Promiscous politician: Miniseries now available on amazon Prime
Actor Hugh Grant said playing a gay British politician was completely different from his gay role in the film Maurice, at the start of his film career.
Real life stories: Grant plays Jeremy Thorpe in new gay drama
Grant plays the part of Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal, which has just debuted on Amazon Prime. It tells the true story of a British politician accused of trying to murder his gay lover.
In an interview with USA Today Grant is asked about his latest role and how it compared with playing Clive Durham in the 1980s period drama, Maurice.
Although he plays upper-class gay men both of whom risk losing everything if they come out, Grant said Jeremy Thorpe was a promiscuous man who couldn’t stay out of gay bars, whereas Clive and his love interest Maurice, in the earlier film, don’t even kiss.
‘The very big difference there is that Clive and Maurice never even kissed and never did anything, whereas Thorpe was incredibly promiscuous, which was weird’., Grant told the US paper.
Scorned lover: Ben Whishaw plays Grant’s gay lover.
‘Not only was it illegal, but the stigma was such that had he been publicly exposed, he wouldn’t have hesitated to shoot himself. That’s what men did in those days. Yet that didn’t stop him from being in the gay pubs of Piccadilly almost every night.’
Politics is showbiz for the ugly, says Grant
Grant also appeared to take at swipe at the show-business profession when asked what surprised him about playing the role of the gay 1970s politician.
‘In a way, it was what was unsurprising about him. … What strikes me (about British politics) is how similar it is to showbiz. A lot of people call it showbiz for the ugly’ he told the Toronto Star.
‘It’s rampant narcissism and egomania. That’s really what’s propelling all these guys instead of principle and desire to improve the country.’
A Very English Scandal is a black comedy miniseries that also stars Ben Whishaw, Alex Jennings and Patricia Hodge.
See also:
Here’s the hilarious reason Hugh Grant got a rash after kissing Ben Whishaw
