Hugh Grant has revealed that one of the most memorable moments in festive classic Love Actually was his own invention.
Grant plays a newly elected Prime Minister in Richard Curtis’ 2003 ensemble rom-com, which follows a sprawling cast of characters as they fall in and out of love in the run-up to Christmas.
His character, David, eventually ends up falling for Downing Street tea lady Natalie (played by Martine McCutcheon) over the course of the movie, and their relationship is accidentally revealed when he attends his niece and nephew’s Christmas play.
In one unforgettable scene, Grant dances through Downing Street to Jump (For My Love) by the Pointer Sisters, getting into the groove until his secretary, played by Meg Wynn Owen, walks in on him.
“I will give myself the credit of having the secretary catch me… genius,” he admitted during an anniversary TV special, presented by ABC news host Diane Sawyer.
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The actor went on to reveal that he considered the scene to be “excruciating” and immediately knew he wouldn’t enjoy filming it when he read the script.
“I think I saw it in the script and thought ‘I’ll hate doing that’,” he recalled. “No Englishman can dance when they’re sober at 8am in the morning.
“And to this day, you know, there’s many people, and I agree with them, and we think it’s the most excruciating scene ever committed to celluloid. But then some people like it.”
Writer and director Curtis, who also appeared in the reunion special, said that Grant was “grumpy” about having to dance on screen, but ultimately agreed due to “contractual obligation.”
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“I think he was hoping I [would] get ill or something and they’d say, ‘Oh, what a shame to lose that dancing sequence,’” he explained.
Cast members Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Laura Linney also appeared in the TV special to look back on their memories of filming Love Actually.
Grant went on to reprise his role – and perform another dance – as the Prime Minister in a Comic Relief special for Red Nose Day, which aired in 2017.
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