Editing Hugh Grant (section)

===1994–1999: ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and stardom ===
[[File:Hugh Grant Cannes.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Grant at the [[1997 Cannes Film Festival]]]]
At 32, Grant claimed to be on the brink of giving up the acting profession but was surprised by the script of ''[[Four Weddings and a Funeral]]'' (1994).<ref name="prince charming"/> "If you read as many bad scripts as I did, you'd know how grateful you are when you come across one where the guy actually is funny," he later recalled.<ref name="alter ego"/> Released in 1994 with Grant as the protagonist, ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' became the highest-grossing British film to date with a worldwide box office in excess of $244&nbsp;million,<ref name="box office">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=hughgrant.htm|website=Box Office Mojo|title=Hugh Grant|access-date=11 September 2007}}</ref> making him an overnight international star. His entry in ''The Trouble with Men: Masculinities in European and Hollywood Cinema'' states "''Four Weddings'' made him a truly international star whose image was endlessly promoted in tabloid newspaper articles, television chat shows and magazine profiles, especially in mass circulation women's magazines. Grant was careful to play up to the affable and self-deprecating English gent. His interviewers commented frequently on his romantic attractiveness, a modern matinée idol, blue eyed, very good looking in a classically English way, with his floppy hair and charming smile, his impeccable manners leavened by the occasional expletive".<ref name="Grant profile">{{cite book |title=The Trouble with Men: Masculinities in European and Hollywood Cinema |date=2004 |publisher=Wallflower Press |page=80}}</ref>

The film was nominated for two [[Academy Award]]s and, among numerous awards won by its cast and crew, it earned Grant a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]] and a [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]]. It also temporarily typecast him as the lead character, Charles, a bohemian and debonair bachelor. Grant saw it as an inside joke that the star, due to the parts he played, was assumed to have the personality of the screenwriter ([[Richard Curtis]]), who is known for writing about himself and his own life.<ref name="runaway bachelor"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Faces of the week: Richard Curtis|last=Jones|first=Chris|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4606743.stm|work=[[BBC]]|date=3 June 2005|access-date=11 September 2007}}</ref> Grant later expressed "Although I owe whatever success I've had to ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'', it did become frustrating after a bit that people made two assumptions: One was that I was that character – when in fact nothing could be further from the truth, as I'm sure Richard would tell you – and the other frustrating thing was that they thought that's all I could do. I suppose, because those films happened to be successful, no one, perhaps understandably, ... bothered to rent all the other films I'd done".<ref name="prince charming">{{cite news|first=Sharon|last=Knolle|title=Prince Charming|page=A1|work=Variety|date=16 December 2002}}</ref>

In July 1994, he signed a two-year production deal with [[Castle Rock Entertainment]] and, by October, he became founder and director of the UK-based Simian Films Limited.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grant inks two-year deal at Castle Rock|last=Marx|first=Andy|work=Variety|date=8 July 1994}}</ref> He appointed his then-girlfriend, [[Elizabeth Hurley]], as the head of development to look for prospective projects. Simian Films produced two Grant vehicles in the 1990s and lost a bid to produce ''[[About a Boy (film)|About a Boy]]'' to [[Robert De Niro]]'s [[TriBeCa Productions]].<ref>{{cite episode|title=Hugh Grant discusses his new film 'About a Boy'|series=[[The Early Show]]|network=[[CBS]]|credits=Presenter: Jane Clayson|air-date=16 May 2002}}</ref> The company closed its US office in 2002 and Grant resigned as director in December 2005.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hugh Grant and ex- may close movie company|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7194114_ITM|publisher=[[United Press International|UPI]]|date=19 November 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230120034/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7194114_ITM|archive-date=30 December 2007}}</ref> Before the release of ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'', Grant had reunited with its director [[Mike Newell (director)|Mike Newell]] for the tragicomedy ''[[An Awfully Big Adventure]]'' (1995), which was labelled a "determinedly off-beat film" by ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name="aaba nyt"/> He portrayed the supercilious director of a repertory company in post-World War II [[Liverpool]]. Critic [[Roger Ebert]] wrote, "It shows that he has range as an actor"<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ebert|first=Robert|author-link=Roger Ebert|title=Movie Reviews:An Awfully Big Adventure|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=25 September 1995|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950922/REVIEWS/509220301/1023|archive-date=23 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070923013748/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950922/REVIEWS/509220301/1023|url-status=dead}}</ref> but the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' disapproved on grounds that the film "plays like a vanity production for Grant".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Guthmann|first=Edwards|title=This Grant 'Adventure' An Awfully Chilly One|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=21 July 1995|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1995/07/21/DD64380.DTL}}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]], praising Grant as "superb" and "a dashing cad under any circumstances", commented, "For him this film represents the road not taken. Made before ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' was released, it captures Mr. Grant as the clever, versatile character actor he was then becoming, rather than the international dreamboat he is today."<ref name="aaba nyt">{{Cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin|title=Film Review:A Look at Hugh Grant Before His Big Success|newspaper =The New York Times|date=21 July 1995|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=990CE3DD1530F932A15754C0A963958260|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131025080145/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=990CE3DD1530F932A15754C0A963958260|archive-date=25 October 2013}}</ref> His next role was as a cartographer in 1917 Wales in ''[[The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain]]'' (1995).

[[File:Emma Thompson Berlinale 2022.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Grant portrayed [[Edward Ferrars]] opposite [[Emma Thompson]] in ''[[Sense and Sensibility (1995 film)|Sense and Sensibility]]'' (1995).]] 
Grant's first studio-financed [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] project was opposite [[Julianne Moore]] in [[Chris Columbus (filmmaker)|Chris Columbus]]'s comedy ''[[Nine Months]]'' (1995). Though a hit at the box office, it was almost universally panned by critics. ''The Washington Post'' called it a "grotesquely pandering caper" and singled out Grant's performance, as a [[child psychiatry|child psychiatrist]] reacting unfavourably to his girlfriend's unexpected pregnancy, for his "insufferable muggings".<ref>{{cite news|last=Howe|first=Desson|title=Movie Reviews:Nine Months|date=14 July 1995|access-date=29 September 2007|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/ninemonthspg13howe_c02245.htm|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Grant himself has been highly critical of his performance in ''Nine Months'', stating in a 2016 interview that "I really ruined it. And it was entirely my fault. I panicked, it was such a big jump up from what I'd been paid before to what they were offering me. And the scale was inhuman to my standards, you know the scale of the production, [[20th Century Fox]], the whole thing. And I just tried much too hard, and you know I forgot to do basic acting things, like mean it. So I pulled faces and overacted, it was a shocker".<ref name="SAG-AFTRA Foundation"/> Next in 1995, he starred as [[Emma Thompson]]'s suitor in her [[Academy Award]]-winning adaptation of [[Jane Austen]]'s ''[[Sense and Sensibility (film)|Sense and Sensibility]]'', directed by [[Ang Lee]]. In 1995 he also performed in ''[[Restoration (1995 film)|Restoration]]''; [[Lisa Schwarzbaum]] wrote that Grant is "having a fine and liberating time playing a supercilious court portrait painter",<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Restoration|last=Schwarzbaum|first=Lisa|url=https://ew.com/article/1996/01/19/restoration/|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=19 January 1996|access-date=19 April 2016}}</ref> and [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' said he has "some delicious moments" in the film.<ref>{{cite news|title=A 'Restoration' of Costume Drama: Too Old Fashioned|last=Thomas|first=Kevin|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-29-ca-18948-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=29 December 1995|access-date=19 April 2016}}</ref> He made his debut as a film producer with the 1996 thriller ''[[Extreme Measures]]''. Roger Ebert and [[Gene Siskel]] each gave the film three out of four stars, with Siskel writing "Hugh Grant's work in ''Extreme Measures'' is a refreshing standout."<ref>{{cite news|first=Gene|last=Siskel|author-link=Gene Siskel|title=Hugh Grant Stands Out In Generic Thriller 'Extreme Measures'|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/09/27/hugh-grant-stands-out-in-generic-thriller-extreme-measures/|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=22 November 2016}}</ref>

After a three-year hiatus, in 1999 he paired with [[Julia Roberts]] in ''[[Notting Hill (film)|Notting Hill]]'', which was written by [[Richard Curtis]] and produced by much of the same team that was responsible for ''Four Weddings and a Funeral''. This new [[Working Title Films|Working Title]] production displaced ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' as the biggest British hit in the history of cinema, with earnings equalling $363&nbsp;million worldwide.<ref name="box office"/> As it became exemplary of modern romantic comedies in mainstream culture, the film was also received well by critics. CNN reviewer [[Paul Clinton]] said, "''Notting Hill'' stands alone as another funny and heartwarming story about love against all odds."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9905/27/review.notting.hill/|title=Review: Julia, Hugh a perfect match for 'Notting Hill'|access-date=21 May 2007|date=27 May 1999|last=Clinton|first=Paul|publisher=CNN}}</ref> Reactions to his Golden Globe-nominated performance were varied, with [[Salon.com]]'s Stephanie Zacharek criticising that, "Grant's performance stands as an emblem of what's wrong with ''Notting Hill''. What's maddening about Grant is that he just never cuts the crap. He's become one of those actors who's all shambling self-caricature, from his twinkly crow's feet to the time-lapsed half century it takes him to actually get one of his lines out."<ref>{{cite news|last=Zacharek|first=Stephanie|title=Film Review:Notting Hill|work=[[Salon.com]]|date=28 May 1999|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/1999/05/28/notting/index.html}}</ref> The film provided both its stars a chance to satirise the woes of international notoriety, most noted of which was Grant's turn as a faux-journalist who sits through a dull press junket with what ''The New York Times'' called "a delightfully funny deadpan".<ref>{{cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin|title=Film Review:Looking for a Book And Finding a Man|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=28 May 1999|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D00E3DB1F31F93BA15756C0A96F958260|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120311125323/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D00E3DB1F31F93BA15756C0A96F958260|archive-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>

Grant also released his second production output, a fish-out-of-water mob comedy ''[[Mickey Blue Eyes]]'', that year. It was dismissed by critics, performed modestly at the box office and garnered its actor-producer mixed reviews for his starring role. Roger Ebert thought, "Hugh Grant is wrong for the role [and] strikes one wrong note and then another",<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ebert|first=Robert|author-link=Roger Ebert|title=Movie Reviews:Mickey Blue Eyes|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=20 August 1999|access-date=29 September 2007|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990820/REVIEWS/908200303/1023|archive-date=1 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101015356/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990820/REVIEWS/908200303/1023|url-status=dead}}</ref> whereas [[Kenneth Turan]], writing in the ''Los Angeles Times'', said, "If he'd been on the [[Titanic]], fewer lives would have been lost. If he'd accompanied [[Robert Falcon Scott|Robert Scott]] to the [[South Pole]], the explorer would have lived to be 100. That's how good Hugh Grant is at rescuing doomed ventures."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Turan|first=Kenneth|author-link=Kenneth Turan|title=Movie Review: Mickey Blue Eyes|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=20 August 1999|url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie990819-5,0,299920.story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060420064457/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie990819-5%2C0%2C299920.story|archive-date=20 April 2006}}</ref>