Hugh Grant Reveals the 'Love Actually' Scene He Found 'Excruciating' to Film

Filming the scene wasn’t love, actually.

It may be one of the most iconic holiday movie scenes, but it wasn’t exactly a joy for Hugh Grant to film.

The scene in question is, of course, Grant’s dance scene in Love Actually.

Ahead of the film’s 20th year anniversary, Hugh spoke with Diane Sawyer for the upcoming ABC News special titled, The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later. 

In an exclusive clip from the interview, shared with PEOPLE, the 62-year-old actor, who portrayed David, the prime minister, knew the moment he saw the scene in the script that he would “hate doing that.”

For those who need a little refresher (it has been 20 years after all), David busts a move at his home to the The Pointer Sisters' "Jump" only for the epic moment to be cut short by his secretary's arrival. 

"I didn't fancy doing the dance at all, let alone rehearsing it,” he recalled.

In fact, writer/director Richard Curtis, said that Grant tried refusing to do the scene, adding, "I think he was hoping I'd get ill or something and we'd say, 'Oh, well, what a shame, we'll have to lose that dancing sequence.' "

And while he wasn't pleased the day he had to shoot the scene, he understood it was a “contractual obligation,” Curtis explained, to which Grant agreed with Sawyer’s suggestion that it was “a contractual guillotine, yes.”

"And I'm out of rhythm, by the way, especially at the beginning when I wiggle my ass,” Grant added.

"And to this day, there's many people — and I agree with them — who think it's the most excruciating scene ever committed to celluloid," Grant joked, before noting, "But then some people like it."

It’s fair to say that a majority of the people who watch Love Actually every holiday season adore the scene.

It’s a pop culture moment that even Grant eventually saw the charm in and recreated in 2017 for fans as part of a Love Actually mini-sequel, which was set to Drake’s hit at the time, “Hotline Bling.”

The upcoming 20th anniversary special will reunite Grant and Curtis with much of the cast, including Emma Thompson, Lauran Linney, Bill Night, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Olivia Olson, and more. It will air on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, followed by Hulu the next day. 

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