Hugh Grant jokes about his 1995 arrest for lewd conduct during the premiere

Hugh Grant poked fun at his past legal drama at the premiere of his latest film.

As he introduces his new film Heretic at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood on Thursday, October 24, the actor had the audience laughing with his few words.

“I don’t have anything interesting to add, other than it’s a lot of fun to be here,” 64-year-old Grant said via The Hollywood Reporter. “Hollywood Boulevard has always been a happy place for me.”

The surprising joke made many spectators laugh and remember the actor’s encounter with the police almost thirty years ago.

In 1995, Grant was arrested for lewd conduct with a sex worker. At the time, the actor was dating Elizabeth Hurley – was arrested at 1:30 a.m. two blocks south on Sunset Boulevard, then police officers reportedly captured he received oral sex in his white BMW. Scholarship shared later he was “not in a good state of mind” at the time of the incident.

This isn’t the first time Grant has made fun of his arrest. While it appears on The view in March 2023, the actor was asked why he spoke out against the way British tabloids violate people’s privacy.

“Everyone thinks, ‘Oh yeah, he’s just bitter because he got arrested with a whore in 1995,'” he joked on the daytime talk show. “But actually it had nothing to do with that, because it was never exposed by the tabloids. It was the damn police giving everyone the information. It had nothing to do with that.”

Grant explained that some tabloids need to be reminded that “with power comes responsibility.”

“These major newspaper owners – largely non-taxpaying newspaper owners – are living above the law and invading the privacy of people whose children die in a traffic accident or whatever to get the sensational article,” he said. ‘No one dares to tackle them in Britain because they are so afraid of them, especially the politicians. That’s why politicians, really in my country, are elected by the press. … That is what my campaign is about.”

Grant was able to continue his career after his arrest in Hollywood. In addition to landing roles in beloved films such as Love actually And About a boythe actor now has the chance to star in a religious horror thriller.

Heretic follows two young Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher And Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by Mr. Reed (Grant).

‘It’s nice that AFI has us. It’s nice of you to show up,” Grant told the audience at the AFI Fest screening. “It was nice of these girls to be so brilliant in the film. It was nice of (directors Scott Beck And Bryan Bos) for putting me in it and nice of the producers to pay me so little. I hope you enjoy it.”

Heretic will be in cinemas everywhere from November 8.