Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as a charming and vulnerable romantic leading man, and has since transitioned into a more dramatic character actor. Among his accolades, he has received a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Honorary César. As of 2018, his films had grossed a total of nearly US$3 billion worldwide. In 2022, Time Out magazine listed Grant as one of Britain's 50 greatest actors of all time.
Grant first received attention for his roles in acclaimed period dramas such as Merchant-Ivory's Maurice (1987), for which he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and The Remains of the Day (1993), as well as Sense and Sensibility (1995). Grant emerged a star with Richard Curtis's romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), for which he won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He starred in further romantic comedies such as Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and its 2004 sequel, About a Boy (2002), Two Weeks Notice (2002), Love Actually (2003), and Music and Lyrics (2007).
Grant began to take against-type parts, starting with multiple roles in The Wachowskis' science fiction film Cloud Atlas (2012). He received critical acclaim for his roles in Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) and Paddington 2 (2017), receiving two nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. He took on television roles in the BBC miniseries A Very English Scandal (2018) and the HBO miniseries The Undoing (2020), earning two nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor. He has also starred in Guy Ritchie's action films, including The Gentlemen (2019).
Hallmarks of his comic skills include a nonchalant touch of sarcasm and characteristic physical mannerisms. He has been outspoken about his antipathy towards the profession of acting, his disdain towards the culture of celebrity, and his hostility towards the media. He emerged as a prominent critic of the conduct of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation during the News International phone hacking scandal.