Actor Hugh Grant says he avoided starring in TV projects out of "pure snobbery" as he was still living in the charm of films and cinema.
The 58-year-old actor most recently portrayed Liberal party leader Jeremy Thorpe in "A Very English Scandal", a role that brought him much critical acclaim.
The BBC series, an adaptation of John Preston's novel, narrated the story of the disgraced MP who was tried and acquitted for conspiring to murder his ex-lover Norman Scott, played by Ben Whishaw.
Grant received nominations at the Golden Globes Awards and British Academy Television Awards for his performance.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor said he had initially dismissed the project after director Stephen Frears sent him the script.
"Well it wasn't really a hesitation, it was just pure snobbery. But I'd done Florence Foster Jenkins with Stephen Frears and he sent me this thing ('A Very English Scandal'), it was three scripts. And I thought, 'Television? I don't do television.' And then I read them and they were brilliant.
"And I realise everyone does TV now I just can't help having a little hankering for the old days of glamour and cinemas with lots of people in them. Anyway, it's all gone," Grant said.
The actor said Frears encouraged him to come aboard as he wanted Grant to play Thorpe in the miniseries.
"I have to say, I didn't know which part he wanted me to play. Frears is very good at seeing things in me that I certainly never saw. And he said, 'Jeremy Thorpe'. So I had to say yes, and then I spent a nice year panicking about it," he added.
When asked the reason why he panicked after joining the project, Grant responded, "Fear of failure."
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