Hugh Grant doesn’t mince his words. In the interview, he talks about his new horror film Heretic, the ghastly human race, his fear of filming and the Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks.
Anyone who thinks Hugh Grant is a happy person has seen too much Notting Hill and hasn’t spoken to him in the last 20 years. At least, that’s the experience of many journalists, who seem to encounter Grant’s bad mood in a thousand examples on the internet. In the Moviepilot interview, he is a real gentleman – who hates humanity. Or at least that’s what he’d have us believe.
He has chosen the perfect setting for his winking misanthropy: his new film, the horror thriller Heretic from A24, has just been released in cinemas. In the film, he plays the sinister Mr. Reed, who locks two Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) in his house and forces them to play a bitter game.
Our review: the horror thriller Heretic is that good.
Watch the trailer for Heretic here:
Hugh Grant talks about A24 horror films, villains and an ugly humanity.
Our conversation with Hugh Grant focuses first on Hugh Grant’s career: He discusses his newfound penchant for evil characters, a Star Wars scene in Heretic, and roles in the ’80s in which he sold champagne to the Nazis. But his tone is often surprisingly personal: Grant speaks openly about panic attacks during filming. And a shocking experience with his mother.
The interview was conducted jointly by Moviepilot, dpa and NDR. The questions were asked in turns.
Moviepilot/dpa/NDR: In another interview, you said that you really like your Heretic character Mr. Reed. He is a psychopath. What do you like about the role? Have you found similarities to yourself?
Hugh Grant: I like killing. I don’t know why.
You also said in a second interview that you don’t like horror movies. Why did you agree to be in one then? Does that mean you’ll never watch Heretic?
I have already seen the movie. That’s not the same. I’m too scared to watch horror movies, but I didn’t mind acting in one. My fear is very specific. I’m afraid of the devil, of demonic possession. I can’t watch all movies on that topic. I don’t mind slashing and stuff like that.
In the Smartless podcast, you recently revealed that you look for the script in the script when making films. What was that for Heretic?
I can’t explain the whole thing. It’s as long as the actual script. I write explanations of what the characters think and feel along the entire edge of my script. For Mr. Reed, there are even two sections: the things he tells his two victims and what the monster thinks inside. But it’s very complicated. I wanted Mr. Reed to never lie. And we managed that. He never lies. His wife, the blueberry pie, it’s all there.
In the movie, the two young women are faced with the choice of two doors on which “faith” and “unbelief” are written. Which would you have chosen?
Me as Hugh? I have chosen “unbelief” all my life. But the older and more desperate I get, the more I have doubts about it. Maybe I need more comfort. Or mom and dad help out.
In one scene, you draw a line of tradition between Jesus Christ and Jar Jar Binks. How did that scene come about?
Jar Jar was already in the original script. But I had the idea of imitating him.
Many viewers laughed during the press screening of Heretic. I did too, just to get through the more frightening scenes. How important is humor as a way of dealing with difficult situations?
That is not the purpose of humor in Heretic. I was more afraid that Mr. Reed would be too dry. I don’t know if this exists in Germany, but in Great Britain I have very often encountered the type of “fun professor”. The type who wants to make jokes and make allusions that young people understand. Star Wars, for example. But he also makes small mistakes there. Radiohead is too old for the two young women, for example. He has been making these kinds of speeches for a long time. And he has gotten good reactions to some of his jokes. Many laughed at the “meow”. That’s why he keeps telling the joke. He uses humor to be the cool lecturer. So that girls follow him, thinking he is special and iconoclastic.
But I agree that humor is often used in films to deal with pain. That’s why Richard Curtis’ films are so popular. They’re all actually quite painful.
Where you don’t laugh at people, but with people. Curtis’ films are very humane.
Yes, he likes people. He’s a nut.
I was thinking of your roles in Curtis’s films, in which you are very charming. I think Mr. Reed is charming too. Do you agree?
No, not quite. He thinks he’s charming. But on the whole, he’s creepy to other people. Maybe not immediately. But within an hour or so.
You’ve played a lot of creeps lately, in Dungeons & Dragons or The Gentlemen, for example. What do you like about playing these quirky types of villains?
I don’t know, I’m not the only actor who likes villains. But more often than not, such roles simply give more. And maybe the need goes deeper. We humans are inherently nasty, dark, greedy, brutal, jealous, unattractive, vain and narcissistic, I’m afraid. And as an actor, what appeals most is what goes deepest. Right to the DNA roots. In contrast, niceness is something that is learned, I suspect. The basis for this observation is my children, who have no natural niceness.
Do you have a favorite villain in film history?
I have many. But I didn’t use any for my Heretic role. It’s not an homage.
Your mother wanted you to become an archbishop. How well do you know the Bible?
Not very well. You can test me sometime.
How did you prepare for the movie, which is also about the history of different religions?
All the religious stuff was researched by Scott [Beck] and Bryan [Woods], who wrote and directed the film. They are so weird. They have spent about six years of their lives doing nothing but reading pretty much every religious book and text. And the atheists too, to find Mr. Reed’s arguments. I trusted them on that. It’s the only script I’ve ever seen that has a long list of books on the last page that it’s based on. I was so impressed. There are about 50 books, very intellectual literature. Or the Bible and the Koran. And they’ve all read. At times I thought, “Wow, do I have to do that too?” But I ended up researching serial killers and cult leaders instead.
At the premiere yesterday, you wished the head of the distribution company, Plaion, every success with the film. Why?
Well, it did quite well in the US and the UK. And I hope that happens here too. The problem with Germany is that you watch everything in dubbed versions. But when you’ve worked your ass off on a movie, you want people to see the whole movie, not half of it.
Do you think there will be a strong reaction to the movie from people who are very religious?
I’m not worried about that. At first, I thought, “Wow, people from the US Bible Belt will hate this!” But the Bible Belt doesn’t seem to mind. The Bible Belt buys movie tickets.
Before the Richard Curtis films like Notting Hill, would you have liked to have played more roles like Mr. Reed, who are more complex and morally sinister?
Yes, I should have followed through with them. I had a few at the time. In the ’80s, I specialized in miniseries villains. They were all champagne-related, I don’t know why. I was constantly selling champagne to the Nazis or some other faction. I did that about seven times. There was Charles Heidsieck – A Life Intoxicating like Champagne and The Champagne Dynasty. All classics. And I was good. Maybe not in the ’80s, I was terrible. But later. After Four Weddings and a Funeral, I did a movie called A Matter of Romance that no one saw. I played a devious, disfigured weirdo. Then there was A Time to Kill with Robert Downey Jr. and Meg Ryan, where I played a vain guy called Finn. I should have pursued that. But I didn’t.
A new Bridget Jones movie is coming soon. Are you looking forward to it?
I am now, because the audience went wild for it in the test screenings. They love it.
In Heretic, Mr. Reed is visited by two Mormon women. For many people, it is a familiar experience to be visited at the door by religious or economic interest groups. What was your strangest experience of opening the door to strangers?
My mother once answered the door to a stranger. He showed her his penis. I was a child at the time. The guy ran away. Our cleaning lady, a great woman named Mrs. Tree, took care of my mother and made her a nice cup of tea. Then she said to her, “Those are ugly things, even at the best of times.”
Heretic is a lot about control. Would you describe yourself as a control freak? How do you prepare for the roles?
I prepare for my role with extreme effort, for months. Hours and hours, every day. And I can’t even tell you if it makes the performance better or if it’s just a desperate attempt to control my anxiety. Maybe both.
Fear of what?
Fear of performing. Well, it’s more fear of fear. For 25 years, I’ve had panic attacks during shooting, usually once or twice per movie. It’s very humiliating. And as soon as I’m offered a role, I worry about when the panic attack will come. Ridiculous.
You recently expressed your admiration for A24. Which of the indie studio’s films do you like best?
