Hugh Grant Says He ‘Got Too Old’ and 'Ugly' to Continue Making Romantic Comedies

Hugh Grant got honest about why he no longer appears in romantic comedies during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show on Monday, via People. Grant, who is promoting his turn as an Oompa Loompa in Wonka, made his name starring in movies like Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Love Actually (2003). Recently, he’s moved into more character-driven, and occasionally outright villainous, roles in A Very British Scandal (2018), The Undoing (2021), and this year’s Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves.

Grant confirmed to Barrymore, whom he romanced in 2007’s Music and Lyrics, that this recent career trajectory has been “lovely.” When Barrymore suggested that they reunite for another rom-com, Grant admitted that he’s put that genre behind him.

"I got too old and fat and ugly to do romantic comedies, obviously,” he quipped, “so I got off with more interesting things."

While he has no regrets about his comedic performances, he never loved acting them. “I love those films. I love the fact that people still like them, but I never felt comfortable really doing them," he admitted. "I don’t know about you, but I prefer more of a mask. I want to be someone else. Then it frees me up and then I quite like acting.”

Grant credited his late-era resurgence to his wife, Anna Elisabet Eberstein, to whom he’s been married since 2018, and his five children. He shares two, a five-year-old and a six-year-old, with Eberstein.

“I got a little less bad after I had children, got married, got happier," he explained of his acting talents. “I’m very happily married, great girl, lovely children,” he continued, specifying that his personal life is “done, finished, cooked.”

His career, however, is a different story. “Professionally, I want to finish that book. I wrote half a novel and I need to finish it,” the actor said metaphorically, before adding in his signature self-deprecating manner that he “won’t ever” reach his goals. “And then I’ll die unsatisfied and miserable,” he concluded.

Grant has earned positive reviews for his performance in Wonka, though he admitted he “hated” making the movie. "It was like a crown of thorns, very uncomfortable," he told reporters of the motion-capture process. "I made a big fuss about it. I couldn't have hated the whole thing more."

Wonka arrives in theaters on December 15.