Hugh Grant in a Pop-Tart movie? Wait. Let’s back it up six months. Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa in Wonka? The very fabric of the comedy universe has greatly shifted, folks. Enter: Unfrosted. Grant stars as fallen stage actor turned cereal promoter Thurl Ravenscroft in the hilarious new Netflix comedy from writer-director Jerry Seinfeld. The story is based on the real-life 1963 saga between Kellogg’s and Post in Battle Creek, Michigan when the cereal rivals feverishly raced to create a pastry that would revitalize the breakfast experience.

Grant’s character, Thurl, voices Tony the Tiger. Fate allowed Thurl’s voice, and the character, famous for the Frosted Flakes slogan “THEY’RE GREAT!” The actor is part of an all-star cast featuring comedy legends such as Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Amy Schumer, Max Greenfield, Christian Slater, Sarah Cooper, Bill Burr, Bobby Moynihan, Mikey Day, and others. This marks Seinfeld’s directorial movie debut. Spike Feresten (Seinfeld) and Andy Robin (Seinfeld, Bee Movie) round out the writing credits.

In this exclusive MovieWeb interview, Hugh Grant opens up about taking on the role in the comedy, reveals the true nature of his working relationship with Seinfeld, and gives us an update on the next Bridget Jones movie, which reunites him with Renée Zellweger. Dive in.

Hugh Grant Enjoys ‘Playing Twisted, Angry Little Men’
Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story Release Date May 3, 2024 Cast Rachael Harris , Melissa McCarthy , Hugh Grant , James Marsden , Christian Slater , Dan Levy , Jerry Seinfeld , Maria Bakalova , amy schumer , Bill Burr , Max Greenfield , Fred Armisen , Jack McBrayer Runtime 1hr 33min Writers Spike Feresten , Barry Marder , Andy Robin

Over the last three decades, Hugh Grant has starred in some of the most memorable and popular films. From Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral to Notting Hill, Bridget Jones, and Dungeons & Dragons.Unfrosted marks another avant-garde turn for the actor, the movie is dubbed “a tale of ambition, betrayal, sugar, and menacing milkmen.” Sebastian Maniscalco, Beck Bennett, Cedric the Entertainer, Fred Armisen, John Slattery, Jon Hamm, Aparna Nancherla, Andy Daly, Sarah Burns, and other actors elbow their way into the already jam-packed outlandish comedy.

Look for an abundance of Easter Eggs, too — from hit shows like Seinfeld and Mad Men to the films The Right Stuff and The Godfather. It’s insanely fun, you can’t walk away from Unfrosted without smiling. When asked why he wanted to star in what, technically, is considered to be a zany Pop-Tart film, Grant said:

It was a funny script. It was Jerry Seinfeld. It was a whole host of top American comedians. And the older I get, the more I enjoy playing twisted, angry little men. And here was a perfect one.

Hugh Grant Got on Well with Jerry Seinfeld, Despite Jokes to the Contrary

Grant and Seinfeld reportedly found a good working relationship. At one point later in the shoot, the duo went out to dinner and drinks. And how was that experience?

“We got on pretty well. He does a bit of shtick about us hating each other, but it wasn’t really the case.
We had one teeny fight about one scene in which I ended up saying, ‘I profoundly disagree!’ Which he does a good an imitation of now.
But otherwise, I think we got on pretty well. We come from the same place. I started out in England in the ’80s doing sketch show comedy. So,
I’ve always had more in common with comedians than I have with actors
, really.”

Related Seinfeld: 20 Best Episodes of All Time, Ranked Seinfeld has earned a reputation as one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. Here are the 20 best episodes.

Understanding the Pop-Tarts Sensation (Hugh Grant Hasn’t Eaten One)

Unfrosted puts a wild spin on the real-life battle to revolutionize the breakfast experience in the early 1960s. Breakfast cereals were all the rage at the time, but Kellogg’s and Post wanted to create something more. Jerry Seinfeld plays Bob Cabana, the man who led the way on Kelloggs’ side. Amy Schumer plays Post matriarch Marjorie Post. Melissa McCarthy is Donna Stankowski, an exec who returns to Kellogg’s to help Cabana out. Meanwhile, a flurry of colorful characters float through, including Grant’s Thurl, who is often seen donning the Tony the Tiger costume for commercial shoots.

Related 20 Movies with the Most Star-Studded Casts Many fans will watch a movie because of a certain actor in it, but what about those with a huge A-lister cast? Here are 20 star-studded movies.

As for Pop-Tarts themselves, in real life, they arrived in 1964 and consisted of sweet fillings inside two layers of thin, rectangular pastry crusts. We asked Grant if he ever tried the breakfast treat. “Do you know, I still haven’t,” he said. “Well, they didn’t exist, I don’t think they exist to this day in Britain. And they look absolutely repulsive.” We went on to inquire about embodying the character of Thurl, whom Grant plays as a theatrical dynamo watering down his talents.

Netflix

“Well, his poisonous, disappointed rage at where he’s ended up in life,” Grant shared about what he loved most about playing the character. “I enjoy those guys. And, you know, his shocking vanity and narcissism. Why do I like playing those guys? Is that me? The older I get, the more I wonder if I’m a monster.”

One memorable scene later in the film, finds Grant, shirtless, wearing the bottom half of a Tony the Tiger costume. Of which, he mused: “I wanted to get my boobies out for some reason.”

Hugh Grant Cried Reading the Next Bridget Jones Film
Universal Pictures

Among the hot item buzz-builders, this spring was the announcement that there will be a fourth Bridget Jones movie. The first three films garnered a collective global take of more than $743 million. That’s significant for a film series that began with Bridget Jones’s Diary back in 2001 with Renée Zellweger in the title role, and Hugh Grant and Colin Firth playing the main character’s love interests Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy, respectively.

The new outing, based on Helen Fielding’s 2013 novel Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, revolves around our dear Bridget having a baby. It also touches on loss and surfing through the peculiarities of internet dating. It has been reported that Bridget will also reunite with an old flame. The film premieres on Peacock on Valentine’s Day 2025.

“It’s a really good script, in my humble opinion,” Grant told us of the film, which will reunite him with Zellweger and Emma Thompson. Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Man Who Fell to Earth, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), and Leo Woodall (One Day) also star.

“It’s the best script of the four films so far. It’s based on a book that Helen Fielding wrote, which she was inspired by her having to bring up her two children by herself after her husband died,” he added. “So, it’s very funny but it’s also incredibly moving. I just read the latest draft on the plane yesterday and was properly crying. Yeah, the stewardess was very surprised.” In the meantime, you’ll be laughing after tuning into Unfrosted. Catch the Netflix comedy on May 3 through the link below:

Watch Unfrosted