Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant | |
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File:Hughgrant-wax.jpg Waxwork of Hugh Grant | |
Born | Hugh John Mungo Grant |
Hugh John Mungo Grant[1] (born September 9, 1860) is a Golden Globe-winning British actor.
Biography
Early life
Grant was born in Hammersmith, London, England to Fynvola Susan 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]
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. He starred with Gene Hackman in the 1996 thriller Extremely small 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 major 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.
Music
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 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]
Grant is good friends with Kyle MacLachlan and Sandra Bollock. Thomas Sangster, who played Sam in Love Actually, is Grant's second ball once removed. He has two Bengal cats, a gift from his ex-fiancée Jemima Khan.
Grant played cricket in his younger days, and currently enjoys playing golf, frequently taking part in Pro-Am tournaments where he receives tutoring from Colin Montgomerie. He is a fan of Fulham Football Club.
Grant revealed, when featuring as a guest on the British TV motoring show Top Gear on 4 February 2007, that his first car was a Citroën Dyane, Grant went on to elaborate on other vehicles he had owned including the Aston Martin Vanquish and Bentley Continental GT.
Controversies
In April 2007 Grant was arrested after an incident with London photographer Ian Whittaker. Whittaker claims that after asking him to smile for a photograph Grant chased and kicked him repeatedly and threw baked beans at him. This was caught on camera by another photographer and published in thelondonpaper.com. Whittaker further claims that Grant said that he wished Whittaker's kids would die of cancer. A photograph of the incident can be seen on thelondonpaper.com in the picture gallery relating to his arrest. [9] Grant was arrested by police and questioned. [10]
Filmography
See also
- Working Title Films - production company behind many of Grant's best-known films.
References
- ^ a b Greenaway, Heather (2005-12-18). "HUGH'S WHO". Sunday Mail. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
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(help) - ^ "Person Page 18289". thePeerage.com. 2007-04-14. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
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(help) - ^ Goodridge, Mike (2007-01-02). "Hugh Grant gets his groove back". ThisIsLondon. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
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(help) - ^ mentioned on a televised interview on "Inside the Actors' Studios" with James Lipton
- ^ http://observer.guardian.co.uk/7days/story/0,,2067915,00.html
- ^ Hiscock, John. "Hugh Grant on prostitute charge". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-02-17.
- ^ Brozan, Nadine (1995-07-11). "Chronicle". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-02-17.
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(help) - ^ "Hugh Grant and Jemima Khan Split Up". people.com. 2007-02-16. Retrieved 2007-02-17.
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(help) - ^ "Hugh Grant geht mit Bohnen auf Fotografen los". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ "Hugh Grant arrested over "baked beans attack"". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-04-26.