Grant: I’m a nasty piece of work... and freeze when I hear ‘Action!’
HE IS one of Britain’s most successful film stars, known to millions after playing charming, debonair characters in box-office hits such as Four Weddings And A Funeral and Notting Hill.
But don’t expect Hugh Grant to be as endearing away from the big screen – in real life he’s a ‘nasty piece of work’. The 55-year-old makes the startling admission in a US magazine interview, and he also confesses that his career as one of Hollywood’s leading men has been hindered because he suffers crippling panic attacks.
Referring to his real-life persona, Grant tells the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly: ‘I get very annoyed when people think I’m nice or diffident or a polite English gentleman. I’m a nasty piece of work and people should know that.’
However, the news hasn’t stopped him being tipped for an Oscar for his latest role. In Florence Foster Jenkins, he stars as the husband of a New York socialite who dreams of becoming an opera singer.
Grant reveals that he was lured out of ‘retirement’ by the chance to appear alongside Hollywood legend Meryl Streep, who plays Florence.
And his return to work – with a reported hefty pay cheque – has had one pleasant side effect for the actor. He was spotted in London last week driving his latest possession – a Ferrari F12 TDF worth £340,000.
Grant’s ‘terror’ in front of the cameras began after the release of Notting Hill in 1999. He says: ‘I have this absurd syndrome where I get these out-of-the-blue, pathetic panic attacks. It’ll be in a very easy scene when everything is going swimmingly and then suddenly, bang, I’m shvitzing [sweating] and can’t remember my lines. At one stage I was asking directors not to say “Action!” because I found that word sent me into paroxysms of terror. Frankly, I think I’m marvellous in rehearsal. Then you turn the camera on and it gets stiff and tight. And then you trudge back to your trailer feeling sad.’
...BUT AT LEAST YOU’RE A ‘NASTY PIECE OF WORK’ WITH A BRAND NEW £340,000 FERRARI, HUGH