Hugh Grant

Birth name
Hugh John Mungo Grant
Born
September 9, 1960 (1960-09-09) (age 47)
Hammersmith, London, England
Awards
BAFTA Awards
Best Actor
1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral
César Awards
Honorary César
2006 Lifetime Achievement
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy
1995 Four Weddings and a Funeral
Hugh John Mungo Grant[1] (born September 9, 1960) is a Golden Globe-winning English actor.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life
- 1.2 Career
- 1.3 Personal life
- 2 Filmography
- 2.1 Film
- 2.2 Television
- 2.3 Direct to Video Movies
- 3 See also
- 4 References
- 5 External links
//
Biography
Early life
Grant was born in Hammersmith, London, England to Fynvola Susan (née MacLean),[2] a teacher, and James Murray Grant, an aspiring artist and carpet salesman who ran a carpet firm.[3] He has an older brother, James. Grant's Scottish great-great-grandfather, Dr. James Stewart, was an assistant to explorer David Livingstone and Grant is also related to William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan.[1] Grant attended Wetherby School, Latymer Upper School, and - on scholarship - New College, Oxford, where he studied English and was a member of the Piers Gaveston Society, a notorious dining club. Before his finals at Oxford, he was set to do a PhD in the History of Art at the Courtauld Institute but could not follow through as he failed to attain a first class degree required to win the grant for his doctoral studies.[4]. As a child, he was taught the piano by Andrew Lloyd Webber's mother.
Career
Grant made his film debut (as "Hughie Grant") in 1982 with the Oxford-financed Privileged. Television roles came later in 1985. He played a leading role in the Merchant-Ivory film Maurice in 1987 for which he won the Best Actor award (tied with his co-star James Wilby) at the Venice Film Festival. He then appeared in the 1988 Ken Russell film The Lair of the White Worm, and in 1991, he starred in the film Impromptu as Frédéric Chopin opposite Judy Davis (as George Sand) and Julian Sands (as Franz Liszt). He also played a major role in The Remains of the Day (1993) and simultaneously became known as the partner of model/actress Elizabeth Hurley, whom he had been dating since at least 1987. However, it was Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) which turned him into a major star.
The following year was an extremely busy one for Grant. He co-starred with Alan Rickman in An Awfully Big Adventure, partnered Julianne Moore in Nine Months, was the object of Emma Thompson's affection in Sense and Sensibility and appeared in the period piece Restoration which also co-starred Meg Ryan, Ian McKellen, Sam Neill and Robert Downey Jr. In the same year he appeared in The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain along with Ian McNeice, Tara Fitzgerald and Harry Kretchmer. He starred with Gene Hackman in the 1996 thriller Extreme Measures.
In 1999, he starred in Notting Hill opposite Julia Roberts (of which he told E! Online, "It's very weird to be kissing an icon."). He followed with successes in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), About a Boy (2002), and Two Weeks Notice (2002) opposite Sandra Bullock. He returned to frequent collaborator Richard Curtis for the 2003 romantic comedy, Love Actually and the 2004 sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. He also starred in American Dreamz (2006), a satire on reality TV shows. Most recently, Grant appeared with Drew Barrymore in Music and Lyrics, in which Grant demonstrated a passable gift for singing. Grant was offered the role of Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets film, but turned it down. He said that he later regretted this decision. On The Oprah Winfrey Show during promotions for Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, he revealed that the only movie out of his whole career that "does not make [him] cringe" is About A Boy.
Grant's most recent film is the romantic comedy film, Music and Lyrics. It is about an 80's pop star (Grant) who has to write lyrics for a newer artist. He is also in talks to star in the 2008 Disney animated film Hollywood Dog in which he plays a dog.
On the original soundtrack from Music and Lyrics, his singing voice can be heard on seven tracks - Pop Goes My Heart, Meaningless Kiss, Way Back Into Love (Demo Version) with Drew Barrymore, Dance With Me Tonight, Don't Write Me Off, Way Back Into Love with Haley Bennett, and Love Autopsy.[citation needed]
Personal life
Grant dated actress Elizabeth Hurley for many years , separating in 2000 (although they remain good friends) [5]. In 1995, while dating Hurley, he was arrested by vice squad officers in Hollywood for indecent conduct with a prostitute, Divine Brown, in a public place.[6] He offered an apology for this on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[7] He then began dating socialite and Unicef ambassador Jemima Khan, ex-wife of Imran Khan in 2004. In February 2007, Grant's publicist, Robert Garlock, confirmed reports that the two had mutually decided to end their relationship.[8]
In April 2007, Grant was arrested after he allegedly chased, kicked, and threw a can of baked beans at photographer Ian Whittaker and cursed the photographer's children with cancer.[9][10] Charges were dropped on June 2.[11]
Grant now has an estimated net worth of $255 million.
Filmography
Film
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1982
Privileged
Lord Adrian
1987
White Mischief
Hugh
Maurice
Clive Durham
1988
The Bengali Night
Allan
The Dawning
Harry
Nocturnes
Chopin
The Lair of the White Worm
Lord James D'Ampton
Remando al Viento
Lord Byron
1990
The Big Man
Gordon
1991
Impromptu
Frederic Chopin
1992
Bitter Moon
Nigel
1993
Night Train to Venice
Martin Gamil
The Remains of the Day
Reginald Cardinal
1994
Sirens
Anthony Campion
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Charles
1995
An Awfully Big Adventure
Meredith Potter
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain
Reginald Anson
Nine Months
Samuel Faulkner
Sense and Sensibility
Edward Ferrars
Restoration
Elias Finn
1996
Extreme Measures
Dr. Guy Luthan
1999
Notting Hill
William Thacker
Mickey Blue Eyes
Michael Felgate
2000
Small Time Crooks
David
2001
Bridget Jones's Diary
Daniel Cleaver
2002
About a Boy
Will
Two Weeks Notice
George Wade
2003
Love Actually
The Prime Minister
2004
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Daniel Cleaver
2005
Travaux, on sait quand ça commence...
Le nouveau voisin
2006
American Dreamz
Martin Tweed
2007
Music and Lyrics
Alex Fletcher
Television
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1985
The Last Place on Earth
Apsley Cherry-Garrard
TV Series
The Detective
Andrew Blackenall
TV Series
Jenny's War
Peter Baines
TV Film
Honour, Profit and Pleasure
Burlington
TV Film
1986
A Very Peculiar Practice
Preacher Colin
TV Series
Ladies in Charge
Gerald Boughton-Green
TV Series
The Demon Lover
Robert Drover
TV Film
Lord Elgin and Some Stones of No Value
William Hamilton/James
TV Film
1989
The Lady and the Highwayman
Lord Lucius Vyne
TV Film
Champagne Charlie
Charles Heidsieck
TV Film
Till We Meet Again
Bruno de Lancel
TV Series
1991
Our Sons
James
TV Film
The Trials of Oz
Richard Neville
TV Film
1992
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales
Sebastian
TV Series
1994
The Changeling
Alsemero
TV Film
1999
Hooves of Fire
Blitzen (voice)
TV Film
2002
Legend of the Lost Tribe
Blitzen (voice)
TV Film
Direct to Video Movies
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1999
Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death
The (Handsome) 12th Doctor
See also
- Working Title Films - production company behind many of Grant's best-known films.
References
^ a b Greenaway, Heather. "HUGH'S WHO", Sunday Mail, 2005-12-18. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
^ Person Page 18289. thePeerage.com (2007-04-14). Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
^ Goodridge, Mike. "Hugh Grant gets his groove back", ThisIsLondon, 2007-01-02. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
^ Mentioned on a televised interview on "Inside the Actor's Studio" with James Lipton
^ http://observer.guardian.co.uk/7days/story/0,,2067915,00.html
^ Hiscock, John. "Hugh Grant on prostitute charge", Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
^ Brozan, Nadine. "Chronicle", The New York Times, 1995-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
^ "Hugh Grant and Jemima Khan Split Up", people.com, 2007-02-16. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
^ "Hugh Grant geht mit Bohnen auf Fotografen los", Der Spiegel. Retrieved on 2007-04-26. (German)
^ "Hugh Grant arrested over "baked beans attack"", Reuters. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
^ "Hugh Grant won't face "baked bean attack" charge", Reuters. Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
External links
- Hugh Grant at the Internet Movie Database
- Biography
- The BBC's report on the Elton John dinner auction
- E! Online interview
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