Nothing At The 2023 Oscars Is Going To Top Hugh Grant's Absurdly Awkward Interview

If Disneyland is supposed to be the happiest place on earth, the most awkward place on earth seems to be about 30 miles northwest — at the Oscars red carpet. This year's red (or, sorry, champagne) carpet coverage on ABC featured plenty of silly cutaways, awkward pauses, and reticent interviewees, but no one on the other end of the microphone seemed more charmingly perplexed than Hugh Grant.

Grant is attending the Oscars tonight as a presenter, but he also had a cameo role in "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," which is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (it's not based on anything, but sequels traditionally end up in the Adapted category). Grant appeared in a brief scene that nonetheless took the internet by storm, as he was revealed to be detective Benoit Blanc's (Daniel Craig) husband. When asked about his turn in "Glass Onion," Grant seemed less-than-enthused, but then again, he came to the interview — which seemed to be going on while a disorientingly loud crowd screamed off-screen — with strong "why-am-I-here" vibes from the get go.

First, interviewer Ashley Graham began by asking Grant his favorite thing about the Oscars, and he spent a few seconds mulling over an answer before saying diplomatically: "Well, it's fascinating. The whole of humanity is here, it's vanity fair." Unfortunately, Grant was referencing the actual phrase vanity fair as coined in John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress" — as in, something ostentatious and inconsequential. Graham, though, (rather reasonably, I'd say) thought he was name-dropping the magazine whose name comes from the phrase, and in turn, the famous Vanity Fair Oscar party. "It's all about Vanity Fair, that's where we let loose and have a little bit of fun," she responded.

Graham and Grant have both no doubt endured interviews that feel like pulling teeth before, and they both make it to the end of this 90-second exchange in one piece. Along the way, though, Graham asks Grant question after question that he answers in rather unexpected, sound-bite-averse ways. "Do you have your hopes up for anyone [to win]?" she asks, to which he answers, "No one in particular." Her question about what he's wearing earns the response that he's forgotten his tailor's name. Finally, the pair get to "Glass Onion." "I'm barely in it," Grant insists. "I'm in it for about three seconds." Graham, still smiling through it, says, "Still, you showed up and you had fun, right?" "Uh, almost," Grant answers, and that's the end of that.

Hopefully Grant has more fun at the Oscars than he did on the set of "Glass Onion," but if not, there's good news: award season is almost over. This outlandishly awkward interview feels emblematic of how everyone, from celebrities to journalists, are probably feeling inside as the seemingly endless pomp and circumstance continues on nearly a year after some of these movies hit theaters. I'm not sure who will take home Oscars gold tonight, but I think everyone on the champagne carpet deserves an award for enduring the parts of Oscar night that are inexplicable, silly, and yes, sometimes very, very awkward.