Hugh Grant has revealed he was ‘crammed into’ the upcoming Bridget Jones film, after his character was seemingly killed off.
During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, the actor, 64, spoke about his new horror movie Heretic, and discussed his parents’ views of his acting career.
When discussing his role in the fourth Bridget Jones movie, titled Mad About The Boy, he said: ‘It is a good and moving script – it is extremely funny but very sad.’
He added: ‘There was no obvious role for me, but I was crammed in. So we didn’t have a 60-year-old Daniel Clever wandering around looking at young girls I made up a good interim story for him.’
During the show, he also discussed his parents’ views of his acting career and admitted they were ‘not at all supportive’ in the beginning.
Hugh Grant has revealed he was ‘crammed into’ the upcoming Bridget Jones film, after his character was seemingly killed off
The actor is set to reprise his role as Daniel Cleaver in the upcoming fourth film, despite his character being seemingly killed off in the the 2016 film Bridget Jones’ Baby
During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, the actor, 64, spoke about his new horror movie Heretic and discussed his parents’ views of his acting career
He revealed: ‘They were not at all supportive. My mother was a churchgoer and wanted me to be the Archbishop of Canterbury! In their world showbusiness meant nothing.’
‘I remember when Four Weddings and a Funeral came out my mother went to a dinner party with likeminded people and when asked about her two sons she said “One is an investment banker and the other is a film star.”‘
He added: ‘Another guest said, “How very interesting, which bank?” That’s the world I grew up in.’
The actor is best known for starring in romcoms such as Notting Hill, Love Actually, and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
However, with his new spine-chilling psychological horror movie, he will be reinventing himself from Hollywood heartthrob to ‘slimy villain’.
Titled Heretic, the movie – set to be released on November 15 – is written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the writers behind John Krasinski’s 2018 post-apocalyptic horror A Quiet Place.
Dubbed his creepiest role to date, the British actor plays a man who kidnaps a pair of young, female Mormon missionaries, before subjecting them to a terrifying series of tests and games.
While discussing his new movie, Hugh said: ‘I decided to play him as a trendy academic.’
When discussing his role in the fourth Bridget Jones movie, he said: ‘It is a good and moving script – it is extremely funny but very sad. There was no obvious role for me, but I was crammed in’
During the show, he also discussed his parents’ views of his acting career and admitted they were ‘not at all supportive’ in the beginning (pictured in 2001)
He revealed: ‘They were not at all supportive. My mother was a churchgoer and wanted me to be the Archbishop of Canterbury! In their world showbusiness meant nothing’
‘The film goes darker and darker so I thought everything that is creepy would be doubly creepy if I made jokes at the same time.’
He added: ‘I didn’t want him to be the moustache twirling baddie, so I prepared by reading a lot about serial killers and cult leaders and even borrowed their look.’
His appearance on the show comes after he revealed that he only agreed to take part in the fourth Bridget Jones movie after rewriting his part.
The actor played love rat Daniel Cleaver in the first two films of the franchise, starring opposite Renee Zellweger as the clumsy and hapless romantic Bridget Jones, and Colin Firth as buttoned-up lawyer Mark Darcy.
However, he did not reprise his role in the last film, 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby, where his character appeared to be killed off, and Bridget became pregnant.
The movie instead saw billionaire US love guru Jack Qwant, played by Patrick Dempsey, compete for Bridget against Mark.
Hugh told Vanity Fair: ‘I really couldn’t fit my character in – he just didn’t belong, so I stepped aside.’
The actor is best known for starring in romcoms such as Notting Hill (seen), Love Actually, and Four Weddings and a Funeral
However, with his new spine-chilling psychological horror movie Heretic, he will be reinventing himself from Hollywood heartthrob to ‘slimy villain’
Dubbed his creepiest role to date, the British actor plays a man who kidnaps a pair of young, female Mormon missionaries, before subjecting them to a terrifying series of tests and games. The movie is set to be released on November 15
Revealing that he ‘loved the script’ for the latest instalment, he admitted ‘it made me cry,’ but again, there was no space for his character.
Due to the strength of author Helen Fielding’s work Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, which sees Bridget as a widow in her 50s with two children following Mark’s death some years earlier – and him writing some scenes – he decided to return.
Hugh explained: ‘It’s absolutely the best (book) and I think it’s very funny and very, very moving. I’m not in a lot, I did a week’s work, that’s it… But when you see the film, you’ll be very moved.’
Production company, Working Title, confirmed last month that the movie will hit cinemas on Valentine’s Day next year and said that filming had finally wrapped.