For Hugh Grant, romantic comedies are “a gross lie”

Romantic comedies brought Hugh Grant fame and money, but the British actor says he finds them “a blatant lie.”

“The big question is whether this idea of ​​the fusion of a man and a woman, something that we all yearn for, is true, or a blatant lie,” Grant told reporters in Paris, where he presented his new film, “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among thieves”.

“I have the impression that it is a gross lie, despite the fact that I made a whole career and a fortune with it,” he admitted.

“Let’s see, how many really happy relationships do we know? Not many,” he explained.

“All those rom-coms I did… it would be really nice to do a sequel now, I’m sure it would start with the divorce and the lawyers,” he reflects.

As usual with the 62-year-old actor, the comments appear to be a classic example of British humour, but in a separate interview with AFP, Grant takes a more serious tone, reminiscing about his early days.

“I would have liked to have been more ambitious, to have had sharper nails,” he said.

“I think I was too apathetic. I could have tried harder things when I was very popular in Hollywood,” he told AFP.

“I could have made any movie I wanted… but really all I wanted to do was watch football,” he recalled.

Grant always cultivated that insecure personality. It was largely what he seduced in the 1990s, when “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Notting Hill” they raised him as the favorite British actor of the great public, all over the world.

Then there were gaffes, and a tendency to self-parody that sometimes causes more surprise than hilarity.

Last month Grant starred in an interview on the red carpet at the Oscars that caused perplexity.

But at the same time, the actor is at a sweet moment in his career, after the success of the series “The Undoing” with Nicole Kidman in 2021, where he played the role of an unfaithful husband. And now returning to the role of villain in “Paddington 2” and criminal in “Dungeons and Dragons”.

“Slimy villains suit me,” he assured with a grimace.

“I’m having a good time for the first time in the last six or seven years, now that I’m too old and ugly to be the hero,” he commented.

“Actually, that’s how it all started: playing stupid roles and voices. One fine day I found myself pigeonholed in leading roles for which deep down I didn’t think I was ready,” he acknowledged.

“It’s really hard to be the lead, the hero,” he insisted. “They pay you well, but it’s tough.”

Going on to play bad guy roles was not a thoughtful choice either. “They just knocked on my door,” she said.

“Because of social networks, fame has changed a lot since it was my turn,” he reflected.

“I always fantasized about being one of those mysterious stars from the 1930s and 1940s, when you never really knew what that person was really like,” he added.

“You could lie all you wanted, and the studio too. That would be my option: keep a little bit of a mystery, not open an Instagram account.”

“But it’s just my advice,” he settled.