Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant
Grant in 2014
Born
Hugh John Mungo Grant

(1960-09-09) 9 September 1960 (age 63)
Alma materNew College, Oxford
OccupationActor
Years active1982–present
WorksFull list
Spouse
Anna Elisabet Eberstein
(m. 2018)
PartnerElizabeth Hurley (1987–2000)
Children5
RelativesRick Cosnett (cousin)[1]
Signature

Hugh John Mungo Grant[2][3] (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.[4] Hallmarks of Grant's comic skills include a nonchalant touch of sarcasm and characteristic physical mannerisms.[5] Among his accolades, he has received a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Honorary César. As of 2018, his films had grossed a total of nearly US$3 billion worldwide.[6] In 2022, Time Out magazine listed Grant as one of Britain's 50 greatest actors of all time.[7]

Grant first received attention for his roles in acclaimed period dramas such as Maurice (1987), for which he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, The Remains of the Day (1993) and Sense and Sensibility (1995). Grant emerged as a star with Richard Curtis's romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994),[8] for which he won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He starred in further romantic comedies such as Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and its 2004 sequel, About a Boy (2002), Two Weeks Notice (2002), Love Actually (2003), and Music and Lyrics (2007).

During the 2010s, Grant began to take against-type parts, starting with multiple roles in The Wachowskis' science fiction film Cloud Atlas (2012). He received critical acclaim for his roles in Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) and Paddington 2 (2017), receiving two nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.[9][10] He has also starred in Guy Ritchie's action films, including The Gentlemen (2019), and played an Oompa-Loompa in Wonka (2023). He took on television roles in the BBC miniseries A Very English Scandal (2018) and the HBO miniseries The Undoing (2020), earning two nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor.[11]

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.[12][13] He emerged as a prominent critic of the conduct of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation during the News International phone hacking scandal.[14][15][16]

  1. ^ Hernandez, Greg (29 June 2014). "Wednesday Morning Man: Rick Cosnett!". greginhollywood.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  2. ^ Turner, Mimi (21 November 2011). "Hugh Grant Accuses 'The Mail on Sunday' of Phone Hacking". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference SAG-AFTRA Foundation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference prince charming was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "British screen legends: Hugh Grant". BBC. 21 February 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference box office was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "50 Great British actors: the list". Time Out. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  8. ^ Sharon Knolle and Liza Foreman (16 December 2002). "Scribe's alter ego evolves on celluloid". Variety. p. A8.
  9. ^ "Hugh Grant Is Vanity-Free in Latest Performance". The Hollywood Reporter. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Excellence Pursued in 'Paddington 2'". The New York Times. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Hugh Grant has the role of his life as Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal". New Statesman. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  12. ^ MacSweeney, Eve (1 February 2007). "Reluctant Romeo". Vogue. pp. 232–237. ISSN 0042-8000. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  13. ^ Parker, Eloise (3 February 2007). "Why Grant's so grumpy". Daily Post. p. 13.
  14. ^ Hugh Grant (12 April 2011). "The bugger, bugged". New Statesman.
  15. ^ Benedictus, Leo; Long, Josie (16 April 2011). "From Stephen Fry to Hugh Grant: The rise of the celebrity activist". The Guardian.
  16. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (8 July 2011). "Hugh Grant's best role yet – scourge of News International". The Guardian.