Hugh Grant Said, “Well Done, Jones,” to Renée Zellweger and Yes, the Internet Died

(image: Universal Pictures)

Hugh Grant is known for a great many things, but mainly being the source of many a love affair—meaning many of us have loved Hugh Grant from the moment we watched Four Weddings and a Funeral and beyond, but still, that love remains. So, when Renée Zellweger took home the BAFTA for her role in Judy, seeing Grant and Zellweger together once more brought all our feelings bubbling to the surface.

It was simple enough, just Hugh Grant presenting at the BAFTAs after Renée Zellweger won, but for those of us who still are enthralled by the story of Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy, we probably remember her very own Daniel Cleaver.

(Before we proceed, shoutout to Adam Driver’s completely confused face.)

Daniel Cleaver (Grant) was, of course, Bridget Jones’s (Zellweger) boss, who would flirt with her and even started a relationship, until Bridget realized he was cheating on her and dumped him. Since Bridget Jones’s Diary is technically based on Pride and Prejudice, Daniel Cleaver is the Wickham of this situation.

Still, the love story of Bridget and Mark Darcy always included Daniel Cleaver—even in Bridget Jones’s Baby (the novel), but because Grant wasn’t in the third movie, that Cleaver spot was taken over by Patrick Dempsey’s character. I truly couldn’t tell you his name, because I didn’t care. He wasn’t Mark, and he wasn’t Daniel. Still, seeing Hugh Grant back with Renée Zellweger, even briefly, was enough to have us screaming.

As expected, those of us who watched as Bridget Jones battled herself over Daniel or Mark were losing our collective minds over the callback. Honestly, all I needed was Colin Firth to show up and say, “I like you very much, just as you are,” and I could have died happy.

The joy this simple reaction gave us shows just how much we still love the Bridget Jones series. A woman struggling with what she’s supposed to be and her own feelings towards the men in her life, Bridget Jones was always a character who made mistakes and tried to find a way to better herself, even if she didn’t necessarily need to change who she was.

Does this just make me wish that Hugh Grant had decided to come back for Bridget Jones’s Baby? Absolutely. Daniel and Mark fighting again, and this time over who the father was? Sign me up! I’ll take a fourth movie with the same exact plot as the third; I don’t even care!

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Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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