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Hugh Grant talks about his faith and stress in an interview, as well as a mysterious encounter in a castle.
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/dpa
He was the eternal charmer of British cinema - now Hugh Grant talks about saints, stress with five children and an encounter with a ghost.
In keeping with the Christmas season, "Bridget Jones - Chocolate for Breakfast" (available on Sky and via WOW) is a true classic romantic comedy returning to the TV program.
For many viewers, Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver is an inseparable part of the "Bridget Jones" world: charming, self-centered, hurtful - and yet fascinating. However, the man behind this role has changed noticeably in recent years.
In an interview with the Teleschau agency, the 65-year-old takes a surprisingly open look at his life, his faith - and the question of what comes after death. Topics that at first glance have little to do with a romantic Christmas comedy. And yet they explain why Grant looks at his early roles differently today.
"I was a staunch atheist for a long time," says the Brit. Until he was about 13, he was dragged to church every Sunday by his parents - until he realized "that it was too boring for me there and a lot of nonsense was said".
For decades, he had no interest in religion. But that has changed. "At my age - and with my stress level with too many children - I sometimes sit in the little church in my village in France and ask St. Lawrence for help."
Grant even admits that this idea irritates him: "I now believe, to my horror, that there is another dimension - another dimension to life. I don't want that at all. I can barely cope with this one."
Grant becomes particularly impressive when he talks about an experience that had a lasting impact on him: an encounter with a "ghost", as he says.
In a remote castle in the north of England, he says, he saw a white, shimmering light at night that moved through the corridors like a figure. "I saw it - and I wasn't drunk," he emphasizes with a laugh.
The next morning he was told that it was the "third Duchess of Edinburgh". Grant jokes: "That would actually be a great movie title."
Looking back, this mixture of self-irony, skepticism and openness is what makes his role as Daniel Cleaver so timeless. Today, Grant knows why characters like Cleaver captivate audiences more than perfect romantic heroes: "Romantic leads are incredibly difficult because they quickly become boring. Audiences are increasingly drawn to the villains." The fact that he is increasingly playing darker, broken characters is no coincidence, he says. "It's my seventh narcissist in a row," says Grant dryly. "Obviously there's a common denominator."
And yet, for many fans, "Bridget Jones - Chocolate for Breakfast" remains a Christmas movie that offers solace: a story about love, mistakes and second chances. Perhaps that is precisely what Hugh Grant understands so well today - that people are contradictory. And that even charming narcissists sometimes tell us more about life than they would like to.
