Director Richard Curtis has recalled how he “fought against” the casting of Hugh Grant in Four Weddings And A Funeral as he thought the actor was “too posh and too handsome” for his movies.
Grant, 64, won a best acting Bafta in 1995 for Curtis’ romantic comedy, which saw him play clumsy English fop Charles, who seemed destined to always be the best man at weddings and never get married himself, until meeting an American named Carrie (Andie MacDowell).
Screenwriter and producer Curtis, also known for writing and directing About Time and The Boat That Rocked, told Radio Times: “Casting has always been a revelation from the start of my film career.
“When we did Four Weddings And A Funeral, I said, ‘Hugh Grant? Over my dead body!’. I thought he was too posh and too handsome for my movies.
“When he auditioned, he was much better than everybody else and I still fought against it.
“Then the first time we screened the movie I realised I was wrong; it turned out that he was the most important thing in the film.
“Now it’s such a joy to make a movie that doesn’t have him in it.”
He added: “Though he would have made a good villain.”
Curtis and Grant went on to work together for 1999’s popular romantic comedy Notting Hill, which starred Grant as London bookshop owner Will, who has a chance encounter with movie star Anna Scott, played by Hollywood A-lister Julia Roberts.
He also played the Prime Minister in Curtis’ romantic comedy Love Actually, released in 2003.
Grant has reprised his role as Daniel Cleaver for the upcoming Bridget Jones movie, adapted from Helen Fielding’s novel Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, which sees Bridget navigate life as a single mother after the death of her husband Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth.
Curtis’ most recent film is an animated movie called That Christmas, based on his own series of children’s books and featuring the voices of actors Bill Nighy, Brian Cox and Fiona Shaw, among others.
The movie, released to Netflix on Wednesday, follows a number of families as they prepare for Christmas and a carol concert before a wall of snow descends upon the town.
