Hugh Grant says he hated his ‘despicable’ ‘Notting Hill’ character
Hollywood star Hugh Grant has revealed that he hated his character in the 1999 romantic comedy Notting Hill, calling his role as William Thacker “despicable” due to the way he treated Julia Roberts’ character in the film.
In the movie, Grant plays a bookshop owner named William Thacker who falls in love with a famous actress, played by Julia Roberts. However, Grant described his character as “despicable” because of how he acted towards her.
Speaking as part of Vanity Fair’s Scene Selection, Grant explained: “Whenever I’m flicking the channels at home after a few drinks and this comes up, I just think, ‘Why doesn’t my character have any…?’ There’s a scene in this film where she’s in my house, and the paparazzi come to the door and ring the bell, and I think I just let her go past me and open the door. That’s awful.”
Grant also mentioned that all his real-life romantic partners share the same opinion about the character. He said: “I’ve never had a girlfriend, or indeed now wife, who hasn’t said, ‘Why the hell didn’t you stop her? What’s wrong with you?’ And I don’t really have an answer to that – it’s how it was written. And I think he’s despicable, really.”
He also spoke highly of his co-star, Julia Roberts, saying: “Probably all the time with Julia, as with any brilliant actress, you’re just thinking: ‘Christ, they’re really good. I’m not going to be as good as her.’ And she’s great at emoting and she’s got this kind of quality where it looks like her skin is wafer-thin. You can sort of see her soul.”
Grant has previously addressed reports suggesting that he hated all of his film roles, clarifying that it’s not the films he dislikes, but rather his own performances. He told The Hollywood Reporter: “I’ve read that I hate all my films. That’s not true, the films are often great. It’s just me that I loathe.”
He added, “You never feel great about your own stuff. It’s like in the old days of answering machine messages — you always felt nauseated when you heard your own voice. And watching yourself on film is that times 50.
