Nobody is having a better time working in movies today than Hugh Grant. The British actor has been an on-screen staple for decades, and has had quite a career renaissance in recent years, and that may be completely thanks to his work on one of the most beloved films of modern times, Paddington 2.
Which is why it’s probably not that much of a surprise that the actor decided to make a cameo in the franchise’s third installment, Paddington in Peru (via Variety). If you know Phoenix Buchanan (the character) and Hugh Grant (the actor), it makes absolutely perfect — and utterly delightful — sense.
What is Hugh Grant’s Cameo in Paddington in Peru?
According to Variety‘s reporting from the UK (where the film was released on November 8. Unfortunately, it won’t be coming to the United States until January 17, because time is cruel, and film release schedules are planned long in advance), Grant appears in “a short scene in Paddington in Peru, but it shows Buchanan still incarcerated and talking to group of visiting bears (relatives of Paddington) about the possibility of putting on a jailhouse performance of Goldilocks.”
Even better? The report claims that Grant was “so keen to get involved that he actually wrote most of the lines of the sketch himself.” Now, truly, what’s more charming than that?
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Of course, we cannot say we’re wholly surprised, given Grant’s love of the film. In a recent interview with Letterboxd, Grant reflected on his love for the film and how it came to sweep audiences away so unexpectedly. “I will probably never be as fond of a film as I am of Paddington 2,” the actor said in the interview. “It’s just beautifully made — and it’s very satisfying — especially because it’s so unexpected.”
The Paddington stuff starts at the 4 minute mark:
The actor went on to describe presenting an award at the Golden Globes that year, where he was introduced as the actor from Paddington 2. “And it got titters of the wrong kind in the audience, who obviously thought, ‘poor chap, is that what he’s been reduced to now?'”
As almost anyone reading this will likely know, the film went on to become one of the most well-reviewed and beloved films of all time — thanks in large part to Hugh Grant’s villainous down-on-his-luck actor, Phoenix Buchanan. This is perhaps best on display in the film’s final moments, which feature a very razzly-dazzly dong and dance routine in a jailhouse.
“Phoenix Buchanan’s dance is a … choreographed showbiz theatrical number,” Grant explained, “where I just had to work and work and work; go to a film studio and try and learn all the steps.” He went on to add that, “the older I get, the more I love song and dance in films. I watch Fred Astaire films and think, ‘what’s the point of any other kind of film?’ It’s so sad that it’s not fashionable anymore. Bring ’em back, I’d love to be in one!”
We’d have to agree with Grant on that latter point, and think he’d be absolutely smashing in one, too.
