Hugh Grant

 

Actor Hugh Grant, known for his many film roles as the bumbling, feckless but charming British upper-class twit, became the subject of one of Hollywood’s biggest scandals, when in 1995 he was arrested by police on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. He was in his car with prostitute Divine Brown, who was apparently performing oral sex on him. The officer who arrested him charged him with lewd conduct in a public place and Grant later admitted that he had paid Brown $50 to perform the act. When the story came out, a police mug shot of Grant, looking somewhat dishevelled, appeared in newspapers all over the world, along with one of Ms Brown, who also looked somewhat the worse for wear.

The scandal was such that it looked as though Grant’s reputation would be seriously damaged by the incident, especially as his long-time partner Liz Hurley, another Hollywood star, publicly admitted how upset she was by what had happened. However, in the event, the affair did not damage Grant too badly; in fact, some commentators felt it had actually helped his cause. After the event, Grant made no attempt to defend his behaviour, as many Hollywood stars would have done, and wasn’t even afraid of being interviewed on the subject. Instead, he ‘faced the music’, taking the opportunity to apologise gallantly to all concerned, including Hurley. Indeed, he handled the scandal so well that he may, ironically, have increased his popularity among his female fans. Once the sordid details of his amorous tryst had emerged, his image of a flawed but lovable young man getting himself into scrapes – in the tradition of ‘boys will be boys’ – was not substantially altered. As his grandmother reportedly put it to her friends, explaining his behaviour, ‘He had a few drinks and got fresh with the girls’. Sadly, however, his relationship with Hurley did not survive the scandal, and the couple parted, although they later went on to become close friends.

 

Comic talent

 

Hugh John Mungo Grant was born in London, the second son of Fynvola MacLean, a teacher, and James Grant, a businessman and aspiring artist. The family had military connections, his grandfather being a member of the Seaforth Highlanders regiment, whose tradition was always to die in combat rather than ever to surrender. As a child, Grant was told the story of how his grandfather broke with the tradition to save hundreds of lives. Many years later, Grant spoke about his wish to make a film about his grandfather, but said this would be impossible as his father regarded all films as a ‘vulgarisation of the truth’.

The Grants had no wish for their son to become an actor and were pleased when Hugh gained a place at Oxford University to study English. On completing his degree, however, he failed to do well enough to follow through with a doctorate, and instead began to trade on his good looks and charm. Before long, he had landed a part in a Merchant-Ivory film, Maurice, and proved that he wasn’t just a pretty face but that he could actually act as well. More choice roles followed, until in 1994 he revealed his talent for comedy in the film that really made his name, Four Weddings and a Funeral. By this time he had developed an engaging film persona of an easily embarrassed, disorganised, rather selfish young man who seeks to avoid responsibility and entrapment in a domestic relationship at all costs. The role was undoubtedly based on the famous character of Bertie Wooster created by P. G. Wodehouse, but Grant’s genius was to update it for the 1990s, which he did to great comic effect in the film.

Oral sex in a car

 

Four Weddings was a huge success, and became the highest grossing British film ever. After its release, Grant became a major star, not only in Britain but internationally. He was seen as a golden boy and he and his partner, the glamorous Liz Hurley, became one of the most feted couples in Hollywood. However, the good times were about to end.

On 27 June 1995, Grant went for a drive down Sunset Strip, one of the main thoroughfares of Los Angeles. That evening, he was arrested by an officer of the LAPD as a black prostitute, Divine Brown, performed oral sex on him in his car. He was taken to the police station for identification, and when it became clear that he was one of the biggest film stars on the planet, his photograph was released to the newspapers. Grant was fined $1,180 and was put on two years’ probation. Later, he explained what had happened. He had given 12 interviews that day for his newly released film, Nine Months, and had emerged in a state of confusion. Not surprisingly, few regarded this as a persuasive explanation of his behaviour.

Immediately after the incident, Hurley was reported to be very upset, and asked the media to give her some time to herself. Grant did the opposite, however, appearing on chat shows and giving interviews, in a move that – in retrospect – possibly saved his career. Instead of going into hiding, or blaming his childhood problems, as most Hollywood stars would have done, Grant decided to issue a full apology and to take the blame for his bad behaviour. On one show, Larry King Live, he said, ‘In the end you have to come clean and say I did something dishonourable, shabby and goatish’. To Jay Leno he remarked, ‘I think you know in life what’s a good thing to do and what’s a bad thing, and I did a bad thing, and . . . there you have it’.

 

Fall . . . and rise

 

Curiously enough, the film that Grant had just made, Nine Months, featured a character, Tom Arnold, who constantly got into trouble with the tabloid press, and Grant remarked that his ‘nemesis’ helped him through a difficult time. However, although the public forgave him – one woman even turned up to see him with a banner reading ‘I would have paid you, Hugh’ – Hurley did not, and the relationship came to an end.

Fortunately for Grant, the incident on Sunset Strip did not damage his career and, despite the scandal, the parts continued to come in thick and fast. Another major film triumph was Notting Hill, in which he starred with Julia Roberts, a movie that confirmed his increasingly stereotypical image as a British upper-class twit. Other successful romantic comedies followed, such as Bridget Jones’ Diary, in which he began to emphasise the more selfish aspects of his screen personality, but like so many of Grant’s movies, the film continued to rely on portraying stereotypes for its comic effect. In 2002’s About a Boy, Grant extended his range somewhat by sporting a more modern hairstyle, and playing a disaffected wealthy bachelor who helps a young boy to mature, and in the process, grows up himself.

Today, Hugh Grant is one of Britain’s most popular, highly paid actors. He continues to maintain a public image of bewilderment and ambivalence about his success, remarking in one interview that the only film he had starred in that didn’t make him cringe was About a Boy.

Since his relationship with Hurley, his name has been linked romantically with several other women, including celebrity Jemima Khan, but he currently remains a bachelor. He affects a disdain for the film world and says he is writing a novel in case his acting career falls apart in the near future. However, that seems unlikely to happen: the self-deprecating, charming, yet selfish bachelor is a character that the public love, and that Hugh Grant plays to perfection. As Julia Roberts once said of him, ‘His silliness has grace. He could say, “I have foot fungus” and it would sound charming. It’s the accent, the manner, the Oxford education.’

Hugh Grant is one of the few victims of scandal that has emerged unscathed, largely because of the stylish way in which he handled this crisis. Since then he has had to face allegations of attacking members of the paparazzi, but in true Hollywood style Hugh Grant has come out without losing any credibility.