That Time Hugh Grant Was Stalked At Comic-Con By Man Wearing A Hot Dog Costume: ‘I Still Have Nightmares’

Hugh Grant in Dungeons & Dragons 2023 movie
(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

San Diego Comic-Con is like Coachella for fans of all things geeky, and it's filled with interesting personalities, events and even looks. This past summer romantic comedy icon Hugh Grant went to his first ever SDCC to promote the upcoming movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and it sounds like he had a very memorable experience there, despite or perhaps thanks to being “terrified” by one hot dog person. 

As someone who was in the audience of Hall H during the Dungeons & Dragons panel over the summer, I can confirm Hugh Grant was an absolute hit. The actor who is obviously beloved for being a ‘90s heartthrob was completely welcomed by the SDCC crowd and gave a series of hilarious quips, including a few cheeky sexual innuendos about sex dungeons (or something). However, Grant’s memory about the whole thing is oddly specific. As he recalled: 

There was only one person at that convention who really loved me, and he was dressed for the whole three days as a hot dog. And he followed me wherever I went. I couldn't shake him. Do you remember the hot dog? I was terrified. I still have nightmares about him.

While speaking to Collider about his SDCC experience alongside his Dungeons & Dragons co-star Chris Pine, Grant shared that he was stalked by a hot dog throughout his Comic-Con experience and he can’t stop thinking about it. It’s the kind of random SDCC story that seems really out there, but if you’ve been you’ll know that people in costumes, including hot dogs, are everywhere.

During the interview, Grant also admitted he liked the experience of being in Hall H alongside his Dungeons & Dragons cast members, but he had some reservations about the whole thing. It's wild given his charm stole the panel, a panel which then also debuted the first Dungeons & Dragons trailer as well. In his words: 

Well, I was terrified because they bring the actors out one by one, and I'm so old now. I'm passé, and I thought, "They'll bring out Chris Pine, they'll go mad. They'll bring out the others, they'll go mad. And then they'll say- ‘Hugh Grant,’ and there'll be dead silence.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Justice Smith, Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Release Date: March 31, 2023 (Theaters) 
Directed By: Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley
Written By: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley & Michael Gilio
Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis and Hugh Grant 

As Pine recalled, once Hugh Grant did enter Hall H they loved him. Grant commented that he thought the crowd was on “crack or something,” but nope, that’s just the incomparable energy of Comic-Con. It’s not everyday that thousands of fans get to see a sneak peak of a movie based on Dungeons and Dragons starring Hugh Grant alongside Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis and more.  

You can check out CinemaBlend’s Comic-Con interviews with Hugh Grant and the Dungeons & Dragons cast as we look forward to the movie coming next month. The 2023 new movie release is set to hit theaters on March 31. 

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.