The Big Break: Hugh Grant Made Film Debut in ‘Privileged’ 40 Years Ago
variety.comTim Gray Senior Vice President40 years ago, Hugh Grant made his film debut in 1982’s “Privileged,” a little-seen effort about undergraduates at Oxford (where Grant studied English lit), which was funded by the Oxford University Film Foundation.
In its July 14, 1982, review, Variety said the film — which also marked the bows of Imogen Stubbs, James Wilby and composer Rachel Portman — would have “limited interest” for most audiences but that the actor, billed as Hughie Grant, gives a convincing performance as an “aristocratic dropout.”For the next five years, Grant did sketch comedy, played the classics onstage and worked in TV; his first mention in Variety was for the 1985 miniseries “Jenny’s War,” playing the RAF pilot son of Dyan Cannon.
He boosted his profile with the 1987 Merchant-Ivory film “Maurice,” adapted from E.M. Forster. The film also featuring his “Privileged” costar Wilby and the two shared the best-actor prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Grant seemed fated for a career in period films, such as “White Mischief,” “The Lair of the White Worm,” “Impromptu” (as Chopin), “Remains of the Day” and “Sense and Sensibility.”A turning point came in 1994 with the hit “Four Weddings and a Funeral.” Variety described Grant’s persona as “a charming bumbler with natural elegance, wit and good looks but who suffers from self-doubts.” That set the tone for his subsequent romantic comedies, including “Notting Hill” (1999), “Two Weeks’ Notice,” cult fave “Love, Actually,” and “Music and Lyrics” (which gave him a chance to sing and dance hilariously in neo-‘80s style).
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