Hugh Grant

»	Hugh Grant

Hugh John Mungo Grant (born September 9, 1960) is a Golden Globe-winning British actor and film producer. Grant achieved international stardom after playing the alter ego of writer-director Richard Curtis in the sleeper hit Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). He used this breakthrough role as a frequent cinematic persona during the 1990s to deliver comic performances in mainstream films like Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) and Notting Hill (1999). With relatively sparse on-screen work as rogues and gentlemen, he established himself, by the turn of the 21st century, as a prominent leading man skilled with a satirical comic talent. In recent years, Grant has expanded his oeuvre with critically acclaimed turns as a cad in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), About A Boy (2002), and American Dreamz (2006).

Grant has been criticised by students of cinema for putting emphasis on nuanced mannerisms, for the predictability of his movies, and for his unwillingness to stretch as an actor. Within the film industry, he is cited as a movie star who approaches his roles like a character actor, with the ability to make acting look effortless. Hallmarks of his patented comic skills include a nonchalant touch of irony/sarcasm and studied physical mannerisms as well as his precisely-timed dialogue delivery and facial expressions.

Widespread media speculation about Grant’s reportedly very strong personality and life off the big screen has often overshadowed his work as a thespian. Over years of fame, he has been identified in popular culture as a figure of charisma, charm, sharp tongue, and wit, who is very vocal about his disrespect for the profession of acting and his disdain toward the culture of celebrity. He is equally infamous for his grumpiness, political incorrectness, hostilities with the media, and bad temper. In a career spanning 20 years, Hugh Grant has repeatedly claimed that acting is not a true calling but just a job he fell into, while his movies have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide.