• Hugh Grant called filming comedies a "miserable process."
• In the 1990s, he cemented his status as the go-to rom-com heartthrob.
• Grant is best known for films including "Notting Hill," "Love Actually," and "Bridget Jones's Diary."

Hugh Grant launched his acting career with romantic comedies such as "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Nine Months," and "Notting Hill" — but he said filming them is a "miserable process."

In the early stages of his career in the 1990s, Grant starred in many comedies, including "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain" and "Mickey Blue Eyes."

"Notting Hill" was one of the biggest British rom-coms of the 1990s, and he continued to work with its writer, Richard Curtis, on other movies.

His status as a reliable rom-com heartthrob continued to drive his career in the 2000s, but he has recently started experimenting with different genres, including the 2024 horror movie, "Heretic."

In an interview with Variety published on Monday, Grant said of romcoms: "I just think 'com' is difficult. I don't know about 'rom.' Rom is not easy — and you need to mean it — but com is certainly very difficult."

On comedies, he added: "It's a miserable process. You've probably been on comedy film sets and there's no laughter. You're doing it in a vacuum and if you're very lucky, you might hear a stifled snort from someone sitting near the monitor. That's gold to you."

The actor also discussed how he's viewed as "grumpy" online, and said that his previous comments about "Wonka" in 2023 were misconstrued. At the time, he said he "hated" playing an Oompa-Loompa.

Grant said: "That's what the internet does. It scrubs humor, and it scrubs context to create little clickbait moments. It's one of the reasons I loathe it with such violence, really."

In total, Grant's movies have collectively made $4.1 billion since he debuted in 1982, according to TheNumbers.com.

That includes 20 rom-coms, as well as a handful of action movies including: "The Gentlemen," "Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre," and "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves."

• Richard Curtis's idea for a second "Notting Hill" film was apparently shelved because of Julia Roberts.
• Roberts is said to have disliked his idea for a follow-up film with a divorce plot.
• "Julia thought that was a very poor idea," the "Love Actually" director told IndieWire.

The screenwriter behind the rom-com "Notting Hill" has opened up on why the classic movie has never got a sequel.

In an interview with IndieWire, Richard Curtis said that Julia Roberts was not a fan of his idea for a follow-up in which Roberts' and costar Hugh Grant's characters split up.

Asked if he would like to do any follow-ups to his past films, he said: "I tried doing one with 'Notting Hill' where they were going to get divorced, and Julia thought that was a very poor idea."

"I actually did four Red Nose Days and Comic Relief. We did those mini sequels to 'Love Actually,' and those satisfied me," he added.

A representative for Roberts did not respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.

In the 1999 film, Roberts plays a famous movie actor named Anna Scott.

Scott falls in love with William Thacker (played by Grant), the owner of a bookstore in the picturesque area of London from which the film takes its name.

While the paparazzi's fascination with Anna initially complicates their relationship, the film ends with the pair happily together and expecting a child.

When it was released in theaters over Memorial Day weekend in 1999, "Notting Hill" grossed around $21.8 million over three days, and $27.7 million over the long weekend, making it the biggest opening for a romantic comedy film at the time.

The movie, directed by the late Roger Michell, was nominated for best film in the comedy or musical genre at the Golden Globes, with Grant and Roberts also receiving individual nominations.

Curtis, whose new animated film "That Christmas" premieres on Netflix on December 4, suggested that even if Roberts was on board with a "Notting Hill" sequel, his focus was currently on branching out into new kinds of projects.

"I think oddly enough I'm keen at this stage in my career of doing new things as much as I can," he told IndieWire. "That's why it was great doing an animated film. I've made, I think, 17 films. It's quite hard for the 18th to be as different as this one is."