Post by Taxigirl on Nov 12, 2003 10:29:15 GMT
British actor Hugh Grant has been handed an award in Los Angeles recognising excellence in film.
Grant, 43, was given the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award by Bafta/LA, the US arm of the British film and television academy.
He received the award from actress Sandra Bullock, who he starred alongside in the romantic comedy Two Weeks Notice.
Grant is currently promoting British comedy Love Actually.
Guests at the ceremony included Michael York, Robin Williams and Jennifer Connelly.
Grant said the award was "very very nice and unusual for me, I don't really get many prizes and when I do I'm cockahoop".
Bullock said: "Because for the most part he (Grant) is egoless, he's self deprecating, he's unbelievably smart and talented and that's frustrating to be around - I get a little jealous sometimes. But he's gifted and I don't think he knows how gifted he is."
Grant is probably best known for starring in romantic comedies, starring in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting Hill.
Intelligence
But he has also undertaken more serious roles, including The Remains of the Day, Maurice and director Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon.
Previous winners of the Stanley Kubrick award, given in memory of the late director, include Sir Michael Caine, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Martin Scorsese.
Bafta/LA chose Grant for the award because "his talent and keen intelligence has distinguished him as one of the best and brightest in contemporary cinema".
Angela Lansbury, famous for Murder She Wrote, was awarded a lifetime achievement award.
Australian director Peter Weir, whose films include Mosquito Coast, The Truman Show and the forthcoming Master and Commander, was presented with the first John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Artistic Achievement.