Dungeons & Dragons star Hugh Grant reveals he was a Dungeon Master: 'It was more S&M than D&D'

"I've been an enthusiastic Dungeon Master for some years now," the actor joked to EW.

The star-studded cast of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has varying degrees of experience with the immensely popular fantasy role-playing game. While Michelle Rodriguez and Sophia Lillis have been playing for years, Chris Pine had to ask his nephew to show him the ropes.

But it was Hugh Grant who surprised his fellow castmates the most at EW's video studio at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday when he joked that he used to be a Dungeon Master, basically the player in charge of organizing the game and creating details and challenges for adventures.

"Well, I was a Dungeon Master," Grant said dryly, before quipping, "But it was more S&M and less D&D. It's the English version."

As the group burst into laughter, Rodriguez spoke for everyone when she replied, "I wasn't expecting that!"

EW's San Diego Comic-Con Portraits Hugh Grant
Gizelle Hernandez for EW

The jokes continued at a panel later in the day at Hall H. When the moderator joked that he had heard Grant was a lifelong D&D fan, Rodriguez corrected him: "I think you mixed it up with S&M."

"She's not wrong," said Grant. "I've been an enthusiastic Dungeon Master for some years now. That's a British pastime, [a] national sport almost. I believe that's why the Jonathans [the directors] thought of me for this, my reputation."

In other titillating news from the D&D folks, Regé-Jean Page informed the audience at Hall H that making this movie got his rear-end in the best shape of his life. Not to be outdone in the butt department, Granted added, "It was really getting my bottom in shape as well."

Watch a clip of the S&M discussion from EW's video studio above, and stay tuned for more coverage of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and San Diego Comic-Con 2022 from EW.

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