“Sorry… It was meant for Tom Cruise”: Hugh Grant Couldn’t Believe His Luck After Landing a Role That Ended Up Being Too Good To Be True
Hugh Grant gained prominence as the leading man in romance dramas. However, he later branched out to doing more dramatic roles. He gained recognition for starring in period dramas like Sense and Sensibility. He has received numerous accolades including a British Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Honorary César.
Despite everything that he has earned, Hugh Grant once admitted that he had gotten biased with his career choices which landed him in a difficult position in the industry. Consequently, when he sent the script of Jerry Maguire, he could not believe that it was actually for him.
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Hugh Grant Was Sent Jerry Maguire‘s Script
In 2017, Jerry Maguire writer and director Cameron Crowe revealed that he had written the titular role for Tom Hanks who was busy directing That Thing You Do at the time. So, Hanks suggested that Crowe get Tom Cruise to star in the lead role in the movie. That was what actually happened. However, someone seemed to have made a slip-up as the script was sent to Hugh Grant.
In an interview with NPR Fresh Air, Grant recounted his reaction to receiving the Jerry Maguire script saying:
“And they did have a track record of doing that. They’d done it once before. And I’d called and said, ‘Hang on, this is good. And you sure it was meant for me?’ And they’d said, ‘No, sorry. This is meant for Tom Cruise.’ That was Jerry Maguire.”
The Notting Hill actor’s suspicions were confirmed. It must have been a tough pill for him to swallow when he found out that Tom Cruise earned $20 million for starring in the movie. Jerry Maguire was a sports romcom and grossed more than $273 million worldwide against its production budget of $50 million.
Hugh Grant Admitted He Had Made Bad Choices
Hugh Grant has been in show business for years so he does not mind being a little harsh now and then no matter how much backlash he receives for it. One could say that he has gotten a good read on how the industry works. He once criticized his Music and Lyrics co-star Drew Barrymore’s singing abilities.
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When it comes to criticism, Grant does not spare himself either. In the interview with NPR Fresh Air, he admitted his shortcomings, saying:
“I managed to sell out and just do highly paid, terrible miniseries and very odd European, what I called ‘Euro puddings,’ where they’d be written by a Spaniard directed by a German, [with] English actors. They were awful and they never got really released properly. But, you know, it sounded like fun. There were pretty actresses in it that I wanted to spend time with and I did things for all the wrong motives.”
— Hugh Grant (@HackedOffHugh) August 31, 2022
These decisions nearly annihilated the Love Actually star’s career as an actor until he did Four Weddings and a Funeral. Given his reputation at the time, he was not sure if the script was meant for him. As it turned out, it was and it altered the course of his career.
