Hugh Grant has opened up about his decision not to appear in the third Bridget Jones movie.
While Hugh is set to reprise his role as Daniel Cleaver in the upcoming fourth film, slated for release next year, he previously pulled out of the third instalment in the franchise back in 2015.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the Bafta winner admitted he simply didn’t see a way for his character to slot into the movie’s storyline, which centered around Bridget becoming pregnant and not knowing which of two potential men was the father.
“I really couldn’t fit my character in – he just didn’t belong, so I stepped aside,” he told the magazine.
When a third Bridget Jones film was first announced in the 2010s, Hugh initially signed on to join Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth.
However, he later pulled out, explaining at the time: “I decided not to do it. But I think they’re going to go ahead and do it without Daniel [...] the script is completely different - well, the script as I last saw it a few years ago.”
A fourth movie, based on the book Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, completed filming earlier this year, with the plot centring around the title character as she mourns the loss of her husband and father of her children.
When he was first approached about the project, Hugh was again unenthused, telling Vanity Fair: “I loved the script – it made me cry, and I wanted to help with this one. But really there’s no part for Daniel Cleaver in it at all. They wanted him in it, and in the end, they’d done something I wasn’t crazy about.”
To get around this Hugh apparently “wrote some scenes” himself which made their way into the finished film.
“It’s absolutely the best [Bridget Jones book], and I think [the film is] very funny and very, very moving,” he added. “I’m not in a lot, I did a week’s work, that’s it…. But when you see the film, you’ll be very moved.”
As well as most of the cast from the original Bridget Jones book, the new film will add new additions to the franchise including One Day star Leo Woodall, Isla Fisher and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
While the film will be made available to stream across the pond, it will get a full cinematic here in the UK in time for Valentine’s Day 2025.