Hugh Grant says the scenes he’s most proud of in new horror movie Heretic took him 40 years to achieve

Even though he’s been in the industry for decades, Hugh Grant still believes that he’s learning as an actor. Best known for a string of roles in much beloved romantic comedies such as Notting Hill and Bridget Jones’ Diary, over recent years the British star has been branching out, taking on parts that would be considered against-type.

He played multiple characters in sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas and stole every single scene in Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen as the shady Fletcher. Plus, who could forget his phenomenal performance as the dastardly Phoenix Buchanan in the wonderful Paddington 2. However, his most recent role in A24’s latest horror movie Heretic sees Grant push himself like never before.

For his performance as the sinister Mr. Reed, a mysterious stranger two Mormon missionaries are attempting to convert, Grant has been receiving universal acclaim – in fact, some critics are even saying it’s one of the best performances of his long career. 

Chuckling in an interview with GamesRadar+, Grant says the praise is “music to my ears” before admitting that he’s very happy with the work he has done in Heretic, believing that he has improved as an actor over the years. He explains: “I’ve got better, I’ve got a better technique now for how to do film acting and I enjoy it a bit more. And I can do stuff now that I couldn’t do 20 years ago!”

Continuing, Grant reveals that the scenes he’s most proud of in the new horror film are ones he has long dreaded over the past 40 years of his career: As he concludes: “In this film, a lot of it is talking and I’ve always been quite good at talking, those have been easy scenes for me.

“But I also have some long close-ups without speaking and I’ve always dreaded those, as I grow self-conscious. But for me, that’s odd enough the thing I’m most proud of in this film. There are some close-ups of me where my face is totally free and that’s taken me a mere 40 years to get to that point.”

Heretic releases in UK cinemas on November 1, before opening in US theaters on November 8.

For more, check out the other upcoming horror movies that are soon heading your way.