The 20 best Hugh Grant movies

When it comes to Christmas movies, Love Actually is always on the annual rewatch list. The British rom com features a huge ensemble of A-list stars, including Grant as David, the Prime Minister. He is one of many characters the film follows, in a contained story where he falls in love with Natalie, a member of his staff. Grant is part of many memorable scenes in the film, including when his character dances around 10 Downing Street to ‘Jump’ by The Pointer Sisters. 

"I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her" is one of the most famous lines in rom-com history. It comes from Notting Hill , one of Grant’s many collaborations with British writer Richard Curtis. In the film, Anna Scott (played by Julia Roberts), a famous actress, falls in love with Grant’s William, who owns a bookstore in Notting Hill. However, her fame complicates matters. Grant and Roberts are a match made in heaven, and the film remains timeless.

Playing against type, Grant stars as the sinister Mr. Reed in the A24 religious horror film Heretic. The film sees two young missionaries become trapped in the strange man’s house, entering a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. It features Grant like you’ve never seen him before, who is clearly having a lot of fun playing evil and does so terrifyingly well. It’s an unexpected and refreshing turn for Grant, earning him acclaim and nominations, including Best Actor at the Golden Globes. 

Paddington 2, according to many, is the greatest movie of all time. The sequel is bigger and better in every sense, largely due to Grant’s hilarious performance as Phoenix Buchanan, the film’s comical villain. When Paddington buys the perfect gift for his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, the gift is stolen by Buchanan. He dons many bizarre disguises throughout the film, including a nun, and even gets his own colorful musical number. Grant embraces every aspect of the light-hearted role.

One of the essential British rom-coms is Bridget Jones’s Diary , starring Renée Zellweger in the titular role. Bridget is a single woman looking to find love as she keeps a personal diary. Grant plays Daniel Cleaver, Bridget’s charming yet womanizing boss, who vies for her affection against Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy. Daniel is a two-faced cheating jerk, but because of Grant’s charisma, it’s easy to see why Bridget likes him so much, and audiences might just fall for him, too.

Out of the many rom-coms Grant has starred in, Four Weddings and a Funeral always remains a favorite. Grant plays Charles, a bachelor who is unlucky in love. While attending five social occasions (the titular four weddings and a funeral), he realizes he may be in love as his notions around the idea change. With a witty screenplay and excellent cast, the film features razor-sharp British humor, and Grant has incredible chemistry with his co-star Andie MacDowell. 

In Wonka, Grant takes on the boldest role of his career yet: An Oompa-Loompa. The film tells the origin story of Willy Wonka and his passion for creating chocolate, which leads to his legendary factory. Acting alongside Timothée Chalamet, Grant is orange, tiny, and has green hair. He delivers whimsical fun and snarky humor, and while Grant reportedly didn’t enjoy filming due to the computer animation process, you really wouldn’t know it while watching. He’s a total hoot.

Grant leads another seminal British film in About A Boy , alongside a very young Nicholas Hoult. He plays Will, a rich and childless man who attends single-parent meetings in order to pursue women. One day, he meets twelve-year-old Marcus, and the pair form a special bond as Will helps the troubled boy and learns to become responsible. Genuinely funny and moving, About a Boy tugs at the heartstrings, and Grant is perfectly cast in an emotionally layered performance.

Like most actors, Grant has a couple of blockbusters under his sleeve, and one of them is Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Based on the popular role-playing game, the fantasy flick follows a group of bandits who go on a quest to retrieve a lost relic. Grant plays Forge Fitzwilliam, a wealthy lord who initially helps the bandits but ends up betraying them for his own selfish gain. Grant convincingly hides the character’s maliciousness behind his signature charm. 

The Gentlemen is an action-packed ensemble piece from director Guy Ritchie and is led by Matthew McConaughey. When expat Mickey tries to sell off his marijuana empire before retirement, it triggers a series of events, as others blackmail and bribe him to take what is his. Grant plays reporter Fletcher, who cheekily narrates the story while investigating Mickey's case. Fletcher steals every scene, with Grant putting on a highly memorable cockney accent. 

Florence Foster Jenkins tells the true story of the titular Florence (played by Meryl Streep), a socialite living in 1940s New York City. With the help of her husband, she tries to pursue her dream of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible voice. Grant plays one of his most mature characters yet as Florence’s supportive husband, St. Clair Bayfield. Despite his wife’s lack of talent, he loves her dearly and will do anything to help her. Grant perfectly exudes his kindness. 

In Music and Lyrics, Grant is once again the rom-com leading man, but he’s not as young as he once was. Grant plays a washed-up singer who tries to write a chart-topping song for a teen singing sensation, hoping it will mark his comeback. Having never written a decent lyric in his life, he enlists the help of the young woman who waters his plants. Even with age, Grant still proves he’s got all the magnetism and screen presence that made him so popular in the genre.

From The Matrix directors Lilly and Lana Wachowski, Cloud Atlas is a science-fiction film that is large in scale and ambition. Set over six very different timelines, it tells the story of how individual actions can affect the past, present, and future and how everything is connected. Like Tom Hanks and the other actors in the movie, Grant plays several characters, including a Kona chief, a hotel worker, a restaurant manager, and more. He is a chameleon who is effortlessly able to transform into each role.

Hugh Grant in a period piece from the world of Jane Austen just makes total sense, and he starred in the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. When their father dies, three sisters are left with little inheritance. They try to provide for themselves while navigating romance. Grant plays the wealthy Edward Ferrars, with whom Elinor falls in love, but his family disapproves of their relationship due to her status. Grant is as dashing as ever in this lush period piece.

While it’s not in the league of Notting Hill or Bridget Jones’s Diary, Two Weeks Notice is still another enjoyable Grant-led rom-com, also starring Sandra Bullock. The film follows Lucy, a lawyer who starts working for real estate developer George. However, when she finds that he relies on her for every tiny decision in his life, she tries to leave. It’s highly predictable, but Grant and Bullock make for a winning pair, and the film would have been far more average without their presence.

In one of his earlier roles, Grant stars in the period drama Impromptu, which also features Mandy Patinkin, Judy Davis, Julian Sands, and Emma Thompson. Set in 1830s France, the film follows a female novelist who goes by the name of George Sand and falls in love with composer Frédéric Chopin, played by Grant. Despite the movie being less famous than Grant’s other works, it proved his ability as a romantic lead and helped catapult him to the success he would acquire. 

Sirens is an erotic melodrama starring Grant, Sam Neill, Elle Macpherson, and more. Grant plays Reverend Anthony Campion, who is in 1930s Australia with his wife. They visit artist Norman Lindsey (a real-life figure) and ask him to revoke a controversial painting from his show when they meet the three sexually charged models he lives with. While the film is arguably exploitative in a sense, it also offers some thoughtful and bold exploration into human sexuality.

Directed by James Ivory, who also wrote Call Me By Your Name, Maurice is a compelling story about repressed desire in Edwardian England. Based on the 1971 novel by E. M. Forster, the plot follows two young men, Clive and Maurice, who fall in love at Cambridge University. Clive marries a woman, but their relationship still simmers. Maurice was the very first feature film (not made for TV) that Grant appeared in, and he certainly left an impression.

Also directed by James Ivory, The Remains of the Day is considered a period masterpiece and was nominated for eight Academy Awards. Anthony Hopkins plays Mr. Stevens, a butler who has served Lord Darlington for years. When he learns his employer is a Nazi, he must decide whether to stay or leave. Grant plays Reginald Cardinal, the journalist nephew of Darlington. The acclaimed film also stars Emma Thomspon, Christopher Reeve, and James Fox.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits is an action-packed family film from Aardman Animations, which also brought audiences Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit. The film follows the Pirate Captain, voiced by Grant, who wants to win the Pirate of the Year award. In order to do so, he travels to Victorian London to defeat his rivals. It is the only animated film of Grant’s entire career, proving that he should really do more voice work as this whimsical and witty adventure proves.