Writer Richard Curtis Thought Hugh Grant Was “Too Good Looking” for ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’

Hugh Grant nearly lost out on his leading role in 1994’s Four Weddings and a Funeral because writer Richard Curtis thought he was “too good looking” for the part!

After the actor revealed last week that Curtis did “everything in his power” to cast someone else as Charles, the screenwriter spoke up about his initial hesitations.

“The absolutely key thing for that film when I was writing it was that the person who was playing the lead would not be good looking,” he revealed at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. “That was the absolute starting thesis of the film.”

He continued, “So when finally we’d auditioned every single young person in the country and we were voting, me, Mike [Newell, the director] and Duncan [Kenworthy, producer], two people voted for Hugh — that was them. And I voted for someone else.”

The movie, which helped cement Hugh’s status as a rom-com king, marked the start of a professional relationship between the pair that later included 1999’s Notting Hill and 2003’s Love Actually.

Related: In Honor of Hugh Grant’s 54th Birthday, A Look At Every Romantic Comedy He’s Ever Been In!

Hugh also recalled the rocky audition experience, explaining on The Graham Norton Show: “I was very much unwanted…I remember it was a very traumatic audition.

“I read the speech I had made at my brother’s wedding, which I thought would charm them but I think it slightly sickened them,” he added. “But I got the part in the end because I don’t think they could find anyone else!”