Hugh Grant has been surprisingly cheerful for months as he takes center stage in the promotion of Florence Foster Jenkins. Usually, getting Hugh to promote one of his films is like pulling teeth, but he’s been chatty, charming and happy during the promotional tour. It might be because many critics singled him out for his performance, and there are even rumors of a possible Oscar campaign. Or maybe Hugh has just stopped being so grumpy? I have no idea. In any case, Hugh has a new interview with W Magazine and it’s partly funny and partly creepy. Much like Hugh. You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:

The research he did for FFJ: “In a panic, the year leading up to the film I did a very uncharacteristic amount of research, including flying to New York to read Bayfield’s diaries and letters. I also had to learn to dance the Lindy Hop. That took four hard months, with ladies in leotards in a sweaty dance studio in London. They had to train me like a performing seal.”

Whether he’s ready for Dancing With the Stars: “Secretly, deep down, I’d love to do that show—it’s superb. But—damn it—I consider myself too classy.”

Playing female roles at his all-boys school: “In The Sound of Music, I was a von Trapp daughter in a white dress with a blue satin sash and my line was “I’m Brigitta. I’m 12, and all I want is a good time.” I got a laugh. And I was so delighted, I laughed, too. Sadly, that’s a problem I still have—onstage, I laugh hysterically at how funny I am.”

His love scenes in Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill: “Love scenes are extremely difficult. You’re always within a millimeter of sentimentality and “yuck.” But sex scenes are something else! The conventional response to sex scenes is that they’re horrible and not sexy and it’s all so unnatural. But I’ve always found filming sex scenes to be quite a turn-on. I like the experience of being in a sexual position when you’re not supposed to be in one.”

Why he never moved to LA: “I don’t hate L.A., but I’m nervous about becoming one of those people who has a ferocious interest in how films did at the box office that weekend and, you know, would want to meet for egg-white omelets in the morning. After a few weeks of living there, I realized I was going native. I remember being tempted to not actually phone people myself but have my assistant say, “Hi, I’ve got Hugh Grant for you.” At that point, you know you’ve got to get out.”

[From W Magazine]

The last part of the interview is about how he became involved with the celebrity-hacking issue, which involved him secretly recording a tabloid editor. We know all of that, so I just sort of skimmed that part. As for Hugh’s comments about love scenes versus sex scenes… I find his comments both creepy and yet… I sort of respect him for his honesty. I get tired of actors always claiming that sex scenes are never, ever sexy to film and that it’s all just acting and it’s always awkward. Like, I’m sure it’s awkward for a lot of actors, and having Hugh Grant slobber on you is probably not great. But for some actors, it has to be a turn-on. That’s why so many costars end up in relationships in real life.

Photos courtesy of W Magazine, WENN.