Hugh Grant may have taken a break from acting a bit ago, but now he’s roaring back thanks to lauded work in the miniseries, A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL, wherein he plays disgraced English politician Jeremy Thorpe. He was nominated for an Emmy and his fifth Golden Globe for his performance, but before the awards, he was winning over audiences recently with his surreally amazing work in the movie PADDINGTON 2. Not only did he give a performance worthy of a whole swath of awards, but Grant genuinely, correctly believes the movie might be the very best he’s ever been in.
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While speaking with Vanity Fair (via Uproxx), Grant said as much when he was looking back on his career, and recalled a time when some people on Twitter didn’t like how he was linked solely to the sequel when he was presenting at the Golden Globes. But despite what those people may think, Grant truly loves this movie that is, indeed, impossible to hate.
“I was presenting I think at the Golden Globes, and they do that thing when you walk out, and they say, ‘From the forthcoming Paddington 2, Hugh Grant.’ And someone showed me Twitter afterwards, and it was…people were full of derision. ‘Christ, has it come to that. Poor old Hugh. Paddington 2. Sequel to a kids film.'” Grant smiles a bit ruefully. “It’s particularly annoying in the case of Paddington 2, because I genuinely believe it may be the best film I’ve ever been in.”
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In the sequel to the hit children’s film Grant plays Phoenix Buchanan, a washed-up actor who has resorted to doing dog food commercials, and who wants to win back the spotlight so desperately that he steals a valuable pop-up book that our title CGI bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw, who is also in SCANDAL) wants for his aunt’s birthday. Grant is delightfully sinister, whacky and revels in bouncing between the character’s array of disguises, and his work won him mountains of praise, with many considering it a major snub when he didn’t get an Oscar nomination. As far as reviews go it is certainly is his best movie. With nearly 200 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has retained a 100% score, making it the best-reviewed movie of all time.
Yeah yeah, he has a legacy of movies many fans of his will cherish forever, like FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL and ABOUT A BOY, but PADDINGTON 2 is a special movie and one that features his best work to date. Now we just have to get PADDINGTON 3 going and bring Grant back for even more Buchanan mischief and disguises.