Hugh Grant Says HisNotting HillRole Was 'Despicable': 'Why Doesn't My Character Have Any Balls?'

Mar. 15, 2025

Hugh Granthas some harsh words for his character inNotting Hill.

The actor, 64, took a trip down memory lane withVanity Fairin a video interview, published on Nov. 14, that saw him watching scenes from previous movies. While doing so, he looked back on his role in the 1999 romantic comedy and said his character William “Will” Thacker was “despicable.”

“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 balls?’ " Grant said in the interview, before taking issue with a particular scene that involved Will and his love interest,Julia Roberts' character Anna Scott, a movie star.

Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in ‘Notting Hill’.Getty;Shutterstock

Getty;Shutterstock

“There’s a scene in this film where she’s in my house and the paps come to the front door and ring the bell, and I think I just let her go past me and open the door, and that’s awful,” he continued.

“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?’

He added of his character, “And I don’t really have an answer to that. It was how it was written and I think he’s despicable, really.”

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In the interview, Grant also praised his costar Roberts' acting skills.

“Probably all the time with Julia, as with any brilliant actress, you’re just thinking, ‘Oh, Christ, they’re really good. I’m not going to be as good as her,’ " he said.

“And she is great at emoting, and she’s got that kind of quality where it looks like her skin is wafer thin. You can sort of see her soul,” he added.

Hugh Grant at AFI Fest 2024 in Hollywood on October 24, 2024.Tommaso Boddi/Getty

Tommaso Boddi/Getty

The movie was nominated for three awards at the 2000 Golden Globes, including individual nods for the two lead actors.

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Grant opened up to PEOPLEin an exclusive interviewin October, ahead of the release of his A24 horror movieHeretic, in which he plays a reclusive Englishman who threatens the lives of two missionaries when they visit his home.

source: people.com