Though he made his name playing the easygoing and somewhat befuddled Brit in several winning romantic comedies, actor Hugh Grant was a meticulous and often exacting performer, wary of celebrity while making sure to exercise full control over the roles he chose. After breaking through with the Merchant-Ivory adaptation of The Remains of the Day (1993), Grant became a star with his turn as a charming, but stammering Brit unlucky in love in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). But he became a household name not for any role he played, but because of one particularly embarrassing moment with a Hollywood prostitute that eradicated his somewhat wholesome image. A quickly forgiving public helped keep Grant in the spotlight, however, thanks to his performances in Nine Months (1995), Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Notting Hill (1999). While his high-profile and long-term relationship with actress and model Elizabeth Hurley may have ended in disappointment in 2000, Grants career hit new highs with Bridget Jones Diary (2001) and About a Boy (2002); the latter of which many felt was the best performance of his career. Though he seemingly went on autopilot for the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and the whimsical Music and Lyrics (2007), Grant managed to cement himself as the go-to leading man for interesting and amusing romantic comedies.
Born on Sept. 9, 1960 in London, England, Grant was raised by his father, James, a British Army officer who served with the Seaforth Highlanders who became a carpet salesman and successful artist, and his mother, Fynvola, a teacher of French, Latin and music. As a descendant of British royalty that included the 4th Viscount of Strathallan and the 1st Earl of Nottingham, Grant was afforded a rather comfortable upbringing, though he later admitted it was far from affluent. After beginning his education at the Hogarth Primary School, he attended the Latymer Upper School on scholarship, where he excelled in his studies and played rugby, soccer and cricket. Continuing his education, Grant earned a scholarship to attend the New College, Oxford, where he studied English literature while seeking a creative outlet in acting by joining the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Grant made his feature debut in Privileged (1982), a drama about a group of young undergraduates that was financed by the Oxford Film Foundation. After graduating Oxford with honors, he bounced around from odd job to odd job, working as a groundsman, tutor, sketch comedy writer and advertising copywriter.
Turning his creative outlet into a potential career, Grant joined the Nottingham Playhouse in order to obtain his Equity card, though he soon became bored playing small parts. To alleviate his ennui, Grant formed a comedy revue called The Jockeys of Norfolk and toured the local pub circuit. The troupe eventually became something of a hit after performing at the annual Edinburgh Festival. Meanwhile, he made his American television debut with a small role in Jennys War (syndicated, 1985), a two-part miniseries set during World War II about an American mother (Dyan Cannon) to a British pilot missing in Germany who sets off to find her son. He returned to features with a starring role in the Merchant-Ivory drama, Maurice (1987), playing the aristocratic and sexually ambiguous Clive Durham, who shocks his closer friend (James Wilby) by declaring his love for him. The part earned Grant considerable recognition, leading to roles in "Bengali Nights" (1988) and Ken Russell's vampire thriller "The Lair of the White Worm" (1988). That same year, he was featured in "The Dawning" with Anthony Hopkins and portrayed Lord Byron in "Rowing with the Wind," which marked the only film Grant made opposite longtime companion, actress and model Elizabeth Hurley.
With his career on the rise, Grant became choosier with his roles; eventually becoming downright notorious for his reluctance to embrace celebrity. After playing legendary composer Frederic Chopin opposite Judy Davis' George Sand in James Lapine's feature debut, "Impromptu" (1991), he was a prim and proper Brit married to a classically English woman (Kristen Scott-Thomas), both of whom become seduced into the debauched and sadistic lifestyle of a crippled American writer (Peter Coyote) and his French wife (Emmanuelle Seigner) in Roman Polanski's erotic thriller "Bitter Moon" (1992). Grant had his breakthrough role in "The Remains of the Day" (1993) opposite Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, playing the son of the dead Lord Darlington (James Fox). He next delivered an impressive turn as a somewhat repressed British minister at once disapproving of and besotted by the lifestyle of freethinking Australian artist Norman Lindsay (Sam Neill) and his beautiful nude models in the droll period comedy "Sirens" (1994). But it was the surprise comedy hit, "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994), that would turn Grant into a star. With an acclaimed performance as the most unlikely of romantic heroes, Grant exuded charm as the stammering, unlucky in love Brit who finally finds his match in Carrie (Andie MacDowell), an aloof but passionate American woman. Grants performance in the Mike Newell film enchanted audiences and critics; many of whom likened him to past witty and dashing cinematic leads like David Niven and Cary Grant.
Four Weddings and a Funeral flung open the doors to Hollywood, cementing Grant's image as an occasionally caddish, but imminently likeable screen personality. But as soon as he was enjoying his newfound success, the notoriously guarded actor faced scandalous public embarrassment just months before the release of his next film, Nine Months (1995). In June of that year, Grant was arrested along with Hollywood prostitute, Divine Brown, after a police officer became suspicious of him repeatedly applying the brakes of his BMW while parked on a side street off Sunset Boulevard. The officer discovered Brown performing oral sex on Grant and promptly arrested both, charging the actor with a misdemeanor for lewd conduct in a public place. After pleading no contest, he was fined a small amount, placed on two years probation and required to complete an AIDS education program. He even escaped serious damage from the public, though his mug shot was displayed on virtually every media outlet for several months. Grant emerged virtually unscathed, reportedly getting even more movie offers following the scandal. However, his beautiful model-turned-actress girlfriend Hurley was a different matter. British tabloid photographers caught the couple in a backyard screaming match over the humiliation. Meanwhile, the actor continued to win over many stateside with the heartfelt public apology given to Hurley and his family in a particularly uncomfortable, but courageous "Tonight Show" appearance, even squirming when host Jay Leno famously asked the question on everyone's mind" "What were you thinking?"
Despite being a moderately crude and uneven romantic comedy about a single man dealing with sudden fatherhood, "Nine Months" benefited at the box office from Grant's sudden notoriety. But the scandal did little to appease his critics, most of whom found the film formulaic and uninspired, but certainly interesting for its ironic arrest scene, which was trimmed following Grant's real life run-in with the law. More well received was his turn in the endearing comedy released just prior to his arrest, "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain" (1995), in which he played a map surveyor who deems a Welsh village's legendary mountain no more than a hill and is entwined in the town's ploys to build it up and have it remeasured. After reuniting with Mike Newell for "An Awfully Big Adventure" (1995), Grant closed out a busy year with a featured role in Ang Lee's superior take on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" (1995), co-starring as the charmingly unwitting heartbreaker Edward opposite Emma Thompsons refined Elinor. Though noted more for Thompsons Oscar-winning adaptation and the emergence of Kate Winslet as a bone fide star, Grant nonetheless held his own. Though if there was a weak link in the film, critics pointed figures in his directions, saying he looked the least comfortable in the starched period clothing; as if he might stutter and stammer his way through a scene.
Taking on a rare Hollywood-style role, Grant starred opposite Gene Hackman as doctors on opposite sides of a mortal ethical battle in the ho-hum psychological thriller, "Extreme Measures" (1996), the maiden outing of Simian Films, Grant and Hurley's joint production company. The film proved to be an unsuccessful venture, with audiences responding poorly to his dramatic role in the dark and disturbing film. Meanwhile, Grant disappeared from the screen for a time, but re-emerged with the charming romantic comedy "Notting Hill" (1999), in which he played a failed bookshop owner who enters a relationship with world famous film star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts). The film, written and produced by the team behind "Four Weddings and a Funeral," was a well-reviewed early summer hit and proved a victorious comeback for Grant who was back working his rom-com bread and butter. Next up was Simian Films' sophomore effort, the Mafia-themed comedy "Mickey Blue Eyes" (1999), starring Grant as an art dealer who finds that the father of his fianc
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