Hugh Grant isn’t looking back at Notting Hill through rose-tinted glasses.
The actor, 64, recently revisited his role as William “Will” Thacker in the beloved 1999 rom-com during a Vanity Fair video interview published November 14, and he didn’t hold back, calling his character “despicable.”
“Whenever I’m flicking the channels at home after a few drinks, and this comes up, I just think, ‘Why doesn’t my character have any balls?’” Grant remarked, specifically pointing to a scene where Will fails to shield Julia Roberts’ character, Anna Scott, from paparazzi.
“She’s in my house and the paps come to the front door and ring the bell, and I just let her go past me and open the door, and that’s awful,” Grant said.
“I’ve never had a girlfriend, or indeed, now wife, who hasn’t said, ‘Why the hell didn’t you stop her? What’s wrong with you?’ And I don’t really have an answer to that.”
He added, “It was how it was written and I think he’s despicable, really.”
Still, Grant had nothing but praise for his co-star, applauding Roberts’ emotional depth. “She’s got that quality where it looks like her skin is wafer thin. You can sort of see her soul,” he said.
Written by Richard Curtis and directed by Roger Michell, Notting Hill became an instant classic, earning three Golden Globe nominations in 2000, including nods for both Grant and Roberts. But for Grant, his bookstore owner character remains a sore spot — albeit one that fans continue to adore.
