Hugh Grant's life is once again mirroring art, as he comes ever closer into his most iconic character, the Prime Minister from Love Actually. Campaigning alongside various candidates - from the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Independent MPs - Grant surprised voters in North London on Sunday as he went door-to-door convincing people to vote in a way that would stop Brexit. As the general election nears, he has been very vocal about the need for tactical voting to ensure the Conservatives don’t win a majority, hoping that unseating Tories will prevent leaving the European Union.
‘The first time in my life I’m getting active politically because I think the country is on the edge of a true abyss,’ he said in a campaign video for independent candidate Dominic Greive. ‘If Boris Johnson gets a majority we will leave the EU with a no-deal at the end of next year. He won’t have time to make a new free trade deal in that year and he’s already said he won’t apply for an extension.
The first time in my life I’m getting active politically because I think the country is on the edge of a true abyss
‘So that’s what we’ll get, the catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit,’ he continued. ‘With hundreds of thousands of job losses, food shortages, medicine shortages, end of peace in Northern Ireland and a massive blow to our standing and influence in the world. I think I need to do whatever modest thing I can to try and stop that.’
Grant is set to join various other candidates to continue campaigning - with many hoping to get a knock on the door from the Prime Minister we wish we had. And Grant isn't shying away from the comparison either, joking about his role in a Q&A after canvassing with Liberal Democrat candidate Luciana Berger. When asked how he would tackle the US president ‘as a former Prime Minister’, he said it would be tricky with ‘a complete moron as president’.
Any chance you might consider standing in 2023, Hugh?
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Everyone Is Obsessed With Hugh Grant’s Response To Boris Johnson Suspending Parliament
A definitive list of the best Hugh Grant rom coms...
Grazia Hugh Grant RomComs
1 of 8Notting Hill, 1999
Notting Hill was without a doubt peak-Hugh in all of the glory that we remember him by. Awkward, unassuming and charming. Not to mention lives in a beautiful flat in Notting Hill and spends his days in one of those old dreamily idyllic book stores.
2 of 8Four Weddings And A Funeral, 1994
Ah, Charles. Don't lie, you fell for him too. The floppy hair prevails, as does our unrealistic desire for the star-crossed lover fantasy.
3 of 8Love Actually, 2003
It is here, we believe, that Hugh really shone and yes, that impromptu dance around No 10 Downing Street to Girls Aloud scored him all the points.
4 of 8About A Boy, 2002
Nicholas Hoult had very humble beginnings in the film world. Before X-Men and even Skins, we firsts saw his little face alongside Hugh Grant in About A Boy. No, Hugh doesn't play the nicest of humans in the beginning but it's his redeeming 'I can do better if you'll only teach me how' quality that makes him such a strong rom-com favourite.
5 of 8Bridget Jones' Diary, 2001
Whether you were team Daniel Cleaver or Mark Darcy, you can't deny that there was something pretty special about watching Hugh Grant and Colin Firth play fight in the street/through the window of an Italian restaurant. Yes, Hugh played the least likable of the two men, but that 'big knickers' line will forever be ingrained in our memories.
6 of 8Two Weeks Notice, 2002
A personal unsung favourite is Two Weeks Notice. It's the sort of film that was played on TV quite a bit and you probably have fleeting memories of something to do with Sandra Bullock trying to stop a building from being knocked down and Hugh Grant getting in the way. Another win for Hugh's cinematic bad guy to good guy transformation.
7 of 8Did You Hear About The Morgans, 2009
This one probably didn't need to happen did it, Hugh? Sarah Jessica Parker was trying to ride the tail-end of the Sex And The City wave and Hugh, well this wasn't the grown up romantic come back you planned, was it?
8 of 8Music & Lyrics
Music & Lyrics deeply saddens many people. We had two solid actors and an awful, awful film. Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is a washed up singer who hits it off with lyricist Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) and beyond that, there's not much more you need to know about the film.