Hugh Grant seems to always have something snippy and yet charming to say about his movies, but when it comes to Love Actually, he may have a tiny soft spot for the film. A classic of both Christmas movies and romantic comedies, Love Actually is the anthology that keeps on giving. Every year, the interweaving stories about the six weeks before Christmas just get more charming. It serves as a time capsule now that the incredible cast of Love Actually has grown, moving into new parts of their lives and, sadly sometimes, pᴀssing away.

British heartthrob Hugh Grant appears in the film as David, the Prime Minister of England. David shares his tale with Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), a new junior member of the household staff at 10 Downing Street. Natalie and David are smitten, but David refuses to act on his feelings, until Christmas Eve. After a long search knocking on doors, he finally finds Natalie and the pair share a kiss at a Christmas concert. A lovely movie and a lovely performance, Hugh Grant has been characteristically peppery about the film over the years.

Hugh Grant Reportedly Had A Strong Reaction To Seeing Love Actually For The First Time

Grant Reportedly Told Emma Thompson The Movie Was “PsycH๏τic”

Hugh Grant has never been one to mince words and when it came to his own performance in Love Actually, he reportedly was flabbergasted by the film. According to his co-star Emma Thompson, who plays his sister Karen, after the premiere, Grant walked up to her (via Independent),

“Hugh came up behind me as we were walking out and said, ‘Is that the most psycH๏τic thing we’ve ever been in?'”

Never one to give a straight answer to a direct question, when asked about the quote, Grant said,

“Did I say that?”

Either Hugh Grant hated it and is pretending to forget the interaction, or he hated it and does forget the interaction, or Thompson is misremembering the interaction and Grant still seems ready to believe he said something similar; indicating, at the very least, Grant was not thrilled with the film.

Grant Says Love Actually Is About Pain

Hugh Grant Appreciates The Director’s Work On The Film

Hugh Grant has often thrown darts at Love Actually, once cheekily responding to his Wonka co-star Timothée Chalamet’s claim that Love Actually is the best movie ever with (via Parade),

“Well, um, I like Colin’s bits. Colin Firth’s story. I skip through the rest of it, really. Which is weird, ’cause I hate Colin, and I want nothing but bad for his career.”

Whether that line expresses his real feelings on the film or it’s just a chance to rib his old friend or both, it seems that Grant’s views of the film have actually softened over the years. In a Vanity Fair rewatch interview, Grant watched some clips of himself in Love Actually, and despite calling scenes “preposterous“, he also made time to praise the director, Richard Curtis,

“We all thought he won’t be able to do it, but actually, I watched this the other day and I think he’s a brilliant director. Much more cinematic, great visuals, hats off to him.”

It may be reluctant praise, but it’s praise nonetheless, and, watching the clip, one gets the sense that Grant enjoys needling a movie he knows everyone loves. His reasons for disliking it come mostly from the joy he takes in being a grump, but when it comes down to it, he may have a soft spot for the film.

He also mentions how his wife helped unlock a major theme of Love Actually,

“My wife pointed this out the other day. She loves it, and she says it’s about pain, pain of love. And actually all these stories are based on pain. Even the little boy is in pain. I’m in pain and Laura Linney’s in pain because her brother is, you know, in a very difficult situation in hospital. It’s all about pain, and then the best kind of British humor, dealing with pain, and I think when humor in a film is solving something or a means of coping, I think it’s terribly enjoyable.”

Love Actually does have a lot of pain in its stories buried beneath the Christmas cheer and holiday romances. It seems that Grant’s wife’s understanding of that deeper theme helped Grant to appreciate it a bit more.

Grant’s Iconic Love Actually Dance Scene Was “Absolute Hell” To Film

The Scene In Question Is A Fan Favorite

While Hugh Grant may have come to appreciate Love Actually as a whole, it’s doubtful his thoughts about the dance sequence have changed at all. In the scene, David begins dancing around 10 Downing Street as The Pointer Sisters’ “Jump” plays in the background. He goes around the house until interrupted by his secretary and embarrᴀssingly goes back into Prime Minister mode. Grant said about the scene (via VanityFair),

“Imagine you’re a grumpy 40-year-old Englishman, it’s 7 o’clock in the morning and you’re stone-cold sober…it’s absolute hell.”

Hell or not, the scene cemented Hugh Grant and Love Actually in the Christmas and romance movie canons for good.