Hugh Dancy’s latest film, “The Jane Austen Book Club,” draws upon the titular author’s works, but in it, the sexy Mr. Dancy isn’t exactly a modern-day Mr. Darcy.

The romantic comedy, which opened Friday, follows the love lives of six members of a California reading group; Dancy is the club’s lone male, a computer geek named Grigg.

“He’s kind of nerdy, and a bit clumsy,” says Dancy of his character. “It’s not like he swoops in and grabs the girl. He’s a normal, slightly odd guy who’s comfortable in his skin.”

Having transplanted himself from London to New York last year for the Broadway production of “Journey’s End,” Dancy has stayed on in the city, where he’s helping girlfriend Claire Danes prepare for her Broadway debut in “Pygmalion” this fall (the pair began dating soon after filming the recent drama “Evening”).

Now playing catch-up on “all the really great theater” he missed while being onstage himself, Dancy says that during his downtime he and Danes skip the usual pursuits associated with high-profile acting couples.

“I think I’m quite old-fashioned in that respect,” the English actor says. “I’m in the [acting business] because I want to do the job, not to [help] open restaurants.”

His job in “Journey’s End” helped the production win a Tony for Best Revival of a Play, and added clout to the 32-year-old’s growing rep. (He did British TV before acting in films such as “Black Hawk Down,” “Ella Enchanted” and “King Arthur.”)

Dancy’s 2008 schedule will include another literary-minded work - he’s a voice in a kids’ cartoon TV project based on Edgar Allan Poe stories - but working with Danes now that they’re linked would be a challenge worthy of Jane Austen, he muses. “I’ve never acted with someone I knew [that] well,” says Dancy. “Maybe that would be strange.”

Source: New York Daily News

Posted on September 23, 2007 by Anna
Filed In News • The Jane Austen Book Club