With Hugh Grant delivering a villainous turn in the horror movie “Heretic,” it’s the perfect time to take a stroll through his filmography. Plus, from lush Merchant Ivory period pieces, to defining modern rom-coms, the Grant oeuvre is full of the perfect escapist comfort watches that might prove to be a balm during this election week. So let the British charmer do his thing, and remember why we fell in love with the floppy-haired Grant in the first place.

One of his first breakout roles was in the 1987 Merchant Ivory film “Maurice,” based in the E.M. Forster novel about a young man coming to grips with his queer sexuality in Edwardian society. Grant plays Clive Durham, who falls in love with his friend Maurice (James Wilby), though the two are afraid to take it further. The two young actors won the Volpi Cup for best actor at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a costume design Oscar. Stream it on Criterion Channel, Tubi, Kanopy or rent elsewhere.

In 1988, he went the opposite direction with the dark horror comedy “The Lair of the White Worm,” directed by Ken Russell, playing a vampire hunter of sorts. Tack it on as a lingering spooky season watch and stream it on Prime, Tubi or Freevee.

Grant’s star-making role came with the Richard Curtis-scripted rom-com “Four Weddings and a Funeral” (1994) directed by Mike Newell, cementing his person as a rakish bachelor-type. His character Charles suddenly has to consider the possibility of falling in love when he meets a charming American woman (Andie MacDowell) at a wedding and continues running into her at well, several other weddings and a funeral. Grant won a Golden Globe and BAFTA for his performance. Stream it on Max or rent it elsewhere.

Ang Lee’s sensual Jane Austen adaptation “Sense and Sensibility” (1995) is one of the best in the genre, with Grant co-starring as Edward Ferrars, developing a romance with Emma Thompson’s Elinor. Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman co-star. Stream it on MGM+ or rent elsewhere.

The iconic “Notting Hill” (also written by Richard Curtis) paired rom-com royalty Grant and Julia Roberts in 1999, and for a time, the Roger Michell-directed film was the highest-grossing British film of all time (“The King’s Speech” now holds that title). An American actress walks into a bookshop and the rest is rom-com history. Stream it on Peacock or rent it elsewhere.

There’s also “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (2001) based on the Helen Fielding book, in which Grant enters into a love triangle with Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth (streaming on Max), and the Nick Hornby adaptation “About a Boy” with Grant playing the unlikely father figure to a young Nicholas Hoult (rent on iTunes or Amazon). We also cannot forget “Love Actually” (2003), the omnibus seasonal romance about eight different couples navigating their relationship issues during the Christmas season. Love it or hate it, “Love Actually” is here to stay as a holiday classic. Stream it on Prime Video.

In recent years, Grant has moved away from the rom-coms and into more character acting work, including most memorably as the villainous actor Phoenix Buchanan in the beloved 2017 film “Paddington 2” (available on Prime Video). He of course reunited with his “Paddington 2” director Paul King to play an Oompa Loompa in the 2023 movie “Wonka” (streaming on Max), proving that Grant might be the king of the rom-coms, but he truly can do anything.

———

©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC