Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy
While the laggard forBridget Jones : disturbed About The Boylooks forebode , it is still strange to see series villain Hugh Grant return to rom - com territory after a strand of darker function . Early in his calling , Hugh Grant largely steered clear of darker fare . His alone early horror role , 1988’sThe Lair of the White Worm , was a campy , silly supernatural repugnance - comedy that lean into the latter over the former . His biggest successes throughout the ‘ 90 came in the form of romantic period dramas likeSense and Sensibilityand rom - coms . Grant star in a lot of classic rom - coms .
Hugh Grant ’s Modern horror movie Heretic show that he should proceed following his career fault that began in 2017 with Paddington 2 .
BeforeHugh Grant ’s villain performancesbecame his previous - vocation forte , the actor starred inFour Weddings and a Funeral , Nine Months , Notting Hill , Love Actually , Two Weeks Notice , andAbout A Boy . Although he also play a major role in 2001 ’s successful fixed storage - comBridget Jones ’s Diary , this was something of an anomaly in the superstar ’s canyon . As the deceitful Daniel Cleaver , Grant meet against eccentric and subverted the foppish sieve persona he had make grow in other rom - coms . Heretic ’s Mr. Reedproves that Grant took this revolutionist much further in the decades that watch , gradually becoming an iconic sieve baddie .
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Now , Bridget Jones : excited About The Boysees Hugh Grant return to the role of Daniel Cleaver in a belated follow - upto 2016’sBridget Jones ’s Baby . Although Cleaver did n’t come along in that sequel , he did play a role in 2004’sBridget Jones : The Edge of Reason . Cleaver is a major antagonist in the series , but it is still foreign to see Grant recapitulate the role after a streak of more serious high - visibility baddie role in recent year . Grant ’s transition into villain roles began with a project that was ironically even light thanBridget Jones ’s Diary , 2017’sPaddington 2 .
Grant cemented his status as a major pic baddie in 2024 ’s spiritual horrorHeretic .
After play the suave Phoenix Buchanan in that furor strike kin flick , Grant played an detestable amoral secret eye in 2019 ’s crime comedyThe Gentlemen . This successful Guy Ritchie collaboration was take after by 2023’sOperation Fortune : Ruse de Guerre , in which Grant diddle another villain role , and the same year’sDungeons & dragon : Honor Among Thieves , wherein the star play a hold up baddie . However , Grant cemented his condition as a major movie scoundrel in2024 ’s spiritual horror movieHeretic , which swiftly became one of the most hail performances of his life history . Grant play a seemingly sweet theologist .
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Heretic ’s tortuous story sees Grant ’s charismatic religious aficionado gradually unwrap himself to be a monster , and the psychological thriller benefits from Grant ’s survive image as a sweet , bumbling everyman . Hugh Grant ’s darkHereticrole make headway him acclaim but it was n’t his first successful villain operation , and reviewers highlighted his performances in bothPaddington 2andThe Gentlemenas high points in the two movies . It makes sense for Grant to now return as Daniel Cleaver since , however indirectly , his part inBridget Jones ’s Diaryhelped shape his late - vocation villain roles .
After convincing as the sleazy , ambidextrous meat cleaver , Grant parlay this success into a dark-skinned part in 2006’sAmerican Dreamz . This bleak amusement industry sarcasm saw Grant play a full put-on of Simon Cowell , but the pic ’s underperformance meant it was a few years before Grant generate to dreary story . Long beforeBridget Jones : Mad About The Boy , Grant appeared as a villain in 2012 ’s straggly , ambitious sci - fi epicCloud Atlas , but the movie ’s alone complex body part mean that he play various roles in the same account .
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Meanwhile , underwhelming reviews gradually drew Grant aside from the universe of rom - coms . Rom - coms were key to Grant ’s early career success , but the actor ’s late submission into the genre do poorly . 2007’sMusic and Lyricsearned mixed reviews , while 2009’sDid You Hear About the Morgans?was critically vituperate . 2014’sThe Rewritewas Grant ’s last rom - com , but the Marisa Tomei vehicle fail to find an consultation despite reuniting Grant withTwo Weeks Noticewriter / director Marc Lawrence . AfterThe Rewriteflopped , Grant sagely began his shift toward villain roles .
WhileHugh Grant ’s best read-only storage - comroles let in some classical entries into the genre , it is average to say that the actor ’s transition into playing villains has been equally successful . Operation Fortune : Ruse de Guerreunderperformed at the box office , butDungeons & firedrake : Honor Among Thieveswas well received by both critic and fans of the game . His performance inThe Gentlemenwas a high item in an otherwise uneven Ritchie outing , andHereticwas an unlimited Revelation of Saint John the Divine for the intimate lead . As such , it is bizarre to see Hugh Grant back in rom - com mode forBridget Jones : Mad About The Boy .
Hereticis presently play in theaters .