Hugh Grant Calls ‘Love Actually’ ‘Psychotic’ As Emma Thompson Admits Holiday Classic Is ‘Quite Out There’ In 20-Year Anniversary Special
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Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant weren’t sure about “Love Actually” when they first saw it on the big screen.
The pair spoke to Diane Sawyer about the much-loved film in a 20th anniversary special, titled “The Laughter and Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later”, for ABC News that aired on Tuesday.
When Sawyer asked Thompson if she remembered what she thought the first time she saw the 2003 festive rom-com for the first time, she replied: “I do. I just sat there watching, thinking, ‘God, this is… it’s quite kind of out there, isn’t it?’
“And then Hugh [Grant] came up behind me as we were walking out and says, ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but is that the most psychotic thing we’ve ever been in?’
“I just thought… what’s he talking about?” the actress laughed.
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Grant then said in the special, “Did I say that? Well, it is a bit psychotic. Like I said, it’s [director] Richard [Curtis] on steroids.
“But the thing is with him, what you have to remember is, when he writes about love, he means it. And that is quite rare.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, Grant joked about that famous dance routine.
“I saw it in the script and I thought, ‘Well, I’ll hate doing that,’” he said. “I didn’t fancy doing the dance at all, let alone rehearsing it.”
Curtis joked, “He kept saying no. I think he was hoping I’d get ill or something and we’d say, ‘Oh, well, what a shame, we’ll have to lose that dancing sequence.’”
The director said Grant “was grumpy” about it, but that “it was a contractual obligation.”
“A contractual guillotine, yes,” Grant said. “And I’m out of rhythm, by the way, especially at the beginning when I wiggle my ass.”
