Hugh Grant Helps Serve Christmas Meal to 500 Elderly Residents in London: 'This Was the Real “Love Actually”'

Hugh Grant made a surprise appearance at a Christmas Day event in London

Hugh Grant helped spread joy on Christmas.

On Monday, the Wonka actor, 63, made a surprise appearance at the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham's Big H&F Christmas Day Lunch event.

In photos from the event, Grant can be seen serving lunch to elderly residents in the community as the council gathered people who did not have family to celebrate Christmas with.

Grant could be seen socializing with the event's attendees and taking photos with residents during his visit, which a Hammersmith and Fulham council spokesperson said came as a Christmas surprise.

"Thanks to everyone who joined us at the annual Big H&F Christmas Day Lunch — including a very special guest, Hugh Grant," said Councillor Ben Coleman, deputy leader of H&F. "Hugh helped us serve lunch to 500 local older people who otherwise would have celebrated alone. This was the real Love Actually."

Related: Hugh Grant Jokes About His Free Time: 'I'm Swamped in Children and Too Old for Them' (Exclusive)

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A press release for the event noted that this year's event reached a maximum volunteer capacity; London's Evening Standard newspaper reported Wednesday that the event raised roughly £40,000 (just over $51,000 in United States dollars) to hold Hammersmith and Fulham's annual Christmas lunch.

The event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. A community page asking for donations to make the event happen noted the annual lunch "is completely funded by local giving, with donations from businesses and crowd funding."

Related: Timothée Chalamet Wears a Mustache and Disguise to Surprise Hugh Grant on Tonight Show

Grant, who lives in London, rose to fame in the 1990s and 2000s as a rom-com star in movies like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and the Christmas-set Love Actually.

This year, he had roles in the action-adventure film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and as an Oompa-Loompa alongside Timotheé Chalamet's Willy Wonka in Wonka.

“I got a little less bad after I had children, got married, got happier," he recently told Drew Barrymore during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. "I got too old and fat and ugly to do romantic comedies obviously, so I got off with more interesting things."

Wonka is in theaters now.

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