Friedrich --

I'm not much of a fan of Hugh Grant as a movie performer. About half of what he does makes me giggle, but then he repeats it, and then does so again. As an actor, he doesn't seem very resourceful.

Hugh Grant the public personality amuses me no end. He's foxy, vain and funny -- his specialty: being so-modest-he's-showing-off, or so-vain-he's-cute, and sometimes both at the same time. In person, he displays all the virtuosity he doesn't have when he's on screen.

Did you ever catch him on "Inside the Actor's Studio"? A hilarious hour -- Grant is amazingly quickwitted and droll despite the best efforts of the show's ineffably worshipful and somber host, James Lipton. Lipton keeps trying to snake a tongue up Grant's ass, and Grant keeps dodging nimbly away, cracking jokes as he does so.

The public Grant comes across well in newspaper interviews too. Amy Raphael talks to him for the Observer, here.

Sample passage:

I cut my hair once to get out of floppy-hair mode and it didn't work. I looked like a lesbian. I really did - I've got that kind of face. I looked like a slightly cross lady golfer.

Best,

Michael