Hugh Grant has landed truly iconic roles over the years, including some classic rom-coms, but there’s one part in particular that he really can’t stand.
The 64-year-old is most known for his stints in Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral and the Bridget Jones’s Diary franchise among many, many others.
He will also be making another appearance as Daniel Cleaver in the upcoming Mad About The Boy sequel.
However, unpacking his impressive resume in a new interview with Vanity Fair, the Heretic actor took aim at his character in 1999 rom-com Notting Hill, branding the fictional William Thacker ‘despicable’.
‘Whenever I’m flicking the channels at home after a few drinks and this comes up, I just think, “Why doesn’t my character have any balls?”’ he declared.
‘There’s a scene in this film where she’s [Anna] in my house, and the paps come to the front door and ring the bell. I think I just let her go past me and open the door. That’s awful.
‘I’ve never had a girlfriend – or indeed now wife – who hasn’t said, “Why the hell didn’t you stop her? What’s wrong with you?” And I don’t really have an answer to that.
‘It’s how it was written. And I think he’s despicable, really.’
In Notting Hill, penned by Richard Curtis, Julia Roberts starred as Hollywood actress Anna Scott, who stumbled upon a book shop owned by bumbling William (Hugh), before they embarked on a whirlwind romance.
As their relationship took a dive, she famously uttered the words: ‘I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her’.
Rhys Ifans, Hugh Bonneville, Emma Chambers and Gina McKee also made up the cast, while Roger Mitchell served as director.
Although Hugh wasn’t thrilled about his own character, he had nothing but praise for his electric co-star, adding: ‘Probably all the time with Julia, as with any brilliant actress, you’re just thinking, “Oh Christ, they’re really good. I’m not going to be as good as her.”
‘She’s great at emoting, and she’s got that quality where it looks like her skin is wafer thin. You can sort of see her soul.’
Julia previously reflected on the flick earlier this year in a chat with Richard for British Vogue, and admitted that she almost rejected the offer entirely as she was ‘so uncomfortable’ with the role.
‘Honestly, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was your movie, playing a movie actress. I was so uncomfortable,’ she said.
‘I mean, we’ve talked about this so many times, but I almost didn’t take the part because it just seemed – oh, it just seemed so awkward.
‘I didn’t even know how to play that person.’