Hugh Grant reveals he took a break from acting after developing ‘a bad attitude’

He recently returned to our screens with a new role in HBO’s The Undoing.

And Hugh Grant, 60, has revealed why he took an break from acting after developing ‘a bad attitude’. 

The British actor admitted he was ’embarrassed’ to begin a hiatus from leading roles after his Hollywood offers dried up, saying on Friday that he developed a ‘bad attitude.’ 

The Four Weddings And A Funeral star told the Los Angeles Times: ‘I developed a bad attitude from about 2005 onwards, shortly after “Music and Lyrics. I just had enough. Then I went back in 2009 and made another film. 

‘At that point, it wasn’t me giving up Hollywood. Hollywood gave me up because I made such a massive turkey with that film with Sarah Jessica Parker [Did You Hear About The Morgans?]. 

‘Whether I wanted to or not after that, the days of being a very well-paid leading man were suddenly gone overnight. It was slightly embarrassing but it left life free for other things.’ 

Last week, the Notting Hill actor joked he took his role in The Undoing because he wanted to ‘get away from [his] exhausting children’. 

‘Hollywood gave me up’: The Four Weddings And A Funeral star said that Hollywood ‘gave him up’ after his critically panned role Did You Hear About The Morgans with Sarah Jessica Parker

He spoke candidly about fatherhood during an appearance on last Friday’s Graham Norton Show, as he joked being away from them made him ‘muster emotion’ for the first time in his career. 

Detailing why he originally wanted to take on the role of Jonathan Fraser, he began: ‘I did this job partly to get away from my young children as they are exhausting at my age.   

‘I thought it would be great to have a break but every time I arrived in New York I missed them so badly I was a mess, so every scene was suddenly a cue for tears for me. I’d even go into a cafe and ask for a cup of coffee and the tears would come!’  

Murder, mystery: The Undoing, based on the novel You Should Have Known, follows Grace (Nicole Kidman) and Jonathan Fraser (Grant), who become embroiled in a murder mystery plot

Detailing how he would often get overcome with emotion while away from his little ones, the Padding 2 actor went on: ‘Having spent a career unable to muster a single emotion, I find in my old age I can’t stop them. 

‘It’s something to do with children or love, or my wife, or something, but I can’t keep it at bay.’ 

Hugh and wife Anna Eberstein’s first child, John, was born in 2012. They have since gone on to have a second child in December 2015 and a third in March 2018. 

The couple have not disclosed the gender or names of their youngest children. 

Children: Last week, the Notting Hill actor joked he took his role in The Undoing because he wanted to ‘get away from [his] exhausting children’ (pictured with wife Anna Eberstein)