Big Success|newspaper =The New York Times|date=21 July 1995|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=990CE3DD1530F932A15754C0A963958260|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131025080145/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=990CE3DD1530F932A15754C0A963958260|archive-date=25 October 2013}}</ref> His next role was as a cartographer in 1917 Wales in ''[[The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain]]'' (1995).

[[File:Emma Thompson Berlinale 2022.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Grant portrayed [[Edward Ferrars]] opposite [[Emma Thompson]] in ''[[Sense and Sensibility (1995 film)|Sense and Sensibility]]'' (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".<ref>{{cite news|last=Howe|first=Desson|title=Movie Reviews:Nine Months|date=14 July 1995|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/ninemonthspg13howe_c02245.htm|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Grant himself has been highly critical of his performance in ''Nine Months'', stating in a 2016 interview that "I really ruined it. And it was entirely my fault. I panicked, it was such a big jump up from what I'd been paid before to what they were offering me. And the scale was inhuman to my standards, you know the scale of the production, [[20th Century Fox]], the whole thing. And I just tried much too hard, and you know I forgot to do basic acting things, like mean it. So I pulled faces and overacted, it was a shocker".<ref name="SAG-AFTRA Foundation"/> Next in 1995, he starred as [[Emma Thompson]]'s suitor in her [[Academy Award]]-winning adaptation of [[Jane Austen]]'s ''[[Sense and Sensibility (1995 film)|Sense and Sensibility]]'', directed by [[Ang Lee]]. In 1995 he also performed in ''[[Restoration (1995 film)|Restoration]]''; [[Lisa Schwarzbaum]] wrote that Grant is "having a fine and liberating time playing a supercilious court portrait painter",<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Restoration|last=Schwarzbaum|first=Lisa|url=https://ew.com/article/1996/01/19/restoration/|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=19 January 1996|access-date=19 April 2016|archive-date=20 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420050231/http://ew.com/article/1996/01/19/restoration/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' said he has "some delicious moments" in the film.<ref>{{cite news|title=A 'Restoration' of Costume Drama: Too Old Fashioned|last=Thomas|first=Kevin|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-29-ca-18948-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=29 December 1995|access-date=19 April 2016}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|first=Gene|last=Siskel|author-link=Gene Siskel|title=Hugh Grant Stands Out In Generic Thriller 'Extreme Measures'|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/09/27/hugh-grant-stands-out-in-generic-thriller-extreme-measures/|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=22 November 2016}}</ref>

After a three-year hiatus, in 1999 he paired with [[Julia Roberts]] in ''[[Notting Hill (film)|Notting Hill]]'', which was written by [[Richard Curtis]] 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&nbsp;million worldwide.<ref name="box office"/> 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."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9905/27/review.notting.hill/|title=Review: Julia, Hugh a perfect match for 'Notting Hill'|access-date=21 May 2007|date=27 May 1999|last=Clinton|first=Paul|publisher=CNN}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|last=Zacharek|first=Stephanie|title=Film Review:Notting Hill|work=[[Salon.com]]|date=28 May 1999|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/1999/05/28/notting/index.html}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin|title=Film Review:Looking for a Book And Finding a Man|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=28 May 1999|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D00E3DB1F31F93BA15756C0A96F958260|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120311125323/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D00E3DB1F31F93BA15756C0A96F958260|archive-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>

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",<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ebert|first=Robert|author-link=Roger Ebert|title=Movie Reviews:Mickey Blue Eyes|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=20 August 1999|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990820/REVIEWS/908200303/1023|archive-date=1 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101015356/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990820/REVIEWS/908200303/1023|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Turan|first=Kenneth|author-link=Kenneth Turan|title=Movie Review: Mickey Blue Eyes|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=20 August 1999|url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie990819-5,0,299920.story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060420064457/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie990819-5%2C0%2C299920.story|archive-date=20 April 2006}}</ref>

===2000–2009: Continued romantic comedy roles===
[[File:Hugh Grant Brussels '08.jpg|thumb|left|256x256px|Grant in [[Brussels]], October 2008]]
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".<ref>{{cite episode|series=[[Today (NBC program)|The Today Show]]|credits= Presenter: [[Matt Lauer]]|title=Hugh Grant discusses his new film, 'Small Time Crooks'|network=[[NBC]]|air-date=17 May 2000}}</ref> ''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".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sarris|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Sarris|title =With Woody's Cookie Caper, Some Careers Could Cool Off|date=28 May 2000|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://www.observer.com/node/42991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014230201/http://www.observer.com/node/42991|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 October 2007|work=[[The New York Observer]]}}</ref> 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."<ref name="stc nyt">{{Cite news|last=Holden|first=Stephen|author-link= Stephen Holden|title=Film Review: Just Take the Money and Run? Nah, She Wants Class and Culcha|newspaper= The New York Times|date=20 May 2000|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C00E0DD143AF93AA25756C0A9669C8B63}}</ref> In 2000, Grant also joined the supervisory board of [[Intermedia (production company)|IM Internationalmedia AG]], the powerful [[Munich]]-based film and media company.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hugh Grant joins board of IM Internationalmedia AG|url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=50370|publisher=PR Newswire Europe Limited|date=8 May 2000|access-date=20 September 2007}}</ref> In 2001, his turn as a charming but womanising book publisher Daniel Cleaver in ''[[Bridget Jones's Diary (film)|Bridget Jones's Diary]]'' 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".<ref>{{cite news|title=Auds Prefer Grant Unattached|last=Robey|first=Tim|pages=A2–A4|work=Variety|date=16 December 2002}}</ref> The film, adapted from [[Helen Fielding]]'s novel of the same name, was an international hit, earning $281&nbsp;million worldwide.<ref name="box office"/> 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".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hunter|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Hunter|title=Chaos and Cads
|date=13 April 2001|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/entertainment/movies/reviews/bridgetjonessdiaryhunter.htm|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

In 2002, Grant starred 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]]''. The BBC thought Grant delivered an "immaculate comic performance",<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dawson|first=Tom|title=Film Review: About a Boy (2002)|work=[[BBC]]|date=22 April 2002|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/03/22/about_a_boy_2002_review.shtml}}</ref> and with an Academy Award-nominated screenplay, ''[[About a Boy (film)|About a Boy]]'' 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".<ref name="aab wp"/> ''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",<ref>{{Cite news|first=Peter|last =Travers|author-link=Peter Travers|title=Reviews: About A Boy|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=6 June 2002|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5947699/review/5947700/about_a_boy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118004425/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5947699/review/5947700/about_a_boy|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 November 2007|publisher=[[Rolling Stone Australia]]}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|title=Movie Reviews: About A Boy|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=17 May 2002|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020517/REVIEWS/205170301/1023|archive-date=29 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929110706/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20020517%2FREVIEWS%2F205170301%2F1023|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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&nbsp;million globally.<ref name="box office"/> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=''Hugh Grant'' Film Actor, Comedy|work=[[GQ (magazine)|GQ]]|page=325|date=November 2002}}</ref> "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."<ref name="aab wp">{{Cite news|last=Hornaday|first=Ann|title='About a Boy': A Rake's Amusingly Slow Progress|date=17 May 2002|page=C01|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2002/05/17/AR2005033116336.html|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> ''[[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."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sarris|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Sarris|title=Old Dog Loves New Trick, A Ploy for Seducing Singletons|newspaper=[[The New York Observer]]|date=26 May 2002|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://www.observer.com/node/46050|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713001236/http://www.observer.com/node/46050|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 July 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Richard Curtis (26657630142).jpg|thumb|right|170px|Grant has starred in numerous [[Richard Curtis]] films including ''[[Love Actually]]'' (2003).]]

''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 Weekly]]'''s [[Owen Gleiberman]] took note of Grant's maturation in his review, saying he looked noticeably older and that it "looked good on him".<ref name="EWBoy">{{Cite news|last= Gleiberman|first=Owen|author-link=Owen Gleiberman|title=Review: About A Boy|newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=15 May 2002|access-date=7 December 2012|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,237958,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070118014400/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,237958,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 January 2007}}</ref> 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."<ref name=EWBoy/>

He was paired with [[Sandra Bullock]] in [[Warner Bros.]]'s ''[[Two Weeks Notice]]'' (2002), which made $199&nbsp;million internationally but received poor reviews.<ref name="box office"/> ''The Village Voice'' concluded that Grant's creation of a spoiled billionaire fronting a real estate business was "little more than a Britishism machine".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Park|first=Ed|title=Working Weak|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|date=25 December 2002|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0252,park,40780,20.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210115738/http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0252%2Cpark%2C40780%2C20.html|archive-date=10 December 2007}}</ref> ''Two Weeks Notice'' was followed by the 2003 ensemble comedy, ''[[Love Actually]]'', 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&nbsp;million at the international box office.<ref name="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.<ref>{{cite news|first=Sara|last=Lyall|title=Four Comedies and a Collaboration|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06EFD71F31F931A35752C1A9659C8B63|work=The New York Times|date=3 November 2003|access-date=30 March 2008}}</ref> [[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".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|title=Movie Reviews: Love Actually|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=7 November 2003|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031107/REVIEWS/311070304/1023|archive-date=11 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011194857/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031107/REVIEWS/311070304/1023|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Reed|first=Rex|author-link=Rex Reed|title=Lovesick Brits Ooze Treacle|newspaper=The New York Observer|date=9 November 2003|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://www.observer.com/node/48296|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123023004/http://www.observer.com/node/48296|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 November 2007|publisher=[[New York Observer]]}}</ref>

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&nbsp;million commercially.<ref name="box office"/> 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".<ref>{{Cite news|last=James|first=Caryn|title=Pop Beats Politics in the Race For Laughs|newspaper=The New York Times|date=26 April 2006|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E2D8123FF935A15757C0A9609C8B63}}</ref> ''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",<ref>{{Cite news|last=Burr|first=Ty|title=American Dreamz Movie Review|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=21 April 2006|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=8601}}</ref> and critic Carina Chocano said, "He is twice as enjoyable as the preening bad guy as he was as the bumbling good guy."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chocano|first=Carina|title=Movie Review: 'American Dreamz'|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=21 April 2006|url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/chocano/cl-et-americandreamz21apr21,0,5775553.story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024032044/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/chocano/cl-et-americandreamz21apr21%2C0%2C5775553.story|archive-date=24 October 2007}}</ref>

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".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lemire|first=Christy|title=Review: 'Music and Lyrics' an Odd Combo|agency=Associated Press|date=13 February 2007|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/02/12/entertainment/e143605S25.DTL|work=San Francisco Chronicle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231181347/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2007%2F02%2F12%2Fentertainment%2Fe143605S25.DTL|archive-date=31 December 2007}}</ref> Though he neither listens to music nor owns any CDs,<ref name="grants views"/> 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!]].<ref name="reluctant romeo"/> The film, with its revenues totalling $145&nbsp;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."<ref>{{Cite news|last=LaSalle|first=Mike|title=When cute couple write pop songs, they may find love|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=14 February 2007|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/REVIEW-When-cute-couple-write-pop-songs-they-2617670.php}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=grantparker09.htm|title=Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=28 January 2010}}</ref>

===2012–2017: Mid-career experimentation===
[[File:Hugh Grant 2014.jpg|thumb|left|Grant in 2014|247x247px]]
Grant was featured in [[the Wachowskis]]' and [[Tom Tykwer]]'s epic science fiction film ''[[Cloud Atlas (film)|Cloud Atlas]]'' in 2012, playing six different dark characters.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hugh Grant shows his dark side in multiple Cloud Atlas roles |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/hugh-grant-shows-his-dark-side-in-multiple-cloud-atlas-roles-8500445.html |website=[[The Independent]] |access-date=14 October 2019 |date=19 February 2013}}</ref> In the same year, Grant lent his voice to the [[Aardman]] stop motion animation ''[[The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!|The Pirates! Band of Misfits]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Silver |first1=James |title=How Aardman is embracing the digital age |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aardman-morphs |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |access-date=14 October 2019 |date=2 November 2010}}</ref> 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;<ref>{{cite news|last=Kerr|first=Elizabeth|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/rewrite-shanghai-review-712395|title='The Rewrite': Shanghai Review|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=18 June 2014|access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/the-rewrite-review-hugh-grant-s-fringe-may-be-gone-but-the-comic-timing-is-still-there-1.1958442|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311194701/http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/the-rewrite-review-hugh-grant-s-fringe-may-be-gone-but-the-comic-timing-is-still-there-1.1958442 |url-status=dead |title=The Rewrite review: Hugh Grant's fringe may be gone, but the comic timing is still there|first=Donald|last=Clarke|archive-date=11 March 2016|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref> director [[Quentin Tarantino]] has stated that the film is one of his favourites of the year and called Grant a "perfect leading man".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dean |first1=Jonathan |title=Wanted: the director who got political|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/film_and_tv/article1645560.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226041207/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/film_and_tv/article1645560.ece |archive-date=26 December 2015  |work=The Sunday Times |date=20 December 2015 |quote=He has a perfect leading man." The film he is referring to is The Rewrite ...}}</ref>

In 2015, he had a supporting role as [[Alexander Waverly]] in [[Guy Ritchie]]'s crime thriller ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (film)|The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'';<ref>{{cite news|title=Hugh Grant Joins 'Man from U.N.C.L.E.'|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hugh-grant-joins-man-uncle-602708|access-date=15 August 2013|newspaper=hollywoodreporter.com|date=8 August 2013}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' described his performance as "the only bit of fun" in the film,<ref>{{cite news|title=The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: EW review|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/11/man-uncle-ew-review|access-date=12 August 2015|newspaper=Entertainment Weekly|date=11 August 2015}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news|title=The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: RogerEbert.com review|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-man-from-uncle-2015|access-date=12 August 2015|newspaper=RogerEbert.com|date=11 August 2015}}</ref>

In 2016, Grant played [[St. Clair Bayfield]], partner of [[Florence Foster Jenkins|the title character]], in the film ''[[Florence Foster Jenkins (film)|Florence Foster Jenkins]]'', 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]]'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/florence-foster-jenkins-review/5102441.article|title='Florence Foster Jenkins': Review|first=Fionnuala|last=Halligan|date=13 April 2016|work=Screen International}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/florence-foster-jenkins-review-meryl-streep-stephen-frears-1201714358/|title='Florence Foster Jenkins' Review: Meryl Streep Shines As the World's Worst Singer in Tricky Drama|first=Kate|last=Erbland|date=9 August 2016|work=IndieWire}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/florence-foster-jenkins-movie-review-w433798|title='Florence Foster Jenkins' Review: Meryl Streep Sings Her Way to Glory|first=Peter|last=Travers|author-link=Peter Travers|date=11 August 2016|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/florence-foster-jenkins-review-meryl-streep-1201750112/|title=Film Review: Meryl Streep in 'Florence Foster Jenkins'|first=Guy|last=Lodge|date=13 April 2016|work=Variety}}</ref> Rafer Guzman of ''[[Newsday]]'' said "Surely the 55-year-old actor has just sealed his first-ever Oscar nomination."<ref>{{cite news|title='Florence Foster Jenkins' review: All-around pitch-perfect|first=Rafer|last=Guzmán|date=10 August 2016|url=http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/florence-foster-jenkins-review-all-around-pitch-perfect-1.12152333|access-date=1 April 2018|newspaper=Newsday}}</ref> [[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".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/movies/why-hugh-grant-deserves-all-the-awards-for-florence-foster-jenkins-182726001.html|title=Why Hugh Grant Deserves All the Awards for 'Florence Foster Jenkins'|last=Rickey|first=Carrie|author-link=Carrie Rickey|date=4 January 2017|website=Yahoo! Movies|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/the-great-performances-of-2016|title=The Great Performances of 2016|date=19 December 2016|publisher=RogerEbert.com|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/06/movies/critics-oscar-nominees.html|title=And the Nominees Should Be...|first=Stephen|last=Holden|author-link=Stephen Holden|date=6 January 2017|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Most award pundits predicted Grant would receive his first [[Academy Award]] nomination for his performance, but he was not nominated.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://time.com/4644540/oscar-nominations-2017-snubs-surprises/|magazine=Time|title=The 20 Biggest Snubs and Surprises of the 2017 Oscar Nominations|first=Eliza|last=Berman|date=24 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://people.com/movies/oscars-nominations-2017-snubs-surprises-academy-awards/|title=Oscars Nominations Snubs and Surprises: What, No Amy Adams? Or Taraji P. Henson?|first=Stephanie|last=Petit|date=24 January 2017|work=People|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.goldderby.com/article/2017/oscar-snubs-nominations-academy-awards-2017-amy-adams-hugh-grant/|title=Shocking Oscar snubs: Amy Adams, Hugh Grant, Martin Scorsese and more|first=Marcus James|last=Dixon|date=24 January 2017|work=Gold Derby|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref>

His next appearance was as Phoenix Buchanan, the main antagonist of ''[[Paddington 2]]'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-hugh-grant-20161202-story.html|title=From 'tragic character' to 'bad guy,' Hugh Grant takes his time picking roles|last=Ellwood|first=Gregory|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=2 December 2016|access-date=1 January 2017}}</ref> which was a commercial and critical success.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/paddington-2-hugh-grant-delivered-a-vanity-free-performance-1073397|title=Hugh Grant Is Vanity-Free in Latest Performance|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|date=12 January 2018|access-date=7 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/10/movies/paddington-2-review.html|title=Excellence Pursued in 'Paddington 2'|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 January 2018|access-date=7 May 2018}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' described his performance as "scene-stealing",<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/26/paddington-2-review-hugh-grant-sequel-michael-bond-film|title=Paddington 2 review&nbsp;– Hugh Grant steals the show in sweet-natured and funny sequel|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|date=26 October 2017|work=[[The Guardian]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026220522/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/26/paddington-2-review-hugh-grant-sequel-michael-bond-film|archive-date=26 October 2017}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/12/21/paddington-2-review|title=''Paddington 2'' Review|first=Alex|last=Welch|date=21 December 2017|website=IGN|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://slate.com/arts/2018/01/in-paddington-2-hugh-grant-is-oscar-worthy.html|title= In Paddington 2, Hugh Grant Gives the Year's First Oscar-Worthy Performance|website= Slate|date= 12 January 2018|access-date= 16 April 2020}}</ref> Grant's performance was ranked as the 22nd greatest movie performance of the decade by [[IndieWire]] in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/best-acting-movies-2010s-performances/hawkinsshapeofwater/ |title=The 50 Best Movie Performances of the Decade|publisher=IndieWire|date=23 July 2019|access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref>

===2018–present: Mature career renaissance===
In 2018, Grant returned to television screens after 25 years, as [[Jeremy Thorpe]] opposite [[Ben Whishaw]] as [[Norman Josiffe]] in the [[BBC One]] miniseries ''[[A Very English Scandal (TV series)|A Very English Scandal]]'', which marked his second collaboration with director [[Stephen Frears]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/05/hugh-grant-cast-very-english-scandal-stephen-frears-bbc-1202099399/|title=Hugh Grant To Star In Stephen Frears' 'A Very English Scandal' For BBC One|work=Deadline|date=21 May 2017|first=Nancy|last=Tartaglione}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/05/hugh-grant-villain-very-english-scandal-jeremy-thorpe-review|title=Hugh Grant has the role of his life as Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal|work=[[New Statesman]]|date=23 May 2018|access-date=26 May 2018}}</ref> The miniseries, and in particular Grant, were widely and highly praised. ''[[Digital Spy]]'''s 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".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/review/a857457/a-very-english-scandal-review-episode-1/|title=Hugh Grant soars in Russell T Davies' outrageous comic tragedy|work=Digital Spy|date=26 May 2018|first=Steve|last=O'Brien}}</ref> 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''."<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/05/hugh-grant-villain-very-english-scandal-jeremy-thorpe-review | title=Hugh Grant has the role of his life as Jeremy Thorpe in a Very English Scandal| date=9 June 2021}}</ref> ''[[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".<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/tv-review-a-very-english-scandal-the-jeremy-thorpe-scandal-b3pw0s0v8 | title=TV review: A Very English Scandal &#124; the Jeremy Thorpe Scandal| date=4 June 2018| last1=Jackson| first1=James}}</ref> 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]], [[BAFTA Award]] for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chitwood |first1=Adam |title=Emmy Nominations 2019: 'Game of Thrones' Breaks 'NYPD Blue' Record with 32 Nominations |url=https://collider.com/emmy-nominations-2019-explained/ |access-date=1 June 2019 |publisher=[[Collider (website)|Collider]] |date=16 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6938856/awards/?ref_=tt_awd|title= A Very English Scandal – Awards|website= IMDB|accessdate= 25 June 2024}}</ref>

In 2019, Grant played another against-type role, in Guy Ritchie's ''[[The Gentlemen (2019 film)|The Gentlemen]]'', his second collaboration with the director following ''The Man From U.N.C.L.E.''<ref>{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2018/10/hugh-grant-cast-guy-ritchie-toff-guys-matthew-mcconaughey-1202493594/|title=Hugh Grant Joins Guy Ritchie's 'Toff Guys' Gang |first1=Anthony |last1=D'Alessandro |date=1 November 2018 |website=Deadline}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/20/hugh-grant-based-sleazy-private-investigator-character-gentlemen-former-enemies-11943228/?ito=cbshare|title=Hugh Grant based his 'sleazy private investigator' character in The Gentlemen on 'former enemies'|first1=Kim |last1=Novak |date=20 December 2019 |website=Metro (British newspaper)}}</ref> Even though the film received mostly mixed reviews,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-gentlemen|title=The Gentlemen Reviews|work=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|access-date=21 December 2019}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/gentlemen-review-1264021 |title='The Gentlemen': Film Review |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |last=Dalton |first=Stephen |date=19 December 2019 |access-date=24 December 2019}}</ref> [[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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-gentlemen-blithe-thuggery-with-flair-to-spare-11579818374 |title='The Gentlemen': Blithe Thuggery With Flair to Spare |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |last=Morgenstern |first=Joe |date=23 January 2020 |access-date=24 January 2020}}</ref>

In 2020, Grant starred in [[HBO]] miniseries ''[[The Undoing (miniseries)|The Undoing]]'', opposite [[Nicole Kidman]] and [[Donald Sutherland]]. The miniseries was premiered on 25 October 2020 to mixed reviews, though Grant's performance was widely acclaimed.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/tv/the-undoing-trailer-nicole-kidman-hugh-grant-hbo/|title=Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant face 'ugly truths' in exclusive The Undoing trailer/|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=6 August 2020|access-date=6 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_undoing/s01|title=The Undoing: Season 1 (2020)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201009-the-undoing-review-a-supremely-gripping-marriage-thriller |title=The Undoing review: a supremely gripping marriage thriller |work=[[BBC]] |last=James |first=Caryn |date=12 October 2020 |access-date=1 November 2020}}</ref> Brian Tallerico of [[RogerEbert.com]] was less impressed with the series but called Grant's performance as the "series-best".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-undoing-2020 |title=The Undoing review |work=[[RogerEbert.com]] |last=Tallerico |first=Brian |date=21 October 2020 |access-date=1 November 2020}}</ref> Grant received a [[Screen Actors Guild Award]], [[Golden Globe Award]] and [[Critics' Choice Television Award]] nomination for his performance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/hugh-grant-the-undoing-sag-awards_uk_601d0a36c5b66c385ef86803|title= Hugh Grant's Killer Response To His SAG Award Nomination Is Oh So Hugh Grant|website= HuffPost|date= 5 February 2021|access-date= 28 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hugh-grant-on-the-undoing-golden-globe-nom-its-a-relief-not-to-have-to-pretend-to-be-a-nice-guy|title= Hugh Grant on 'The Undoing' Golden Globes Nom: "It's a Relief Not to Have to Pretend to Be a Nice Guy"|website= The Hollywood Reporter|date= 3 February 2021|access-date= 28 February 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Hugh grant losing at the golden globes.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Grant in 2021]]
In 2023, Grant reunited with Guy Ritchie for the action ''[[Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre]]'' alongside [[Jason Statham]] and [[Aubrey Plaza]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/operation-fortune-ruse-de-guerre-release-date/|title= Operation Fortune Ruse de Guerre: release date speculation|website= Radiotimes|access-date= 29 June 2022}}</ref> The movie was originally planned to be released on early 2022 but had several delays.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wiseman|first=Andreas|date=11 November 2022|url=https://deadline.com/2022/11/adam-driver-daisy-ridley-micheal-mann-guy-ritchie-movies-stx-distribution-ferrari-1235169849/|title=After STX's Restructure, Where Do High-Profile Guy Ritchie, Michael Mann & Daisy Ridley Movies End Up?|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=11 November 2022|archive-date=11 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111180359/https://deadline.com/2022/11/adam-driver-daisy-ridley-micheal-mann-guy-ritchie-movies-stx-distribution-ferrari-1235169849/|url-status=live}}</ref> While the film was a [[box office flop]] with mixed reviews, Grant's performance still received mostly positive response.<ref>{{cite web |title=Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/operation-fortune-ruse-de-guerre |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=8 March 2023 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111111947/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/operation-fortune-ruse-de-guerre |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' said Grant "delivers a fantastic character performance" and "is so committed that he throws off the balance of the ensemble because no one else is as good as he is".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/operation-fortune-ruse-de-guerre-review-1850169923|title=Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre review: Guy Ritchie delivers exactly what you'd expect|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=1 March 2023|access-date=1 March 2023}}</ref> He next appeared as an ambitious rogue and con artist Forge in the [[fantasy]] [[adventure]] film ''[[Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves]]''. Jonah Nink of ''[[Chicago Reader]]'' praised his performance by saying "None of the cast holds a fireball to Hugh Grant, however, who owns every second of his goofball performance as one of the film's villains."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://chicagoreader.com/film/review-dungeons-and-dragons-honor-among-thieves/|title=Review: Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves|website=[[Chicago Reader]]|date=17 March 2023|access-date=31 March 2023}}</ref>

Also in 2023, Grant appeared as an [[Oompa-Loompa]] in ''[[Wonka (film)|Wonka]]'', a film which serves as a prequel to the [[Roald Dahl]] novel ''[[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]]'', exploring [[Willy Wonka]]'s origins.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tinoco |first=Armando |date=12 October 2023 |title=New ''Wonka'' Trailer: Timothée Chalamet Stands Up To The Bullies With Help From Oompa-Loompa Hugh Grant |url=https://deadline.com/2023/10/wonka-trailer-movie-video-timothee-chalamet-1235433884/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012180628/https://deadline.com/2023/10/wonka-trailer-movie-video-timothee-chalamet-1235433884/ |archive-date=12 October 2023 |access-date=24 November 2023 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |title=''Wonka'': Warner Bros Movie Adds Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman & Jim Carter |url=https://deadline.com/2021/09/wonka-warner-bros-movie-adds-sally-hawkins-rowan-atkinson-olivia-colman-jim-carter-1234846668/ |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=24 November 2023 |date=21 September 2021 |archive-date=29 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929173347/https://deadline.com/2021/09/wonka-warner-bros-movie-adds-sally-hawkins-rowan-atkinson-olivia-colman-jim-carter-1234846668/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In selecting Grant for the role, ''Wonka'' director [[Paul King (director)|Paul King]] told ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine, "Going back to the book, and reading all those poems, and hearing [the Oompa Loompas'] voice as a very sort of cynical, sarcastic, cruel, funny, but wicked voice, I went, 'Oh... That's sort of a bit like Hugh!{{'"}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Wonka's Hugh Grant Oompa Loompa Was 'A Real Light Bulb Moment' For Director Paul King: 'It's A Miracle' – Exclusive |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/wonka-hugh-grant-oompa-loompa-light-bulb-moment-director-paul-king-exclusive/ |access-date=5 December 2023 |work=Empire}}</ref> Despite initial backlash from the dwarfism community over his casting, Grant ultimately received praise for his performance, with Nick Levine of ''[[NME]]'' writing "A scene-stealing Grant provides the comic highlights as Lofty, a supercilious Oompa Loompa with a grudge against Chalamet's title character, Willy Wonka."<ref>{{cite news |title='Wonka' review: Timothée Chalamet twinkles in a fun-filled festive treat |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/wonka-review-timothee-chalamet-3553138 |access-date=5 December 2023 |work=NME}}</ref> In 2024, Grant had a guest appearance in [[Stephen Frears]]-directed, [[Kate Winslet]]-starring [[HBO]] limited series ''[[The Regime (miniseries)|The Regime]]'', for which he was nominated for [[Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries|Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://deadline.com/2023/02/the-palace-first-look-kate-winslet-hbos-limited-series-will-tracy-stephen-frears-1235247721/|title= 'The Palace': First Look At Kate Winslet In HBO's Limited Series From Will Tracy & Stephen Frears|website= [[Deadline Hollywood]]|date= 2 February 2023|access-date= 2 February 2023}}</ref> The same year he played a fictional version of [[Thurl Ravenscroft]] who voiced [[Tony the Tiger]] in the [[Jerry Seinfeld]] comedy film ''[[Unfrosted]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.thewrap.com/jerry-seinfeld-unfrosted-pop-tart-story-melissa-mccarthy/|title= Jerry Seinfeld's Pop-Tart Movie 'Unfrosted' to Star Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Hugh Grant|website= [[The Wrap]]|date= 15 June 2022|access-date= 29 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hugh Grant Plays Tony The Tiger In Jerry Seinfeld's Pop-Tarts Movie – Exclusive Image|date=8 March 2024 |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/unfrosted-hugh-grant-tony-the-tiger-jerry-seinfeld-pop-tart-movie-exclusive/|publisher=Empire|access-date=28 March 2024}}</ref> Grant's performance was praised with Matt Schimkowitz of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' describing him as the film's "MVP" and William Bibbiani of ''[[TheWrap]]'' writing that he "has the film's only consistently funny subplot".<ref>{{cite web|title='Unfrosted' Review: Jerry Seinfeld's Netflix Comedy Takes the Art Out of Pop-Tarts|date=3 May 2024 |url=https://www.thewrap.com/unfrosted-netflix-review-jerry-seinfeld/|publisher=The Wrap|access-date=3 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Jerry Seinfeld's cereal comedy Unfrosted is just a little soggy|url=http://www.avclub.com/jerry-seinfeld-s-cereal-comedy-unfrosted-is-just-a-li-1851452554|publisher=AV Club|access-date=3 May 2024}}</ref>

Grant next starred in the [[A24]] horror film ''[[Heretic (film)|Heretic]]'' (2024).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/05/a24-the-front-room-a-different-man-we-live-in-time-heretic-baby-girl-1235944716/|title=A24 Dates Fall & Holiday Slate With 'The Front Room', 'A Different Man', 'We Live In Time', 'Heretic' & 'Baby Girl'|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|date=30 May 2024|access-date=25 June 2024|archive-date=30 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530164145/https://deadline.com/2024/05/a24-the-front-room-a-different-man-we-live-in-time-heretic-baby-girl-1235944716/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film received mostly positive reviews, with ''Variety'' saying it's yet another "wildly against-type" role in his career.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/heretic-review-hugh-grant-1236145209/|title= 'Heretic' Review: Hugh Grant Is Genteelly Terrifying as a Creep Hell-Bent on Converting Others to His 'One True Religion'|website= [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date= 15 September 2024|accessdate= 1 November 2024}}</ref> [[Bilge Ebiri]] of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]'' said it was a "riveting turn" for Grant.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/heretic-hugh-grant-was-born-to-play-the-villain.html|title= Hugh Grant Was Born to Play the Villain|website= [[Vulture (website)|Vulture]]|date= 8 November 2024|accessdate= 10 November 2024}}</ref> For his performance, he has received nominations for a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Golden Globe Award]], a [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor|Critics' Choice Award]] and a [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]]. In 2025, Grant returned to the romantic comedy genre in a supporting role, reprising his role as Daniel Cleaver in ''[[Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://deadline.com/2024/04/bridget-jones-mad-about-the-boy-renee-zellweger-returning-universal-1235878931/|title= Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant & Emma Thompson To Return For 'Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy'; Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall Also Set|website= [[Deadline Hollywood]]|date= 9 April 2024|accessdate= 25 June 2024}}</ref> Grant has stated that his role is brief and the film has more dramatic depth than previous parts, claiming the script has made him cry.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/hugh-grant-cried-reading-the-script-for-4th-bridget-jones-movie/|title= Hugh Grant Cried Reading the Script for 'Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy'|website= [[Us Weekly]]|date= 12 September 2024|accessdate= 1 November 2024}}</ref> The film has received a positive reception and ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' review commented: "Grant, who scores many of the script's best lines, brings a shot of mischievous vitality every time he's onscreen, as well as some poignant commentary on mortality and lasting connection during a sobering juncture for Daniel. The actor's career renaissance of the past decade has made him a value-added bonus to pretty much any project in which he appears."<ref>{{cite news|last=Rooney|first=David|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/bridget-jones-mad-about-the-boy-review-renee-zellweger-1236131377/|title='Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy' Review: Renée Zellweger Shines in Poignant Moments of Closing Chapter Flush With Fan-Service|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=12 February 2025|access-date=16 February 2025}}</ref> In a negative review of the film, ''[[The Guardian]]'' still praised Grant's performance, citing him as the only cast member, alongside [[Emma Thompson]], who doesn't phone it in.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/feb/12/bridget-jones-mad-about-the-boy-review-renee-zellweger|title=Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy review – giant laughs for Hugh Grant but weepie sequel is strangely dazed|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=12 February 2025|access-date=16 February 2025}}</ref>

== Acting credits and accolades ==
{{Main| Hugh Grant filmography|List of awards and nominations received by Hugh Grant}}

Over his career Grant has received numerous accolades including a [[BAFTA Award]], a [[Golden Globe Award]], and a [[Volpi Cup for Best Actor]] as well as nominations for two [[Primetime Emmy Awards]] and four [[Screen Actors Guild Awards]].

==Screen persona==
Grant began his career as a [[character actor]] but became predominantly a comedy (especially a [[romantic comedy]]) 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".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Idato|first=Michael|title=Hugh Grant is 'old, ugly and not appropriate for romantic comedies' – and he's loving it|date=22 October 2020|access-date=1 November 2020|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/hugh-grant-is-old-ugly-and-not-appropriate-for-romantic-comedies-and-he-s-loving-it-20201019-p566bl.html|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> 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]]-scripted romantic comedy films. In the British press, it is common to compare young romantic comedy actors to him.

{{Quote box|width=25%|align=right|bgcolor=#E0E6F8|quote=I've never been tempted to do the part where I cry or get AIDS or save some people from a concentration camp just to get good reviews. I genuinely believe that comedy acting, light comedy acting, is as hard as, if not harder than serious acting, and it genuinely doesn't bother me that all the prizes and the good reviews automatically by knee-jerk reaction go to the deepest, darkest, most serious performances and parts. It makes me laugh."|source=—Grant explaining his propensity for comedic roles, 2010<ref name="Thorpe">{{cite news|last=Thorpe|first=Vanessa|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/sep/26/hugh-grant-colin-firth-fifty|title=Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, the screen's leading Englishmen at 50|work=[[The Observer]]|date=26 September 2010|access-date=26 September 2010}}</ref>}}

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."<ref>{{cite news|first=Oliver|last=Marre|title=I want to be alone. Oh really?|work=The Observer|date=29 April 2007}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Hugh Grant festival"/> 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."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kempley|first=Rita|title=Nine Months|date=12 July 1995|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/ninemonthspg13kempley_c021e6.htm|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hunter|first=Stephen|title='Music and Lyrics': Work Is What Makes Life Hum|date=14 February 2007|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/13/AR2007021301081.html|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> 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.<ref>David Thomson ''A New Biographical Dictionary of Film'', London: Little, Brown, 2002, p. 352. Published in New York by Knopf.</ref>

Grant's screen persona in his films of the 2000s gradually developed into a cynical, self-loathing cad.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dargis|first=Manohla|author-link=Manohla Dargis|title=Paul Weitz's 'American Dreamz': An 'Idol' Clone With a Presidential Aura|newspaper=The New York Times|date=21 April 2006|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2006/04/21/movies/21drea.html}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Puig|first=Claudia|title='About a Boy' has singular charm|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=16 May 2002|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/2002/2002-05-17-boy-review.htm}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|first=Carina|last=Chocano|title=A reluctant leading man|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/cl-et-hugh14feb14,1,7879541.story|work=Los Angeles Times|date=14 February 2007|access-date=11 September 2007}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

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 (1991 film)|Impromptu]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hicks|first=Chris|url=https://www.deseret.com/1991/5/20/20087805/film-review-impromptu/|title=Film review: Impromptu|work=Deseret News|date=20 May 1991|access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=990CE3DD1530F932A15754C0A963958260|work=The New York Times|first=Janet|last=Maslin|title=FILM REVIEW; A Look at Hugh Grant Before His Big Success|date=21 July 1995}}</ref> In 2012, he played six "incredibly evil" characters in the epic drama film ''[[Cloud Atlas (film)|Cloud Atlas]]'', an experience he has talked about positively, saying:

{{Blockquote|I thought before I read it that I'd turn it down, which I normally do, but I was interested in meeting [''Cloud Atlas'' co-directors] [[the Wachowskis]] because I have always admired them enormously. And they are so charming and fascinating.... I slightly called my own bluff. In one of the parts I am a [[Human cannibalism|cannibal]], about 2,000 years in the future, and I thought, "I can do that. It's easy." And then I am suddenly standing in a cannibal skirt on a mountaintop in Germany and they are saying, "You know, hungry! We must have that flesh-eating, like a leopard who is so hungry", and I am thinking, "I can't do that! Just give me a witty line!"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=33147|title=Exclusive: Hugh Grant Talks Cloud Atlas|last=De Semlyen|first=Phil|magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]|date=15 February 2012|access-date=2 November 2012}}</ref>}}

After ''Cloud Atlas'', Grant has never starred in a romantic comedy film with exceptions of the dramedy ''[[The Rewrite]]'' (2014), where "romantic comedy is only a small part of it."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/02/hugh-grant-says-he-finds-most-romantic-comedies-repugnant-at-the-rewrite-premiere-65172/|title=Hugh Grant Says He Finds Most Romantic Comedies 'Repugnant' at 'The Rewrite' Premiere |first=David|last=Canfield|date=11 February 2015|publisher=IndieWire}}</ref> and his brief return as his ''Bridget Jones'' character Daniel Cleaver in ''[[Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy]]'' (2025). Grant is known as a meticulous performer who approaches his roles like a [[character actor]], working hard to make his acting appear spontaneous.<ref name="natural does it">Dave Kehr, [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/17/movies/at-the-movies.html At the Movies:  For Hugh Grant, Natural Does It, New York Times] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307003059/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/17/movies/at-the-movies.html|date=7 March 2016 }} (17 May 2002)</ref> In a career spanning more than 35&nbsp;years, Grant has repeatedly claimed that acting was not his true calling, but rather a career that developed by happenstance.<ref name="bridget jones interview"/> However, in 2020, after moving on to more character roles, he has stated that he "enjoys acting now".<ref>{{cite news|title=The Undoing's Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman on why they jumped at the chance for "classic thriller" scripts
|newspaper=[[Radio Times]]|date=25 October 2020|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-10-25/the-undoing-hugh-grant-nicole-kidman-big-rt-interview/|first=Adam|last=Tanswell}}</ref>

==Personality==
Grant has expressed boredom with playing the celebrity in the press<ref>{{cite news|first=Michelle|last=Kung|title=Fashioning Hugh into a proper pop star|page=13|url=https://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2007/02/11/fashioning_hugh_into_a_proper_pop_star/|work=The Boston Globe|date=11 February 2007|access-date=11 September 2007}}</ref> and is known in the media for his guarded privacy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2008/06/08/hugh-gala-mum-speech/|title=Hugh Grant pays a moving tribute to his mother at charity dinner|work=Hello!|date=8 June 2008|access-date=12 June 2008}}</ref> On probing of his personal life, he has remained steadfast in "offering a dead bat to any question he feels is not general enough".<ref>{{cite news|first=Lawrie|last=Masterson|title=Taken for granted|page=A06|work=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|Sunday Tasmanian]]|date=23 April 2006}}</ref> 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.<ref name="runaway bachelor">{{cite news|first=Kamp|last=David|title=Runaway bachelor|issn=0733-8899|magazine=Vanity Fair|page=170|url=http://hughgrant.free.fr/Interviews/vanityfair.html|access-date=23 July 2018|date=1 May 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Thompson|first=Bob|title=Shrug, actually: "Hugh Said, Drew Said"|work=[[National Post]]|page=TO30|date=27 January 2007}}</ref>

A 2007 ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'' profile referred to him as a man with a "professionally misanthropic mystique".<ref name="reluctant romeo"/> He has expressed distaste for [[focus group]]s, [[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?"<ref>{{cite news|first=Rick|last=Lyman|title=Sweating Out The Numbers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/20/movies/at-the-movies.html|work=The New York Times|date=20 August 1999|access-date=11 September 2007}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Benjamin|last=Svetkey|title=Cover Story: 7 HUGH GRANT|url=https://ew.com/article/1994/12/30/entertainer-7-hugh-grant/|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=30 December 1994|access-date=21 September 2007}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news|first=Merle|last=Ginsberg|title=True Hugh|url=http://www.style.com/w/feat_story/032102/full_page.html|work=[[W (magazine)|W]]|date=April 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814030053/http://www.style.com/w/feat_story/032102/full_page.html|archive-date=14 August 2007}}</ref> British newspapers regularly refer to him as [[:wikt:grumpy|"grumpy"]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Janice|last=Turner|title=In this girls' world, boys are deviants|work=[[The Times]] |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/janice_turner/article507846.ece|date=29 January 2005|access-date=19 September 2007}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Grant is a self-confessed "committed and passionate" perfectionist on a film set.<ref name="bridget jones interview">{{cite web|title=Bridget Jones's Diary: Interview With Hugh Grant|publisher=cinema.com|url=http://www.cinema.com/articles/332/bridget-joness-diary-interview-with-hugh-grant.phtml|access-date=10 October 2007}}</ref> 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".<ref name="natural does it"/> He is noted by co-workers for demanding endless takes until he achieves the desired shot according to his own standard.<ref name="reluctant romeo"/><ref>{{cite news|first=Liza|last=Foreman|title=Curtis, Grant team for boffo B.O.|work=Variety|pages=A8|date=16 December 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1497577|title=Richard Curtis discusses his new film, 'Love Actually'|series=Weekend Edition Saturday|network=[[National Public Radio|NPR]]|credits= Presenter: [[Scott Simon]]|air-date=8 November 2003}}</ref>

He dropped his agent in 2006, ending a 10-year relationship with [[Creative Artists Agency|CAA]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Fleming|title=Grant has alone time|work=Variety|page=4|date=30 November 2006}}</ref> 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."<ref name="reluctant romeo"/><ref name="Thorpe"/>

== 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]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Actor Hugh wins substantial libel award|last=Howard|first=Stephen|publisher=[[Press Association]]|date=4 June 1996}}</ref>

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".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6598937.stm|title=Hugh Grant accepts libel damages|work=[[BBC]]|date=27 April 2007|access-date=24 February 2007}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/apr/27/associatednewspapers.pressandpublishing|title=Associated pays Grant damages|last=Tryhorn|first=Chris|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=27 April 2007|access-date=17 February 2007}}</ref>

=== Legal issues ===

[[File:Hugh-grant-mugshot.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Arrest photo of Grant in 1995]]
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]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Suave, Charm and Good Looks: Why Would Hugh Grant Pay for Sex?|last=Wilson|first=Jeff|agency=Associated Press|date=27 June 1995}}</ref> He pleaded [[nolo contendre|no contest]] and was fined $1,180 by Judge [[Robert J. Sandoval]], was placed on two years' summary probation, and was ordered to complete an [[AIDS education]] program.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grant pays for his 'lewd conduct'|last=Moyes|page=1|first=Jojo|work=[[The Independent]]|date=12 July 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=British actor pleads no contest to lewd conduct|work=[[Deutsche Presse-Agentur]]|date=12 July 1995}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sweeney|first=Don|title=Backstage at the Tonight Show: From Johnny Carson to Jay Leno|url=https://archive.org/details/backstageattonig00swee|url-access=registration|publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing|page=[https://archive.org/details/backstageattonig00swee/page/n229 210]|chapter=Tonight Show Hits the Road|date=June 2006|isbn=9781589793033}}</ref> In the much-watched interview, Grant did not make excuses for the incident after Leno asked him, "What the hell were you thinking?"<ref>{{cite news |title=Viewers still in Letterman's corner |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/07/letterman.show.ratings/index.html |access-date=1 September 2022 |publisher=CNN|quote="Is this David Letterman's Hugh Grant moment?" In 1995, Jay Leno pulled ahead of Letterman in ratings thanks to his much-watched "What were you thinking?" interview with a contrite Hugh Grant.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Hugh-man interest lifts 'Leno' rating|last=Lowry|page=5|first=Brian|work=Variety|date=12 July 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Grant confesses: No excuse for escapade |author=Kitty Bean Yancey, Jeannie Williams|page=1D|work=USA Today|date=11 July 1995}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/HughGrant/|title=Nine Months star Hugh Grant runs talk show gauntlet|publisher=CNN|date=11 July 1995|access-date=24 February 2007}}</ref>

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".<ref>{{cite news|title=Hugh Grant Declines Interviewer's Invitation to Probe His Psyche|agency=Associated Press|date=12 July 1995}}</ref> He told the host: "I don't have excuses."<ref>{{cite episode|title=Hugh Grant Talks About His Arrest|series=Larry King Live|series-link=Larry King Live|credits=Interviewer: Larry King|network=CNN|air-date=12 July 1995}}</ref> [[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."<ref name="honesty" /> Radio host [[Scott Shannon]] said, "He went ahead and faced the music and handled it with tongue [in] cheek."<ref name="honesty">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/HughGrant/|title=Hugh Grant finds "honesty" best policy|publisher=CNN|date=17 July 1995|access-date=24 February 2007}}</ref>

In April 2007, he was arrested on allegations of assault made by [[Paparazzi|paparazzo]] Ian Whittaker.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6595297.stm|title=Hugh Grant arrested over 'attack'|publisher=BBC|access-date=1 October 2007|date=26 April 2007}}</ref> Grant made no official statement and did not comment on the incident.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSL2652442420070426|title=Hugh Grant arrested over "baked beans attack"|work=Reuters|access-date=26 April 2007|date=26 April 2007}}</ref> Charges were dropped on 1 June 2007 by the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] on the grounds of "insufficient evidence".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6714025.stm|title=No assault charges for Hugh Grant|publisher=BBC|date=1 June 2007|access-date=3 October 2007}}</ref>

=== Phone hacking exposé ===
{{Main| News International phone hacking scandal}}
In April 2011, Grant published an article in the ''[[New Statesman]]'' titled "The Bugger, Bugged"<ref name="NewStatesman" /> 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 [[Telephone tapping|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 with [[Rupert Murdoch]] 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 Brooks|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."<ref name="NewStatesman" />

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."<ref name="NewStatesman" />

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.<ref name="Guardian-2011-04-16" />

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]], culminating in his appearance on BBC television's ''[[Question Time (TV programme)|Question Time]]'' in July 2011.<ref name="guardian-2011-07-08" /> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ukscreen.com/articles/interviews/hugh-grant-prefers-politics-to-acting/|title=Hugh Grant prefers politics to acting|first=Husam Sam|last=Asi|date=8 March 2012|publisher= UKScreen.com|access-date=31 January 2014}}</ref>

On 5 February 2018, [[Reach plc|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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Moore|first1=Matthew|title=Mirror Group pays Hugh Grant six-figure sum for hacking|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/mirror-group-pays-hugh-grant-six-figure-sum-for-hacking-r372w2zt2|work=[[The Times]]|access-date=6 February 2018|date=6 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Evans|first1=Martin|title=Mirror Group pays damages to Hugh Grant after admitting a 'decade of unlawful intrusion'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/05/mirror-group-pays-damages-hugh-grant-admitting-decade-unlawful/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/05/mirror-group-pays-damages-hugh-grant-admitting-decade-unlawful/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=6 February 2018|date=5 February 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He donated the payout to the press campaign group ''[[Hacked Off]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gayle|first1=Damien|last2=Rawlinson|first2=Kevin|title=Mirror Group admits bosses 'turned blind eye' to phone hacking|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/feb/05/hugh-grant-wins-damages-from-mirror-phone-hacking-case|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=6 February 2018|date=5 February 2018}}</ref>

In April 2024 Grant announced that he had settled a case against the publisher of ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'', News Group Newspapers (NGN). In the case, Grant had claimed journalists employed by NGN had used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house. Grant said he "did not want to accept" the "enormous sum of money" he had been offered to settle—but that a trial was likely to prove "very expensive". Grant further stated that had he proceeded he would have faced a bill of up to £10 million even if he had won the case. NGN denied the claims against it.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 April 2024 |title=Hugh Grant settles privacy case against Sun publisher |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68834392 |access-date=17 April 2024 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
=== Relationships ===
[[File:Elizabeth Hurley08.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Elizabeth Hurley]] (pictured in 2008) was in a much publicised relationship with Grant between 1987 and 2000.]]

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]].<ref name="runaway bachelor"/> He began dating Hurley during filming and their relationship was subsequently the subject of much media attention.<ref name="Burly">{{cite news|title=Grant leaves girlfriend to face hurly-burly|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/grant-leaves-girlfriend-to-face-hurly-burly-1588798.html|work=[[The Independent]]|date=22 November 2015|access-date=31 August 2017|archive-date=2 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902235043/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/grant-leaves-girlfriend-to-face-hurly-burly-1588798.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Media">{{cite news|title=Hurley and Grant fend off media|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/762132.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=22 November 2016}}</ref> While dating Hurley, Grant gained international notoriety for soliciting the services of prostitute [[Estella Marie Thompson|Divine Brown]], in 1995. They separated in May 2000.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley Announce Split |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=APAB&p_theme=apab&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=Hugh%20Grant%20and%20Elizabeth%20Hurley%20announce%20split&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22Hugh%20Grant%22%20and%20%22Elizabeth%20Hurley%20announce%20split%22)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413142117/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=APAB&p_theme=apab&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=Hugh%20Grant%20and%20Elizabeth%20Hurley%20announce%20split&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22Hugh%20Grant%22%20and%20%22Elizabeth%20Hurley%20announce%20split%22)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |archive-date=13 April 2012 |url-status=dead |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=23 May 2000 |access-date=27 July 2024}}</ref> Grant is godfather to Hurley's son [[Damian Hurley|Damian]], born in 2002.<ref>{{cite news|agency=ANI|title=Liz Hurley's son finally permitted to watch godfather Hugh Grant's movie|url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/liz-hurleys-son-finally-permitted-watch-godfather-hugh-132513227.html|publisher=[[Yahoo! News]] |date=24 March 2012|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref>

Grant has five children with two women. In September 2011, he had a daughter with Tinglan Hong, who was variously misreported in the press as a receptionist at a Chinese restaurant in London or a Chinese actress.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/mar/16/hugh-grant-hacking-pirates-film|title=Hugh Grant: 'I love getting into a taxi and saying House of Lords instead of Soho – again'|work=The Guardian|date=16 March 2012|access-date=19 March 2012|first=Decca|last=Aitkenhead}}</ref><ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/nov/23/hugh-grant-leveson-inquiry-supplemental-statement|work=The Guardian|title=Hugh Grant's supplemental witness statement to the Leveson inquiry|date=23 November 2011|access-date=23 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Grant wooed in Chinese restaurant|url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/grant-wooed-in-chinese-restaurant/story-e6frfmq9-1226187153546|work=news.com.au|date=7 November 2011|access-date=29 June 2014|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006111757/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/grant-wooed-in-chinese-restaurant/story-e6frfmq9-1226187153546|url-status=dead}}</ref> His daughter's Chinese name is Jing Xi (驚喜), meaning "happy surprise".<ref>{{cite episode|title=Hugh Grant on being a dad|series=The Ellen DeGeneres Show|air-date=26 April 2012|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDQv5SZU5eM| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211116/RDQv5SZU5eM| archive-date=16 November 2021 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref><!--spam filter blocked this useful citation: {{cite web|url=http://www.justjared.com/2012/04/27/hugh-grant-reveals-daughters-chinese-name/|title=Hugh Grant Reveals Daughter's Chinese Name|publisher=Just Jared|date=27 April 2012|access-date=29 April 2012}}--> Grant and Hong had a "fleeting affair", according to his publicist.<ref name="The Guardian"/> In 2012, he stated that Hong had 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.<ref name="guardian"/>

In September 2012, Grant's second child, a son, was born to Swedish television producer Anna Eberstein. Later, Grant reunited briefly with Hong, and she gave birth to Grant's third child, a son, in December 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/9875027/Hugh-Grant-thrilled-with-his-new-baby-boy.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/9875027/Hugh-Grant-thrilled-with-his-new-baby-boy.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Hugh Grant 'thrilled' with his new baby boy|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=16 February 2013|access-date=16 February 2013|first=Roya|last=Nikkhah}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/hugh-grant-breaks-silence-on-love-child-with-anna-eberstein-2014129|title=Hugh Grant Breaks Silence on His Love Child With Anna Eberstein: 'I Love Him Very Much'|date=12 September 2014|work=[[Us Weekly]]|first=Esther|last=Lee|quote=The actor is also a dad to two other kids: daughter Tabitha, 3, and son Felix, 21 months, with Tinglan Hong}}</ref>

Grant's daughters with Eberstein were born in December 2015<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.st.nu/medelpad/sundsvall/nu-kan-anna-fran-sundsvall-fira-ny-babylycka-med-hugh-grant|title=Nu kan Anna från Sundsvall fira ny babylycka med Hugh Grant / Now Anna from Sundsvall celebrates new baby happiness with Hugh Grant|date=20 December 2015|work=Sundsvalls Tidning|access-date=22 December 2015|quote=Anna Ebersteins mamma Susanne Eberstein, socialdemokratisk riksdagsledamot, som bor i Sundsvall bekräftar att de fått ytterligare ett barn. / Anna Eberstein's mother Susanne Eberstein, a Social Democratic member of parliament, who lives in Sundsvall, confirmed that they had another child.|archive-date=23 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223065118/http://www.st.nu/medelpad/sundsvall/nu-kan-anna-fran-sundsvall-fira-ny-babylycka-med-hugh-grant|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.growingyourbaby.com/hugh-grant-and-anna-eberstein-get-married-in-london/hugh-grant-and-anna-eberstein-get-married-in-london/|title=Hugh Grant and Anna Eberstein get married in London
|date=25 May 2018|work=Growing your baby|quote= Their daughter, who was born in December 2015, was in Anna's arms as they left the ceremony.}}</ref> and March 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-44196615|title=Hugh Grant to marry for the first time|date=21 May 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=21 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/hugh-grant-wife-anna-eberstein-b1868545.html|title=Hugh Grant sets right internet claim he married wife Anna Eberstein for 'passport reasons'|date=18 June 2021|website=The Independent}}</ref> He and Eberstein married on 25 May 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a34465169/who-is-anna-eberstein-hugh-grant-wife/|title=Hugh Grant Clapped Back at Rumors That He Married Anna Eberstein for "Passport Reasons"|date=1 July 2021|website=Marie Claire Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/05/25/hugh-grant-anna-eberstein-marriage/647052002/|title=Newlywed Hugh Grant steps out publicly with wife Anna Eberstein after private wedding|first=Bryan|last=Alexander|website=USA TODAY}}</ref>

===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."<ref>Emma Griffiths, [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-14964379 Hugh Grant reverts to type to charm Lib Dems] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104191240/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-14964379|date=4 January 2016}}, BBC News (18 September 2011).</ref>

In the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]], Grant expressed support for Liberal Democrat MP [[Danny Alexander]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/celebrity/hugh-grant-backing-danny-alexander-in-election-1-3759629|title=Hugh Grant backing Danny Alexander in election|date=30 April 2015|access-date=3 May 2015|work=The Scotsman}}</ref> and later hosted a dinner for the Liberal Democrats, in which he met the winner of a draw of donors to the Liberal Democrats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libdemvoice.org/fancy-a-chance-of-dinner-with-hugh-grant-just-donate-to-lib-dems-before-monday-evening-45721.html|title=Fancy a chance of dinner with Hugh Grant? Just donate to Lib Dems before Monday evening|first=Caron|last=Lindsay|website=Liberal Democrat Voice|date=2 May 2015|access-date=3 May 2015|archive-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504143548/http://www.libdemvoice.org/fancy-a-chance-of-dinner-with-hugh-grant-just-donate-to-lib-dems-before-monday-evening-45721.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Express">[https://www.expressandstar.com/election/2015/05/04/tom-watson-should-be-prime-minister-says-hugh-grant/ Tom Watson should be Prime Minister, says Hugh Grant] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304132440/http://www.expressandstar.com/election/2015/05/04/tom-watson-should-be-prime-minister-says-hugh-grant/|date=4 March 2016}}, ''Express & Star'' (4 May 2015).</ref> In an email sent by former Liberal Democrat leader [[Paddy Ashdown]], Grant wrote: "I am not a Lib Dem, a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Tory]], a Labourite or anything in particular but I recognise political guts."<ref name="Express"/> In the 2015 election, he endorsed two Labour candidates: [[Tom Watson, Baron Watson of Wyre Forest|Tom Watson]]<ref name="Express"/> and his former agent, [[Michael Foster (agent)|Michael Foster]].<ref>Katy Forrester, [https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/hugh-grant-jokes-seeing-former-5609939 Hugh Grant jokes about seeing his former agent in the BATH in hilarious video for Labour MP candidate] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309183735/http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/hugh-grant-jokes-seeing-former-5609939|date=9 March 2016}}, ''Mirror'' (20 April 2015).</ref>

During the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]] Grant campaigned for [[Strategic voting|tactical voting]] to stop a Conservative majority and [[Brexit]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/dec/02/hugh-grant-i-want-to-do-my-bit-to-prevent-a-national-catastrophe|title=Hugh Grant: 'I want to do my bit to prevent a national catastrophe'|last=Walker|first=Peter |date=2 December 2019|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref> He was seen canvassing with Liberal Democrats candidates,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Speare-Cole |first1=Rebecca |title=General election 2019 latest: Hugh Grant canvasses with Lib Dem supporters to unseat Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/general-election-2019-latest-hugh-grant-canvasses-with-lib-dem-supporters-to-unseat-foreign-a4307741.html |access-date=26 January 2020 |work=[[Evening Standard]] |date=7 December 2019}}</ref> Labour candidates,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/hugh-grant-heckled-by-antiracism-protesters-as-he-campaigns-for-labour-in-northeast-london-a4305146.html|title=Hugh Grant heckled as he campaigns for Labour in north-east London|date=4 December 2019|website=Evening Standard|language=en|access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ikonen |first1=Charlotte |title=General Election: Hugh Grant joins Labour in Crawley |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/18097541.general-election-hugh-grant-joins-labour-crawley/ |access-date=26 January 2020 |work=[[The Argus (Brighton)|The Argus]] |date=12 December 2019}}</ref> and independent [[Dominic Grieve]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/hugh-grant-lib-dem-campaigning-luciana-berger-a4301746.html|title=Hugh Grant surprises voters by door-knocking with Lib Dem candidate|date=2 December 2019|website=Evening Standard|language=en|access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref>

In the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]], Grant publicly endorsed [[Carla Denyer]], co-leader of the [[Green Party of England and Wales]], for the newly established [[Bristol Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Bristol Central]] seat. Grant stated that Denyer was "a politician with integrity, who puts the public first".<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1795538637762998386 |user=HackedOffHugh |title=a politician with integrity, who puts the public first}}</ref>

=== Sport ===
[[File:Hugh Grant Dunhill 2007 crop.jpg|thumb|upright|Grant during the [[Alfred Dunhill Links Championship]], October 2007]]
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]]. He continued to play in a Sunday-morning football league in south-west London after college and remains an "impassioned Fulham supporter".<ref name="sports profile">{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Philip|title=Fulham and golf top bill in Grant's off-screen life|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2398868/Fulham-and-golf-top-bill-in-Grant%27s-off-screen-life.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206194311/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2398868/Fulham-and-golf-top-bill-in-Grant%27s-off-screen-life.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 December 2008|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=30 March 2003|access-date=14 September 2007}}</ref> He is also a supporter of Italian club [[Como 1907|Como]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ferrini |first=David |title=Andrew Garfield And Hugh Grant Become The Latest Serie A-Listers |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidferrini/2024/10/22/andrew-garfield-and-hugh-grant-become-the-latest-serie-a-listers/ |access-date=7 December 2024 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> His other interests include tennis<ref>{{cite news|title=Up Close and Personal|pages=A10–12|work=Variety|date=16 December 2002}}</ref> and snooker.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bornrich.com/hugh-grant.html|title=Hugh Grant biography, net worth, quotes, wiki, assets, cars, homes and more|work=Born Rich|access-date=13 October 2013|archive-date=3 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003174244/http://www.bornrich.com/hugh-grant.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

In 2011, the [[BBC]] 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".<ref>{{cite web|title=BBC apologises for Hugh Grant's gay rugby comment|url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/03/14/bbc-apologises-for-hugh-grants-gay-rugby-comment/|work=Pink News|date=14 March 2011|access-date=14 March 2011}}</ref>

=== Relationships with co-stars ===
In 2018, Grant mentioned the on-set tension that he and [[Robert Downey Jr.]] had, stating: "He [Downey] hated me. He took one look at me and wanted to kill me. I was so hurt."<ref name="JessCagleInterview">{{cite web |url=https://www.peopleewnetwork.com/video/hugh-grant-c21a69e8-c4e9-426e-b6a5-05d9010d9cdb |title=The Jess Cagle Interview: Hugh Grant |publisher=PeopleTV |first=Jess |last=Cagle |date=January 2018 |access-date=3 April 2018 |archive-date=4 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404134521/https://www.peopleewnetwork.com/video/hugh-grant-c21a69e8-c4e9-426e-b6a5-05d9010d9cdb |url-status=dead}}</ref> After Grant confirmed their decades-long feud, Downey went on Twitter to publicly make amends with him, to which Grant agreed.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/robert-downey-jr-kill-hugh-grant_us_5a58b2fde4b02cebbfdb02ff |title=Robert Downey Jr. Responds To Claim He 'Wanted To Kill' Hugh Grant |first=Carly |last=Ledbetter |date=12 January 2018 |newspaper=[[The Huffington Post]] |access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref>

In addition to the confirmation, Grant also said that he and [[Drew Barrymore]] did not get along during production of ''[[Music and 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."<ref name="JessCagleInterview"/> 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]].<ref name="AboutAMan">{{cite web|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a10746/hugh-grant-interview/|title=Hugh Grant: About A Man|first=Holly|last=Millea|date=15 December 2009|work=[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]]|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> 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'".<ref>''[[The Graham Norton Show]]''. Episode dated 15 April 2016.</ref> He is now 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]],<ref name="AboutAMan" /> [[Emma Thompson]], and [[Meryl Streep]], who co-starred with him in ''[[Florence Foster Jenkins (film)|Florence Foster Jenkins]]'' and was "a genius" according to Grant. He referred to his ''[[Bridget Jones's Diary (film)|Bridget Jones's Diary]]'' co-star [[Renée Zellweger]] as "delightful".<ref name="JessCagleInterview"/>

=== Philanthropy ===
Grant is a patron of the [[DIPEx Charity]], which operates the website Healthtalkonline.<ref>Amanda Williams, [http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9043241.Docs_honoured_in_UK_health_awards/ Docs honoured in UK health awards] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214804/http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9043241.Docs_honoured_in_UK_health_awards/|date=3 March 2016}} (24 May 2011), ''Oxford Mail''.</ref><ref>[http://www.bipolar-foundation.org/2010/hugh-grant-backs-bipolar-disorder-experience-website/ Hugh Grant Backs Bipolar Disorder Experience Website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064425/http://www.bipolar-foundation.org/2010/hugh-grant-backs-bipolar-disorder-experience-website/|date=4 March 2016}}, Equilibrium: The Bipolar Foundation (13 January 2010).</ref><ref>Fiona Barr, [Patient experience pioneer dies], DigitalHealth.net (31 May 2011).</ref> 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]].<ref>[http://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/actor-hugh-grant-drops-into-fave-a83900/ Actor Hugh Grant drops into Faversham to support Fynvola Foundation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042824/http://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/actor-hugh-grant-drops-into-fave-a83900/|date=4 March 2016}}, Kent Online (28 June 2010).</ref>

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.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3353553/Hugh-Grant-backs-Marie-Curie-Cancer-Care-appeal-in-his-mothers-memory.html Hugh Grant backs Marie Curie Cancer Care appeal in his mother's memory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104191239/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3353553/Hugh-Grant-backs-Marie-Curie-Cancer-Care-appeal-in-his-mothers-memory.html|date=4 January 2016}}, ''Telegraph'' (25 February 2008).</ref><ref>[http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/4103711.Hugh_Grant_backs_Wiltshire_Daffodil_Appeal/ Hugh Grant backs Wiltshire Daffodil Appeal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062816/http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/4103711.Hugh_Grant_backs_Wiltshire_Daffodil_Appeal/|date=4 March 2016}}, ''Gazette & Herald'' (8 February 2009).</ref><ref>[Hugh Grant in video plea for Marie Curie fund], ''Bolton News'' (9 March 2010).</ref> He is also a patron of [[Pancreatic Cancer Action]].<ref>Mary Elizabeth Williams, [https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/pancreatic-cancer-action-charity-should-realise-that-the-disease-is-not-a-competition-9113135.html Pancreatic Cancer Action charity should realise that the disease is not a competition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305004029/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/pancreatic-cancer-action-charity-should-realise-that-the-disease-is-not-a-competition-9113135.html|date=5 March 2016}}, ''Independent'' (6 February 2014).</ref><ref>[http://www.pressat.co.uk/releases/hugh-grant-holds-a-purple-p-to-show-his-support-for-pancreatic-cancer-awareness-month-a36db02704dc208880fe76ec29f6c4c6/ Hugh Grant holds a purple P to show his support for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429233001/http://www.pressat.co.uk/releases/hugh-grant-holds-a-purple-p-to-show-his-support-for-pancreatic-cancer-awareness-month-a36db02704dc208880fe76ec29f6c4c6/|date=29 April 2016}} (press release), Pancreatic Cancer Action (7 November 2013).</ref>

In December 2023, Grant worked with [[Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council|Hammersmith and Fulham Council]] to support their annual ''Big H&F Christmas Day Lunch'', with Grant spending Christmas Day serving [[Christmas dinner]] to elderly residents who might otherwise spend Christmas alone, and be at risk of [[social isolation]] and [[loneliness]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thecareruk.com/hugh-grant-spreads-festive-cheer-serving-christmas-lunch-to-elderly-residents/|title=Hugh Grant "Spreads Festive Cheer" Serving Christmas Lunch to Elderly Residents|date=29 December 2023|work=The Carer|accessdate=30 December 2023}}</ref>

===Investments===
In 2001 Grant bought the print "Liz" by [[Andy Warhol]] for £2m. He sold it in 2007 for £13m.<ref name="Warhol">{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Jonathan |date=14 December 2009 |title=How Hugh Grant got drunk. And bought a Warhol |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2009/dec/14/hugh-grant-andy-warhol |access-date=18 December 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{subject bar|auto=y|d=y}}
* {{IMDb name|424}}
* {{Screenonline name|481336}}
* {{Charlie Rose view|1745}}
* {{Guardian topic}}
* {{NYTtopic|people/g/hugh_grant}}, and in [https://web.archive.org/web/20071017232618/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/28225/Hugh-Grant NYT Movies]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0093pp9 Hugh Grant] interview on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', 21 April 1995
* [https://soundcloud.com/sonia-epstein/david-schwartz-and-hugh-grant-discuss-florence-foster-jenkins Hugh Grant] interview at [[Museum of the Moving Image (New York City)|Museum of the Moving Image]] about ''[[Florence Foster Jenkins (film)|Florence Foster Jenkins]]''

{{Navboxes
|title = [[List of awards and nominations received by Hugh Grant|Awards for Hugh Grant]]
|list =
{{BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role}}
{{British Film Institute Fellowship}}
{{BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards}}
{{Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Villain in a Movie}}
{{Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy}}
{{Honorary César}}
{{London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year}}
{{London Film Critics Circle Award for Supporting Actor of the Year}}
{{Volpi Cup for Best Actor}}
}}
{{2011 News Corporation scandal}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Hugh}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hounslow]]
[[Category:Alumni of New College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Audiobook narrators]]
[[Category:Best Actor BAFTA Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners]]
[[Category:César Honorary Award recipients]]
[[Category:English film producers]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:English male voice actors]]
[[Category:English people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:People associated with the News International phone hacking scandal]]
[[Category:People educated at Latymer Upper School]]
[[Category:People from Chiswick]]
[[Category:People from Hammersmith]]
[[Category:Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners]]