While love actually is a holiday favorite for many, leading actor Hugh Grant might disagree. The actor had a lot to say as he reflected on his experiences filming the romantic comedy during ABC’s new special. The laughter and the secrets of love actually: 20 years later.
With a star-studded cast, the 2003 film follows ten different love stories over a five-week countdown to Christmas. The stories are connected throughout the runtime, with the characters playing roles in each other’s travels. While it received a mixed reception upon its release, the film was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and three BAFTA awards, winning one.
Grant takes on the role of David, the British Prime Minister who must navigate the murky waters to fall in love with a new junior member of his team.
Looking back on the film’s complexities, the actor said Richard Curtis’ script was “a little bit psychotic,” describing it as “Richard on steroids,” per The Independent. He said in the special: “The thing about him, what you have to remember is when he writes about love, he means it. And that’s pretty rare.”
Grant has a few more revelations about the film, and at one point admitted to watching the film “drunken” with his wife, Anna Eberstein, who felt the film was “all about pain” and “suffering.”
And Grant had to suffer. He also recalled his infamous dance sequence in the special, which made him wince.
“I saw it in the script and I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to hate doing this.’ I had absolutely no desire to do the dance, let alone rehearse it,” he said.
Per diversityGrant described the play as “the most haunting scene ever committed to celluloid”.
Curtis, who also served as director, claimed Grant tried to get out of the act by faking an illness, but he had to go through with it because it was a “contractual obligation.” He called it “excruciatingly embarrassing” to watch Grant perform the sequence, but added that he was “perfect”.
The laughter and the secrets of love actually: 20 years later streams on Hulu.