Is Hugh Grant Really About to Play Prince Andrew In a New Movie?

A new movie about the royal family is in the works—based on that infamous (and disastrous) BBC interview Prince Andrew gave in 2019 about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. If that wasn't enough to get your attention on its own, Deadline reported that Hugh Grant was on the short-list to play the disgraced prince. 

Well, not so fast. When asked about the rumors that he was in contention for the role, Grant told The Independent, "I've heard nowt." The actor also responded to a since-deleted tweet about the potential casting, "No I’m not. Never heard of it."

Perhaps that only means he hasn't heard anything yet. Producer Hilary Salmon reportedly told Deadline that casting for the film, to be called Scoop, has not yet begun. While Salmon admitted they of course have "thoughts" about who'd they'd like to see cast, she added that "no one is attached," and wouldn't comment on the Hugh Grant question.

Screenwriter Peter Moffat told Deadline the new film will cover, "how the BBC’s Newsnight team got the scoop, then the actual filming of it." The other big question the film aims to address, according to Moffat, is why Prince Andrew agreed to the interview in the first place. “How was it that he decided it was a good idea to do a great big long interview with Emily Maitlis on the BBC," Moffat said. 

In the actual interview, commonly referred to as a "car-crash," Prince Andrew claimed he could not have slept with Virginia Giuffre as she alleged, because he was at Pizza Express at the time. He also claimed that he "cannot sweat," among other gaffes. The publicity disaster directly preceded the prince being stripped of his military titles and royal duties, according to The Independent.