We've seen Hugh Grant the dapper romantic leading man. We've seen Hugh Grant the charming cad. We've seen Hugh Grant… well, you know, but how about Hugh Grant: crusader for justice?
Deadline reports that the "Four Weddings and a Funeral" star is the most high profile among 21 witnesses champing at the bit for a chance to talk smack about the tabloids making their lives a living hell in the UK.
Other celebs testifying against News Corp include funnyman Steve Coogan ("Hamlet 2"), singer Charlotte Church, and "Harry Potter" powerhouse J.K. Rowling.
Lord Justice Leveson was appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron to lead the investigation into Rupert and James Murdoch's skeezy News Of The World, which purportedly is involved in phone hacking and other invasions of privacy.
"No amount of respectable, well-modulated management-speak from James Murdoch can disguise the direct link between increased circulation and, literally, going through people’s rubbish bins," said Coogan.
Grant was even more virulent in his attack on what he calls the "privacy invasion industry," stating that, "There has been a section of our press that has been allowed to become toxic (using) bullying, intimidation, and blackmail… It’s time this country found the courage to stand up to this bullying."
The actor, who is currently filming the ambitious "Cloud Atlas" for Tom Tykwer and The Wachowskis, said that although he felt violated over the invasive treatment of the Daily Mail during the birth of his daughter recently, he was unfazed by the press coverage over his 1995 arrest involving prostitute Divine Brown.
"I have no quarrel with that whatsoever," said Grant.
