Where are the stars of Four Weddings and a Funeral now? It's now 30 years since ... trends now

It was the low-budget comedy that proved a mega box office hit, raking in about £200million worldwide and making global superstars of its cast.

And 30 years on from its 1994 release, Four Weddings and a Funeral remains one of the most iconic British romantic comedies of all time.

It made an overnight star of Hugh Grant, who played the stuttering serial monogamist, Charles, who falls hopelessly in love with Andie MacDowell's glamorous American socialite.

While Grant's then-girlfriend Liz Hurley rocketed to fame after the London premiere, with her safety pin-adorned Versace dress, leading to her being celebrated as a 90s fashion icon. 

Even Wet Wet Wet's theme tune for the film, Love is All Around, proved a smash hit, spending 15 weeks cruising at the number one slot. 

The low-budget flick, directed by Mike Newell and scripted by Richard Curtis, came out of nowhere to become a global phenomenon. 

Inspired by Curtis's own experiences of being a guest at an endless merry-go-round of weddings, the movie followed Grant's foppish and foul-mouthed Charles and his pals as they navigated love, loss and grief. 

Millions enjoyed the movie's witty one-liners, outlandish wedding dresses, and the tears at the funeral of larger-than-life Gareth, played by Simon Callow. 

From the first 'f***' muttered by Grant as he wakes up late for a wedding in the film's opening scene, to the inept priest by by Rowan Atkinson who simply can't get anyone's name right, it was a classic loved by millions of movie-goers.  

But before he his career-defining role, Grant had been on the verge of quitting acting - and he didn't seem convinced the movie would turn his prospects around, believing instead it would be a box office flop. 

'It's true that we were all sure we'd made a giant turkey till the film had its first previews. I was clearly wrong and the film changed my life,' he told IndieWire. 

Grant was reportedly paid £35,000 for his starring turn in the film - twice as much as any of the other actors - to play posh boy Charles. 

But since then, he has gone on to star in a slew of beloved Hollywood smashes which have earned him millions, and was the go-to face when it came to romcoms for the best part of a decade. 

He featured in 1999's Nottinghill alongside Julia Roberts - netting a reported £7.5million, before following this up with roles in Bridget Jones's Diary in 2001 and 2003's beloved festive romcom, Love Actually.

But Grant later went on to say he had wished he had done 'different stuff' after his starring turn in Four Weddings, amid claims he had developed an 'inferiority complex' for being known as as 'just the guy from romantic comedies.'

'I should've made interesting decisions,' Grant told the Hollywood Reporter. 'And done different stuff. Instead, I repeated myself almost identically about 17 times in a row.' 

Grant's has since starred in a series of character roles, from the foul-mouthed cockney crook Fletcher, in 2019's gangster flick, The Gentlemen, to more recently featuring as an Oompa Loompa in 2023's Wonka. 

Outside of acting, the Love Actually star went on to become a father, sharing five children with Chinese actress Tinglan Hong and his now-wife Anna Eberstein. 

He added: 'Part of what was ridiculous about my previous acting incarnation was that it was mainly serious.' And of Four Weddings, he added: 'It changed my life for the better.' 

But earlier this week, Richard Curtis revealed he didn't want Grant to be in the film, claiming the then 32-year-old was too 'glamourous' for the character he had in mind. 

Instead, the director claimed he wanted stars such as Jim Broadbent, Robbie Coltrane, or John Gordon Sinclair to play the leading part of Charles. 

More than 70 actors were considered for the role, according to producer Duncan Kenworthy, before Grant was hired.   

But revealing the secretive discussions on casting, Kenworthy told the Mirror: 'It sounds odd now but the other actor in the frame was Alan Rickman, who'd really cut through in the Robin Hood movie. Mike, Richard and I simply couldn't agree which of them to cast, so we voted in secret.

Speaking to The Times, Curtis said he 'argued hard against' having Grant in the film. 'I had in my mind a less glamorous person because I'm a very unglamorous person,' he said. 

The screenwriter said the team interviewed around 70 people for the role, but found it difficult to find someone with the 'charm and wit' needed to make the part work. 

'Hugh had it instantly. He gives the impression of being feckless and that he can't act, but he worked so hard on every line,' he said. 

Kenworthy, whose first time producing a film happened with Four Weddings, recalled how Grant brought in a recording of his best man speech at his brother's wedding, which was 'quite funny'. 

Other members of the cast have also gone on to have stellar careers.

Kristin Scott-Thomas, who payed Fiona, almost didn't audition for the role because she had been rejected by the film's director in the past. 

And producers at the time even feared that if she got the part, they wouldn't be able to afford her air fare from Paris, where she lived with her French doctor husband at the time, to London. 

But 30 years on from her time in Four Weddings the 63-year-old is now Dame Kristin Scott-Thomas and a five-time BAFTA winner.