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Hugh Grant was cast to portray Daniel Cleaver, one of Bridget Jones’ love interests in the 2001 filmBridget Jones’s Diary.Starring alongside Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth, he reprised his role in the sequel of the romantic comedy in the 2004 filmBridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.People loved the films, and the two-part series soon became a cult classic. Both films grossed over $500 million at the box office and received a pretty good critical response.
However, despite its financial and critical success, Grant rejected the offer he was given for a third film in the series. After this, the filmmakers decided to move ahead without Daniel Cleaver and introduced Patrick Dempsey as one of Bridget’s new love interests, Jack Qwant. And during his interview with Bustle, theNotting Hillstar shared the reason he denied the offer.
Read More:“It was rather depressing”: Hugh Grant’s Life Became a Nightmare While Working in $113 Million Worth Movie As the Director Didn’t Even Have a Script
Hugh Grant Declined the Offer to Star inBridget Jones’s Baby
Followed by the release of the 2004 sequel, fans were looking forward to a third film in the series. However, it took longer than expected, and the film was released in 2016 withHugh Grantreplaced by Patrick Dempsey. While promoting his 2016 biopicFlorence Foster Jenkins,he talked about the reason he decided not to reprise his role in the threequel.
He shared that he worked with the makers for almost a year after they approached him. TheLove Actuallystar shared that although they approached him with a good central premise, the script was not complete yet. So they continued working on it. However, he didn’t feel great about it once the story started progressing.
“So I worked with them on it for some time, almost a year, I think, and I could never make the second half of the film work … especially for my character.”
He also mentioned after realizing what his character could have to face in the sequel, he refused to continue and suggested they move ahead with someone else. Patrick Dempsey later joined the cast of the thirdBridget Jonesmovie, replacing Grant’s Daniel Cleaver with Jack Qwant.
Read More:Hugh Grant Never Believed in Monogamy, Thought Marriage Was Unromantic Until He Fell in Love With Anna Eberstein
The Script Was Completely Different From the Book
Hugh Grant shared the news during his appearance onFree Radioin 2014. He shared that he dropped out of the thirdBridget Jonesfilm and claimed that the makers would probably continue the series without Daniel Cleaver.
He further mentioned how the script he received was“completely different”from the original book in the Bridget Jones book series.“The book’s excellent, by the way, but the script is completely different – well, the script as I last saw it a few years ago,”he said.
It was reported thatBridget Jones’s Babywas a different film. And the third book in the series,Mad About The Boy, could be adapted for the fourth film in the franchise. These changes between the book and the film’s story were also alleged to be the reason whyThe Gentlemenactor rejected the offer forBridget Jones’s Baby.
TheBridget Jonesfranchise is available to stream on Paramount+.
Read More:Hugh Grant Hated His Co-Star Julia Roberts Demanding $15 Million to Finish Their $363 Million Rom-Com Movie
Source:Bustle
Laxmi Rajput
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3451
Laxmi Rajput is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, with over 3,300 articles published covering film, TV, and pop culture. With a degree in Broadcast Journalism and over three years of experience in content writing, she pivoted to entertainment journalism because let’s be honest, superheroes, sitcoms, and Netflix binges are way more fun. Laxmi frequently covers Marvel, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and popular TV shows, offering both fan-first enthusiasm and thoughtful analysis. Her work often dives into Marvel theories, revisits the genius of The Big Bang Theory, or unpacks the Netflix phenomenon of Stranger Things.
