Hugh Grant gave a self-deprecating reason when explaining why he’s chosen to put his romantic comedy days behind him.
In a recent roundtable discussion with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor, 58, said he’s “gotten too old and ugly and fat to do them [romantic comedies] anymore.”
“So now I’ve done other things and I’ve got marginally less self-hatred,” he added.
Grant — who has starred in romantic comedies like “Love Actually,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Notting Hill,” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” among others — agreed acting in such a specific genre for so long put him in a “box."
That said, he was quick to note he was fortunate for the roles he landed.
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“Yes, but not one [a box] you can complain about. I was being paid tons of money. I was very lucky. And most of those romantic comedies I can look squarely in the face — one or two are shockers, but on the whole, I can look them in the face and people like them,” he continued, adding, “And I am a big believer that our job is to entertain. It's not to practice some weird, quasi-religious experience. I see us as craftsmen along with the guy who does the lights and the guy who edits and the guy who pushes the dolly.”
Following the actor’s comments, many of his fans took to Twitter to offer an opinion that countered Grant’s.
“He would be great still. Love him forever,” wrote one person.
“I strongly disagree,” said another.
“Well then… he doesn’t realize how much we love him,” wrote a third.
“I beg to differ, Hugh,” said another.
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“Well let’s just start by saying he’ll never be ugly a day in his life,” added another.
Looking back on his long-spanning career, however, Grant admitted he would've liked some diversity.
“Every decision I ever made was probably wrong,” he said, adding “the world was [his] oyster” following his success in “Four Weddings and a Funeral.”
“I should've made interesting decisions and done different stuff. Instead, I repeated myself almost identically about 17 times in a row,” he continued, later adding, “I had to wait until all the romantic comedy had dried up before I was offered anything else.”